Almost Posole

I made this soup last night on the spur of the moment, with this and that I had in the fridge and pantry. I was extremely pleased with the way it turned out and am so glad that I wrote the ingredients down as I made it. It's something like Mexican posole.

Feel free to make substitutions, such as using canned hominy instead of dry or yellow squash instead of zucchini. I used homemade chicken stock with no added salt. If you use broth with salt in it, or if your salsa is especially salty, you'll want to cut back on the amounts of bouillon you use.


Annie's Almost Posole Stew

1 pound pork loin, cut into small cubes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 cups chicken broth (low or no sodium)
1 Tablespoon instant chicken bouillon with tomato*
1 Tablespoon instant beef bouillon**
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry hominy (or 1 15-oz. can hominy, drained)
1 cup chunky salsa (prepared or home-made)
1 small zucchini, cut into small dice
Cheddar cheese and sour cream for toppings

In a Dutch oven, brown pork loin pieces in olive oil until brown.

Add chicken broth, chicken and beef bouillon, garlic, dry hominy and salsa to pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer until pork is tender and hominy "pops" open, about 1 hour. (If using canned hominy, simmer for about 20 minutes. Dry hominy will thicken the stew slightly; stew will be thinner if canned hominy is used.

Add zucchini and simmer another 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender.

Serve hot, topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired. Good with cornbread or over a bowl of rice.

Makes about 6 servings.


* Can usually be found in the Mexican foods section of the grocery store. ** If you can find beef rib bouillon in the Mexican foods section of the grocery store, it will add a better flavor, in my opinion. If not, regular beef bouillon will do fine.