Slow-Cooked Chicken with Tomatillos, Potatoes, Jalapenos, and Fresh Herbs

This is another one of Rick Bayless's recipes from Mexican Everyday. If you are at all interested in authentic Mexican cuisine, I encourage all of you to buy this cook book. Rick Bayless has been traveling Mexico for decades learning of their regional cuisines. This book is his attempt to pair down the traditionally labor intensive dishes to dishes that are accessible to the home cook. Being a bit of a health nut, all of his dishes are very nutritious.

I'm a little bit ill right now with a cold, and this dish is exactly what I needed. Being one of the few slow cooker recipes I truly love, it is low maintenance and perfect for a weekend dinner. Also, the consistency of the dish ends up as somewhat of a thick stew. I love the balance of the tangy tomatillos with the rich chicken thighs, sweet onions, and velvelty texture of my favorite potato, the yukon gold.

It's time to bust out your crock pot and MAKE THIS DISH.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 medium white onion, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1.5-2 lbs. skinless chicken thighs (bone in or out)
1 cup cilantro leaves or 1/3 cup epazote leaves
4 medium red skin or yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick (I use yukon gold)
1 1/4 lbs. tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup sliced canned or jarred pickled jalapenos
2 TBLSP jalapeno pickling juice

Preparation
1. Spread the onion over the bottom of a slow-cooker. Sprinkle with salt.
2. Continue with layers of the potato slices, chicken thighs, cilantro or epazote, and then tomatillow sprinkling salt evenly over each layer before moving to the next (this is the only salt in the dish, so make sure to add enough).
3. Scatter the jalapeno slices over everything, then drizzle on the pickling juice.
4. Cover and slow-cook on high for 6 hours.