Place about 2 cups of water in a medium size kettle. Add the smashed garlic clove (or minced garlic), one teaspoon of the salt, and the bouillon to the water and mix together while heating. Add the chicken and bring to a boil. Add water just to cover the chicken if needed. Simmer the chicken for about 20 minutes until cooked through – or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool, reserving the liquid. When cool enough to touch, shred the chicken by hand or with a fork and set aside.

Roughly chop the yellow onion. Finely chop two of the Chipotle peppers. Add the olive oil to a deep sided skillet and heat to medium. Add the chopped onion and cook until almost translucent, but do not let them brown. Add the fire roasted tomatoes and their juice, the Chipotle peppers and about a tablespoon of their sauce, a teaspoon of salt and the oregano and simmer gently for about five minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Add the shredded chicken and continue to stir and heat until the chicken is hot. If it get too dry, add a tablespoon of the reserved poaching water. It is ready now ready to serve on flour or corn tortillas along with your favorite toppings.

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse the blender to combine the ingredients. Only pulse the blender 4 to 6 times so that you end up with salsa that has some body. Too much and you will have a paste. If the salsa is thicker than you like add a little of the reserved tomato liquid.

Notes:

To make this salsa from scratch make the following substitutions:
Instead of canned jalapenos – use one fresh pepper, seeds and webbing removed, finely diced.

Instead of bottled lime juice – use the juice from one fresh lime.

Instead of garlic flame roasted tomatoes – use regular flame roasted tomatoes and add 1 or 2 finely diced garlic cloves.

A tasting note – we felt that the salsa served cold exhibited a 'tangy' or perhaps 'brighter' flavor. When warmed up it seemed more 'earthy' and the cumin flavor was more noticeable. Try it both ways and see what you think.

Prepare the hens:
Rinse the thawed hens and remove giblets (if included). Prepare the brine by mixing the salt, ground black pepper, and minced garlic in the water until the salt is dissolved. Place the Cornish hens in a gallon freezer bag and add the brine. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Make the mango sauce:
Puree the canned mangoes with their syrup. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the puree and the brown sugar and stir. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat and set aside.

Baking the hens.

You will need about 4 Tbsp melted butter – more if needed

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the hens, breast side down, on a greased or sprayed edged cooking sheet. Lining the sheet with aluminum foil makes clean-up easier. Baste with melted butter and bake for 20 minutes, basting occasionally. Turn the hens breast side up, baste with butter and bake 20 minutes, basting frequently. Turn the oven heat down to 375 degrees, turn the hens again, and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the hens breast side up, and baste liberally with the mango sauce. Bake another 5 to 7 minutes basting with the sauce a couple times or until the birds are golden brown. Check the temperature of the meat to ensure it is at least 165 degrees. Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh sliced mango if desired, Serve with leftover sauce for added mango flavor.

Husk the tomatillos – the husk is easily removed if you run them under cold water while peeling back the husk and then twisting it off. If you don't do it in water the fruit is kind of sticky and it makes husk removal harder. Chop the tomatillos, onion, garlic, peppers, avocado and cilantro. Place the chopped ingredients plus the lime juice, vinegar, and salt in a food processor or blender and pulse to achieve a thick puree. The peppers are hot and can cause irritation to skin, eyes, etc. I usually trim jalapeno peppers without gloves, but I would use gloves with serrano peppers. Here is a link to our article called "A Primer on Peppers” if you want to learn more.

You can make this salsa ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days. Serve with tortilla chips.

Measure and combine the chili powder and cumin in a bowl. Add the trimmed and cubed meat and stir until the spices coat the meat.

Heat the oil to medium heat in a large sauce pan or dutch oven. Add the seasoned beef and stir for about 5 minutes until nicely browned. Add the beef broth and the chipotle and adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the meat is tender, about an hour and fifteen minutes.

When tender, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the broth. Reserve the broth. Use two forks to shred the meat into smaller bites. Return the meat to the broth. Add the tomatoes (with juice) and the bell pepper. Bring to a boil and stir in the drained and rinsed beans. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the bell pepper is tender. Serve while hot.

Now make it your own! Here are suggested garnishes. Sprinkle your chili with fresh chopped cilantro (highly recommended), add a few slices of avocado, add a few tortilla chips, add a spoonful of sour cream or Mexican Crema, add a few drops of Cholula or other hot sauce, sprinkle with shredded cheese of your choice, add chopped onions.

Enjoy!