Episode 9

August reminds me of back to school, the twins’ birthday, the eagerness for the first cool front to arrive, football…..and hatch green chiles. To be completely honest, I kind of forgot about them this year, and I just happened to be in H-E-B on August 1 when they were setting out all of the hatch green chile items. Some of these items include popcorn, bacon, sausage, tortilla chips, chicken salad, salsa verde, queso, hummus, salmon burgers, rotisserie chicken, and even a hatch green chile seasoning. You can buy them fresh or roasted in store.

The reason why such a big deal is made out of this amazing pepper is because there is only one growing season for them, August – September, and you will not find them the remainder of the year are harvested in Hatch, New Mexico. The hatch pepper is considered medium on the heat index – hotter than a bell pepper or banana pepper, but less than a jalapeno.

If you are anything like me, then you love a good slow cooker meal (which reminds me chili season is right around the corner.) And this one is even better on day 2! I made this on Sunday afternoon and it has been the perfect quick and easy lunch to fill me up and keep me satisfied all afternoon! It is light, clean, and most of all, super easy to prepare 🙂

Hatch Green Chile Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 4 tomatillos, husked and diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 – 4 hatch chiles, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup of reduced sodium broth (vegetable or chicken)

Preparation

1. Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle with the cumin, salt, coriander, and black pepper.
3. Add the tomatillos, onion, green chiles and garlic.
4. Pour in the broth.
5. Cover and cook on low for 4.5 hours.
6. Once the time is up, use two forks to shred the chicken meat inside of the slow cooker.

Toppings

• Corn
• Tortilla strips
• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Hot sauce
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Cilantro
• Lime
• Fresh Onions
• Avocado

Drop me a comment below if you decide to make this…..but hurry! Time is running out. Like I said above, hatch season only happens in August and September and once they’re gone, then they’re gone until next year.

To see other recipes, click here.

Cheers – MP