No-Chop Posole Verde (and Cinco de Mayo menu!)

NO CHOP. This is how we dinner. No fresh, no chop, no effort, just massive flavor with pantry staples that we know and love. 

With Cinco de Mayo on a Sunday this year, I'm definitely not going to be drinking/eating tacos all day and night. I'll be doing laundry and packing lunches and I'm completely fine with that, you know? This, to me, is a perfect Sunday meal. Cozy and comforting but still light, and full of flavor.

I keep lots of these posole ingredients on hand, but they're all easy to find in the Mexican food part of your grocery store, and none of them are terribly expensive. To me, canned green chilies and hominy are the heart of this posole verde, helped along by chicken bouillon (don't hate) and salsa verde, extremely useful because they contain some combo of onion/garlic/spice flavor. I DO start the posole verde by toasting just two spices and melting the bouillon in some oil, which brings the flavors back to life a bit. PS make this vegan with veggie bouillon!

Here we go! Big flavor from a bouillon cube, cumin, and dried oregano. More flavor from salsa verde and diced green chilies, texture and protein from hominy and pinto beans, or a can of any beans you enjoy! I am finding that these pictures look like there could be hot dog chunks in this, but they're just the beans. Promise. Maybe white beans next time.

Start by heating up some oil in a deep skillet (here's my Staub one that is in literally half my recipe posts), and adding the bouillon, oregano, and cumin. See how the bouillon melts down a bit? Nice. Stir the spices into the oil for just a minute until they're fragrant - don't let them burn. 

Next, add everything else! We DON'T drain anything EXCEPT for the beans because I wanted extra hominy flavor + why waste water, but I didn't want the thickness of the bean juice. My recipe, my rules. 

Stir everything together, and reduce the heat to medium-low so the posole verde can simmer for a few minutes. Taste a few times and see if needs any pinches of salt - mine didn't - or maybe some hot sauce! You do you. 

I mean, that's it. I love this alone with Mexican toppings of choice. Cilantro, green onions, salsa, cheese, you name it. 

BUT BUT BUT you could also make this into rice bowls with red rice. Or make little burrito bowls with some shredded meat and rice and shredded lettuce and chopped cilantro, jalapeno, raddish, and crema and salsa and why are Mexican toppings just so, so good. Help me. 

If you're planning to feast this weekend, here are some other of my favorite Mexican-inspired foods. I'd say make approximately ten dishes and that should be plenty, no need to go overboard. 

• Red Rice (goes with everything)
• Chilaquiles (chips. it's just chips)
• Pumpkin Seed Salsa (spicy in a good way)
• Thai-Style Guac (more chips sorry not sorry)
• Slow Cooker Taco Chicken (meal prep!)

Enjoy this, and enjoy your first few days of May!

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