Recipe 3: Stew

There are a few great things about good stew. First of all, stew is completely customizable. Second, the leftovers are even better than the first servings. Here's a great one sent to me courtesy of Myrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  canola oil
• 8  ounces  boneless center-cut pork chops, trimmed and cubed
• 1  cup  chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 3/4  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 1  tablespoon  chili powder
• 2  teaspoons  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1/4  cup  no-salt-added tomato paste
• 1  (15.5-ounce) can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4  cup  light sour cream

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chili powder and next 4 ingredients (through red pepper). Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste, hominy, tomatoes, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

I doubled up on pork and hominy and threw in two cans of diced chiles and a can of corn for texture and a bit of natural sweetness to balance out the spice. Although my 17 year old brother didn't even try it (this is not a new phenomenon) the rest of the family enjoyed it.

Personally, I loved it. The spices were definitely not our typical cuisine and so it gave me something warm and different to look forward to for lunch today. It being another cloudy, cold winter's day just added to the soupy appeal. Yum.