Poblanos Get Stuffed

I am a thief. I admit it. I stole from another chef. It wasn't intentional, I swear. It just sort of happened.... One day a friend of mine called and said "I saw this great recipe on Rachael Ray's Show. I think you should try it but I think we can make it better and do it on the grill." And that is how it all started. I must confess something else as well: We did improve it! This is some good stuff! Sorry Rachael! Ours is better but thanks for the inspiration! So here is the end result from Rachael Radonna and KB.

Ingredients:

6-8 medium poblano peppers

2lbs ground chicken

1 bag of Knorrs/Lipton Fiesta Sides Spanish Rice

1 15 can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 handful of fresh cilantro finely chopped

4-5 scallions roughly chopped

2 jalapenos finely chopped

1-2 cups of grated cheese (½ Jack and ½ Cheddar: I am all about cheese so I go for two cups!)

Salt

Ground pepper

Grill accessory needed: vegetable basket. I use a non stick version but lightly coat the basket with a vegetable or olive oil spray just in case.

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

2 tbsp of butter

2 tbsp of chopped onions

¼ cup of Milk

 8oz. of Velveeta cheese sliced into ½ inch slices-you can use the Mexican style Velveeta

1 cup of sour cream

Set up your charcoal grill for indirect cooking by placing charcoal on each side of the grill with a drip pan in between. You don't really need a drip pan but it helps the charcoal from sliding into the middle. Light your charcoal and wait 20-30 minutes before the cooking begins. If you are using a gas grill, turn off your middle burner.

The Cheese sauce is so cheesy and creamy. It really complimented this dish so well.  All the credit for the sauce goes to KB. Mine got big thumbs down! Prepare it while your peppers are on the grill. In a sauce pan melt the butter low heat,   add the onions and sauté them lightly. Pour in the milk and heat thoroughly. Add the sliced Velveeta cheese stirring frequently until melted. Next, add the sour cream, stirring until the cheese has blended in and heated. Keep on low heat until ready to serve.

Prepare peppers by laying them on their sides and taking off a thin slice on one of the sides. Chop that up to add to the stuffing. Remove seeds with a small spoon or your fingers. Set aside peppers for stuffing.

The stuffing: to a large bowl add the chopped pieces of poblano peppers, chicken, rice, cilantro, tomatoes, scallions, jalapenos, and cheese. With your hands or spoon, stuff the peppers with the stuffing. Make sure you stuff every nook and cranny with the stuff and if there is extra pile it on top! You don't want any of that to go to waste! Place each pepper in the vegetable basket and cover the peppers with aluminum foil. Place the peppers in the vegetable basket over the drip pan and cook for 45-50 minutes. With 5 minutes remaining, remove the aluminum foil and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. If you are a cheese hound like me, sprinkle some grated cheese on top in the last few minutes. I was so impressed with how these turned out I allowed no eating until I took a picture! 

Serve with your favorite condiments. I had provided several different salsas, red and green, Sour cream and of course the cheese sauce.  Enjoy and please provide feedback, your own twists and recipes!

Good Grillin & Chillin!  Until Next Time………..