A cozy, fall-ready skillet built from the week’s batch cooking — smoky, hearty, and layered with Hatch chiles, Caballero beans, and a spoonful of leftover tomato sauce. It’s part meal prep, part nostalgia, and 100% comfort.
This week, in addition to my usual batch of cooked Rancho Gordo beans (Caballero, this time), I added cooked hominy to the rotation. My mom grew up in New Mexico, so I like to make hominy when she visits — it reminds her of the comforting flavors she grew up with.
I started thinking about how corn and beans are two of the Three Sisters — ingredients that have always been about balance, nourishment, and community. This dish leans into that tradition but spins it through my own kitchen lens: smoky bacon, Hatch chiles, Vaquero chile powder, and a spoonful of my Marvelous Sauce to tie it all together.
It’s the kind of skillet you can make from what’s already in your fridge — a blank canvas turned into something soulful.
Grated Pecorino Romano or a spoon of sour cream, for finishing
Sliced Fresh Avocado, for finishing
Instructions
Render bacon:
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until nearly crisp, about 8–10 minutes.
Build your base:
Add red onion, orange pepper, and mushrooms to the cooked bacon. Sauté in the bacon fat for 6–8 minutes, until softened and lightly caramelized.
Add flavor layers:
Stir in garlic, oregano, and Vaquero chile powder; cook about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the Hatch chile cubes and let them melt into the mixture.
Add depth:
Stir in your Marvelous Sauce and let it bubble and thicken slightly, about 2 minutes.
Simmer:
Add hominy, Caballero beans, chicken broth, and salt. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and everything glazes beautifully.
Finish:
Stir in lemon juice, taste, and adjust with salt or more lemon. Serve topped with grated Pecorino Romano or a spoon of sour cream and sliced avocado.
Notes
The combination of hominy and Caballero beans makes this dish feel like a posole-meets-skillet-supper hybrid. It’s earthy, smoky, and comforting — a bowl that tastes like home, even if you’ve never been to New Mexico.
This simple tomato chickpea soup with pasta is cozy, affordable, and packed with flavor from slow-simmered tomatoes, Rancho Gordo chickpeas, ditalini, and leftover eggplant cutlets.
Sometimes the second meal is the best one. This pot of Rancho Gordo black-eyed peas turns leftover ham into a deeply comforting, slow-simmered dish worth waiting for.
A rainy Saturday, a full house, and a pot of minestrone built from what was already in the fridge — Caballero beans, mushrooms, spinach, and a good 28-ounce can of tomatoes. This fall version is hearty, deep, and comforting without being heavy. Perfect for when the weather turns and everyone’s coming over.
Made with Bullet