Green Chile Stew

I woke up at 5:30 this morning with two fresh pork chops in the fridge. What is a guy like me, living alone while the wife is away, going to do with two pork chops, a pound of Roasted and Peeled New Mexico Green Chile, half a head of garlic, and half a Vadalia Onion? There are options. Chile Verde, pork tacos with green chile, pork in a taco shell with green chile, or Green Chile Stew.

The plan came together as I was making my breakfast sandwich. Two slices of bacon, a fried egg, a slice of American cheese, a few splashes of hot sauce, and two pieces of bread pressed together with our new Cuisinart sandwich and panini press, a.k.a. the Griddler.

Here's how the recipe goes down:

Note: I've tried this recipe without Roasted and Peeled New Mexico Green Chiles, and haven't been able to find a suitable substitute. As the supply of said peppers is hard to come-by in the Mid-West, I'll continue to try to find a good alternative and post it when I figure it out.

Chop 1/2 giant Vadalia (or other sweet) onion roughly
Chop 1 (or more) fresh jalapeno peppers
Add to a skillet with oil and a good pinch of kosher salt on medium to low heat until they soften
Chop 1/2 head of garlic any way you like
Add Garlic to Onions and Jalapenos (this is the true holy trinity of any cuisine in my opinion)
Let Garlic soften, but don't let it brown.
If you just happen to have a pound of chopped and peeled Hatch New Mexico Green Chiles on hand, throw it in your crock pot or in another pot suitable for stew. If you can't get these chiles, you're out of luck... for now. Add a couple pinches of salt and turn on low.
Add the holy trinity and stir.
Now take the two pork chops and cut into cubes. Toss these into a your skillet and sear quickly on high heat. You're not trying to cook the pork through, just brown the outside and add some flavor. Toss in a pinch or two of salt and pepper and add to the stock pot.
Stir it all together. Add another pinch of salt and some ground pepper.
Now add some ground cumin to taste. Maybe add a bay leaf, and whatever other spice you have on hand that you like.
Add some water or chicken stock until it covers the pork and turn the crock pot on high.
Let go for an hour before stirring.
After an hour, take a peek and a taste of the liquid. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin.
Let go for another hour on high.
After that, take another taste and adjust as needed.
Now toss the pot into low and let it go another hour.
Now you should be starving. Eat it up.
Serve it over anything that sounds good.
For lunch I ate it straight up. For Dinner I picked out some pork chunks and made some tacos with cheese and... more hot peppers and hot sauce.
Tomorrow, I'll have more of a chile pepper soup than stew since I picked out the meat, but hey... so what?