Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour 30 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • For marinade:
  • 1/4 tablespoon cumin
  • 1/4 tablespoon oregano
  • 1/4 tablespoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • For meal:
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 8 ounce can organic sweet corn (or fresh corn if you have it on hand)
  • 1 14 ounce can fat-free refined beans
  • 1/2 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 large poblano peppers
  • 1 small onion, sliced in quarter moons
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  1. Dice chicken into strips.
  2. Combine all of the ingredients for marinade in a bowl and stir until well combined.
  3. Add chicken, cover and put into the fridge. Allow to marinate for a minimum of one hour.
  4. When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  5. Pour olive oil into a saucepan over medium heat.
  6. Add chicken and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. I always, always, always use a thermometer when I cook chicken. Undercooked chicken is nothing I want to mess with!
  7. Place cooked chicken on a plate.
  8. Add onions and sweet corn into saucepan.
  9. Saute for around 15 minutes, or until the onions have begun to caramelize.
  10. Remove the tops and seeds from the poblano peppers (or, if you prefer a spicy meal, leave the seeds in).
  11. Slice one side of the poblano peppers so that they "open".
  12. Place roughly 1 to 2 tablespoons of refried beans on the inside bottom of the pepper.
  13. Next, add a layer of the corn and onion mix.
  14. Place the chicken in the pepper next.
  15. Add approximately 1/8 cup shredded cheese on top of the chicken.
  16. Close the pepper and place on a baking sheet.
  17. Bake for 15 minutes
  18. Top with sliced avocado.
  19. Enjoy!

Nutritional data

Serving size: 1 stuffed pepper
Calories: 160
Fat: 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 15 grams
Protein: 15.25 grams

Nutritional data is approximate.

 

Confession: I made this recipe months ago and it was such a complete an utter failure that it never made it to the blog. While I was at the grocery store this weekend, I walked through the produce department looking for something new to play with. While checking out the avocados I saw a huge display of nice, big poblano peppers. I hesitated for a moment and then thought "what the heck". The following night I put the chicken out to thaw. The hubs asked what I was making and when I said "Stuffed Poblanos" he got that look on his face. You know the one. That "oh no not that again" look. This dish was going to be an up hill battle from jump.

The first thing I knew I had to do was create a good marinade. After all, if the chicken isn't awesome the meal won't work. I pulled together some ingredients, hoped they would work and put the chicken in the fridge. An hour later it was time to cook. Now, it's not enough to just have chicken in the pepper. I needed layers. The thought of refined beans popped in my head. The problem is that all of these flavors were strong so I needed something sweet to balance it. The solution? Sauted sweet corn and onions. Did it all come together? Well the hubs said the chicken tasted like pork chops (which is apparently a big compliment from him) and he had 2 1/2 servings and finished the kids. So I think the next time he sees poblano peppers the "oh no" look will turn into a "heck yeah" look. :-)

A couple of notes: After stuffing the peppers, there was about 1/2 cup of the corn/onion mixture, 1/2 cup of refried beans and 8 ounces of chicken left. Because the meal had so little calories, we simply opened the pepper and made an additional serving on the other side (using the other skin). I'm sure some of you are wondering why I didn't just bake it that way to begin with. The truth is, this is where I messed up the first time. When you bake already cooked chicken for 15 minutes it can get overdone very quickly. However, when it is inside the pepper, the pepper absorbs the heat while basically just keeping the chicken warm. This was something I learned through true trial-and-error.