Poblano Peppers

When I picked up my Bountiful Basket last week, I had five of these peppers. Someone called them Poblamos, and then several people  mentioned roasting and stuffing them for a pretty tasty meal. One thing I didn't really expect with the Bountiful Basket pick-ups has been the fact that I have made some new friends out there! Everyone has been very friendly and I have noticed many, many times when someone pulls something out of their basket and they ask what it is, the usually get several responses that include naming whatever it is and offering cooking suggestions. I love that! And that is how I found out what to do with my poblanos.

When I got home, I found several recipes and narrowed it down to this one from the Fine Cooking site, Poblanos Stuffed with Cheddar and Chicken.

I started by cutting and seeding my peppers and putting them on a foil lined pan and roasted them under the broiler.

After roasting the skins turn black and peel off. I admit, I didn't think that would go as smoothly as it did. I have seen chefs do this on TV and they slip right off. I have also seen chefs on TV do lots of things so effortlessly that I can not replicate in my own kitchen. This was an exception though, after roasting, the skin came off the peppers very easily.

While my peppers were cooling enough for me to handle, the chicken and rice were cooking and I started on the sauce. I coarsely chopped the onion and tomato, then added those, the spices and the garlic to the food processor and chopped them until I had a smooth consistency. Once that was done, the mixture went into a pan to reduce a little.

I have to admit at this point I got a little nervous, Kip isn't crazy about dishes that have too much tomato. After the sauce reduced a little, I added the chicken, the rice, some cheddar and some cilantro. Once all that was mixed in, I stuffed the peppers with the chicken mixture and then baked for just a few minutes.

I do have to say that they were fabulous, Kip and I both really enjoyed this recipe and after everything was mixed together, it wasn't too "tomatoey" at all for him. This is a recipe that I will make again. I have never really cared for stuffed bell peppers that much, but these were another story and I don't know that I would have tried them if the poblanos hadn't shown up in my basket last week!