Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Stacks -- Hannah’s Posole, for the Week That Asks Everything of You

One of those pipeline weeks where the hours add up wrong. We hit a complication Thursday — a section of existing line that was not where the survey said, which meant we spent half the day re-digging and recalculating and doing everything twice. By Friday I had fifty-four hours on the clock and a back that wanted a serious conversation about my life choices. I drove home smelling like burnt flux and creek mud and I was not good for much.

Hannah had made dinner. I want to write that slowly: Hannah, who works full time for the Cherokee Nation nutrition program, who drove to three different sites this week to teach food workshops, who is nursing a six-month-old while managing our household — Hannah had made dinner. Posole. Her version: dried ancho chiles, chicken instead of pork, canned hominy because she does not have time for dried on a worknight, and wild onions she found at the farmers market even though wild onion season is technically spring.

I sat down and ate two bowls without saying a word about the out-of-season wild onions. I was going to let it go. I really was.

"Those are not season onions," I said, and Hannah looked at me over her soup spoon with an expression I know very well — the expression of a woman who has worked sixty hours, fed a baby, and cooked dinner, and is now receiving a critique about seasonal produce from a man whose primary contribution was showing up.

"They are onions," she said. "Eat your soup."

I ate my soup. It was excellent. The wild onions tasted like spring and the creek bottom and every good thing about Oklahoma in March. Hannah knows what she is doing. I know she knows. I do not know why I said anything about the onions. Some kind of welder's compulsion to identify the thing that is slightly off, even when the whole is perfectly right.

Luna laughed at me while I apologized. Six months old and already a judge of character. I deserved it. The posole was worth every bit of being wrong.

Hannah’s posole earned a permanent place in this house, and I earned a lesson in keeping my mouth shut about things that are already working. If you’re the kind of person who has ever critiqued a meal mid-bite while someone else did all the cooking—this one’s your chance at redemption. Make it for someone who deserves it.

Hannah’s Weeknight Chicken Posole with Wild Onions

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 6–8 hrs (slow cooker) or 45 min (stovetop) | Total Time: Up to 8 hrs 20 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
• 1 cup boiling water (for rehydrating chiles)
• 2 cans (15 oz each) hominy, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 bunch wild onions (or green onions), trimmed and sliced, for topping
• Lime wedges, shredded cabbage, dried oregano, and warm tortillas, for serving

Instructions

1. Rehydrate the chiles. Place dried ancho chiles in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let soak 15 minutes until softened. Transfer chiles and soaking liquid to a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.
2. Build the slow cooker base. Add diced onion, garlic, hominy, fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir in the ancho chile puree.
3. Add the chicken. Nestle the chicken thighs into the liquid, pressing them down so they’re mostly submerged. Cover and cook on low 6–8 hours or high 3–4 hours.
4. Shred and return. Remove chicken thighs and shred with two forks. Return shredded chicken to the pot and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt.
5. Stovetop variation. Simmer everything in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat for 35–40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have melded. Shred and return as above.
6. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top generously with sliced wild onions. Set out shredded cabbage, lime wedges, extra oregano, and warm tortillas on the side. Eat two bowls. Do not comment on whether the onions are in season.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 620mg