Photo by Josie Fox Photography

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have some (ok, several!) unhealthy, guilty pleasures when it comes to food.  I am admitting that one of them is a good chili relleno.  I’m not sure where that comes from because the description of such sounds disgusting to me (pepper stuffed with fattening cheese, then battered, then deep fried – ugh), but I adore the taste!  You can imagine the joy and excitement when I just happened to be watching the Food Network a few years ago and saw Miss Rachel Ray throw this recipe down.  I might have gone out and bought the ingredients for the recipe that very day!  This is a 5-star recipe that Beau & I have been in love with since the first time I made it.  The roasted veggies, combined with flavorful spices give this a slight smokey taste that is mouth-watering.  The way the veggies, ground turkey, and pepper come together is like a modern Mexican dish that is bursting with flavors!  As you probably guessed, being a Rachel Ray recipe, it pulls together quickly (30 minutes or less).  Oh, and these make great leftovers.  I always make the entire batch of 4 peppers so that Beau & I can each enjoy one for lunch the next day.  YUM! (Thanks again to the talented Josie Fox for the photos in this post!)

Photo by Josie Fox Photography

Roasted & Stuffed Chili Rellanos
Recipe Adapted from Rachel Ray

4 large poblano peppers
1 lb. ground turkey
3 ears corn on the cob or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 tablespoons canola
1 red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained well
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, eyeball it in your palm
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup part-skim Mozzarella cheese

Preheat broiler or grill pan to high.

Place poblanos under broiler or on hot grill and char evenly all over, 15 minutes.

While peppers are working, heat skillet over medium heat.  Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and tent with foil.

Next Step - Adding the veggies to the pan. Don't they look so pretty?

Scrape the corn off the cobs or defrost frozen corn and dry by spreading out on clean kitchen towel. Heat 2 tablespoons light oil in the skillet over high heat. When the oil smokes or ripples add corn, onion, jalapenos and toss until the vegetables char at edges and onions are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high and add in garlic, fire roasted tomatoes and season with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook another minute or 2 then add turkey back to pan.  Mix to combine then turn pan off.

Sprinkle the lime juice over the corn/turkey mixture.

Split the charred peppers open but not in half with small sharp knife then scoop out the seeds with a small spoon. Place peppers in a shallow baking dish and stuff each split pepper with lots of the corn/turkey mix, top each pepper with 1/8 cup cheese (or 2 Tablespoons) and place back under broiler to melt and char the cheese.

Serves 4.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving = 1 Stuffed Pepper)
Calories:  310
Protein:  32.8g
Carbs:  25.8
Fat:  8g (2.6g = Sat.)
Fiber:  3.5g
Sugars:  7.5g