Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken Stew

Back from Las Cruces. Five days. The NMSU football camp ran Monday through Thursday and Diego was excellent — focused, coachable, faster than most of the kids in his age bracket. I watched from the sideline on Wednesday when parents could observe. Seeing your son receive coaching from someone else is an experience I wasn't fully prepared for. I had opinions. I kept them to myself. That's growth.

Hector came to watch one session. He drove himself to the NMSU practice field, sat in a camp chair under a desert sun that would have finished a lesser man, and watched Diego run routes for forty-five minutes without saying a word. Afterward, Diego ran over and Hector said, "Your grandmother's father could run like that." Diego said, "Really?" Hector said, "No. But I wanted to say something nice." Diego laughed. So did I. The old man hasn't lost anything where it counts.

We stayed at my parents' house. Gloria made something every meal — posole one night, green chile stew the next, huevos rancheros every morning without fail, as if eggs and green chile are the constant that holds the universe together, which they basically are. The twins ate everything and asked for more. Elena told my mother her cooking was "very good," which Gloria received with the modest pleasure of someone who has been hearing this for fifty years and has never stopped appreciating it. Marco asked if he could have green chile stew for breakfast. Gloria handed him the bowl. There are things I cannot override in my mother's kitchen.

I took a long walk Saturday morning while the house was quiet — past the house I grew up in, past the field where I used to run routes before there was anyone to throw to me. The Organ Mountains were clear and the morning light was doing the thing it does in New Mexico, that low-angle gold that exists nowhere else. I stood there for a while. I felt the thing I always feel here: that I belong to this place in a way that doesn't require explanation or defense. That wherever else I live, this is the source.

Drove back to Denver Sunday. Restocked the freezer. Normal week ahead. The season is beginning to come into focus, the machinery picking up speed.

Back in Denver, the house felt quieter than usual and the freezer needed filling — and all I wanted was something that tasted like the last five days. Gloria’s green chile stew isn’t a recipe she’ll ever write down; it lives in her hands and her instincts and the specific weight of that cast iron pot she’s had since before I was born. But this slow cooker Tex-Mex chicken stew gets close enough to matter: green chiles, hominy, a long simmer that fills the house with the right kind of warmth. I put it together Sunday night after we unloaded the car, and by the time it was done the week had already started to settle.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 6–8 hours (low) or 3–4 hours (high) | Total Time: Up to 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can (29 oz) hominy, drained and rinsed
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles (or 1 cup roasted fresh Hatch green chiles, chopped)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Optional toppings: fresh cilantro, sliced radishes, sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack, warm flour tortillas

Instructions

Layer the slow cooker. Add the chicken thighs to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker in a single layer. Add the hominy, green chiles, fire-roasted tomatoes, white beans, onion, and garlic on top.
Season and add liquid. Pour in the chicken broth. Sprinkle the cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper evenly over everything. Stir gently to distribute without disturbing the chicken from the bottom.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is completely tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken thighs to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the broth and vegetables.
Finish with lime. Squeeze in the lime juice, stir, and taste for salt. Adjust seasoning as needed. Let the stew sit uncovered for 5 minutes to thicken slightly before serving.
Serve and top. Ladle into bowls and add your preferred toppings — cilantro, radishes, a spoon of sour cream, shredded cheese. Warm tortillas on the side are not optional.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken Stew — The Bowl Gloria Would Approve Of