Stuffed Pablano Peppers (Cheap Meal)

Yeah! We get to collect our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) starting today. To celebrate, I am giving you a great recipe that is made cheap with cabinet staples and local produce.

Chiles Rellenos Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray

The only stuffed pepper recipe I made was my mother's, which is stuffed with habaneros, meat and goat cheese. It is very rich and set-your-mouth-on-fire. So this "lighter" version was a pleasant surprise.

Stuffed Pablano Peppers

4 pablano peppers

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 pint button mushrooms, sliced

1 can roasted tomatoes, drained

1 box prepared rice e.g. wild rice, Mexican rice or dirty rice

3 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded

salt/pepper

1 can refried beans or homemade beans

Prepare rice according to package instructions. Set oven to broil. Spray each side of the peppers with oil. Broil peppers 10 minutes and turning after 5 minutes. Be careful not to leave the kitchen while peppers are broiling. The skin should be slightly charred and blistered. Let peppers cool completely. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

Heat a non-stick, large frying pan on medium. Add garlic and chopped onion. You may not have to add any oil depending on the quality of your pan. If needed, add no more than one tsp oil. Once onion has browned, add mushrooms. Once mushrooms have sautéed, add canned tomatoes. I used Hunt's roasted tomatoes and you can really tell they're roasted. Using canned items also helps to keep this dish cheap and convenient. Once the rice is done, stir in adequate amount of rice to pan.

The original recipe does not include rice, but I felt rice was a good way to make the meal more filling and stuff the peppers full. A healthy option was Uncle Ben's wild rice. However, the last time I made these I used a dirty rice mix, sans meat, and it was delicious! Zatarain's actually has a fat free dirt rice, but the salt content is outrageous. Be sure to check your rice nutrition list to alter your salt or fat additions. You also don't need to use the entire box of rice; I used about 3/4 of a prepared box. Have a good mixture of vegetables and rice, and likely you will have leftover stuffing for breakfast burritos or some other dish.

Stir in shredded cheese until mixture is warm and cheese melts. This is a great recipe if you are needing to use that little bit of cheese sitting in your fridge. You don't necessarily need to use the pepper jack since the peppers are hot as they are. So any type of Mexican cheese mix will do. The last time I made these I definitely went overboard with the cheese and it is truly not as appetizing, so be sparing.

The one pain in the boot about this recipe is the stuffing. You want to lightly cut the pepper so that you don't cut all the way through like I did with two of them. Make sure the peppers are cool so that you don't tear them as easily and you don't scold yourself. Getting the seeds out was definitely the most difficult part. I don't have much of a suggestion: cut the "bulb" of the seeds and get as many out as you can. I did a poor job of removing the seeds. I didn't think it would make much of a difference with so much stuffing and rice. But they lit me up! And I am pretty good with hot stuff. When stuffing, hold the pepper in your palm and spoon stuffing into one side and try to open the other side and fold over. The more you get in the pepper, the easier it gets.

And you definitely want to make the beans as a side dish. It made a huge difference to the combination of peppers, vegetables, and rice. And it's a good source of protein for this dish. You can buy canned refried beans (makes a cheaper meal if you do), but of course it is always better to make them yourself. If using canned, I add the beans to a small sauce pan and stir in vegetable broth over low heat. You want the beans creamy when you top your hot peppers.

Refried Beans

1 can pinto beans

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

1.5 tbsp olive oil, separated

1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1 shallot, chopped (or 1/4 red onion)

cumin

chili powder

salt/pepper

Rinse beans and add to small pot of boiling water. Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until beans are soft. You can add a cube of chicken broth or beef broth if you are okay with that, just to add some more flavor. Meanwhile, sauté onion and pepper in garlic and 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Season with cumin and chili powder. Drain beans, reserving some liquid. Process beans in food processor. Slowly pour in remaining tbsp oil. Add pepper/onion and process; add some reserved liquid if mixture becomes too thick. Season with coarse salt and pepper.

We got all our vegetables from the farmer's market and had the canned goods already at home. This can be a very cheap meal if you stock up on canned goods when they go on sale at your grocer. This was a big hit in my house, so I hope you enjoy.