pork & tomatillo stew

I bought myself a new crockpot for my birthday last week. Since then, we made a dish with sweet potatoes and chicken legs spiced with curry powder which was pretty good. But, on Sunday, Denny suggested we use it again. I had a bag of tomatillos in the refrigerator that I needed to use, so I did a search for tomatillos and crockpot and found several variations of a Pork and Tomatillo Stew. The one I went with came from about.com and turned out pretty well.

The only change I made was to add a topping of Avocado and Lime Sour Cream (simply, 1 avocado, a big spoonful of sour cream, and juice from 1/2 a lime pureéd together). A dollop of this on top made the stew extra good.

I served it with cornbread made from Jiffy cornbread mix, yogurt, can of corn, lime juice and cilantro.

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Pork and Tomatillo Stew

By Diana Rattray, About.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds boneless pork ribs or loin, trimmed and cut in bite-size cubes
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 to 6 tablespoons drained jalapeno rings or chopped mild chile peppers
• 1 cup julienne cut carrots
• 2 medium potatoes, cut in small cubes
• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed, washed and diced
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• pinch dried oregano
• hot sauce, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• fresh chopped cilantro, optional

PREPARATION:

Sprinkle pork cubes lightly with salt and pepper; toss with the flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet; add pork and sauté, stirring, until nicely browned; transfer to a 5 to 6-quart slow cooker. In the same skillet, adding a little more oil if needed, sauté the celery and onion until tender. Add garlic, chicken broth, and jalapeno peppers or mild peppers, stirring and scraping browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Set aside.

Meanwhile, add to the slow cooker the carrots, potatoes, and tomatillos. Pour tomatoes over the top, then add the onion and celery mixture from the skillet. Stir to blend ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours, or LOW for 6 hours. Add seasonings. Cook for 1 to 2 hours longer on HIGH or about 2 to 3 hours longer on LOW. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro, if desired, and hot baked cornbread.
Serves 6 to 8.

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Toddler note:  Dylan almost took a bite of the pork, but he put it in his mouth and then took it right back out.  However, the cornbread was a big hit..he ate two pieces with his peas.