If life gives you poblanos, make stuffed peppers for dinner
First off, let me say that I have nothing but heartfelt gratitude for all the hardworking grocery store workers and delivery service employees out there. Like many of you, I am trying to stay out of stores, and they have been a godsend. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So believe me when I say I am not complaining here, but anytime you send someone else out to pick up groceries for you, there's room for, let's just say, miscalculation.
Usually, it's a matter of a different brand or a bigger/smaller size than I envisioned.
This week, however, the whoops portion of my order was epic. Instead of the bag of tangerines I ordered, I received a pound of ground turkey. A bag of red-skinned potatoes arrived as a bag of poblano peppers.
Yikes, what to do?
I decided the culinary gods wanted me to make stuffed peppers and not the boring ones my mom made back in the day — you know, with nothing but meat, onions, rice and tomato sauce.
No, these would be spicy and with lots of cheese. I always have lots of cheese in the fridge.
I also decided to make two versions: one with the ground turkey and one vegetarian. I had a random red pepper in the fridge, so I stuffed that, too.
Basically, I sauteed a handful of chopped onions, added the turkey, and cooked that. I tossed in a can of black beans and one cup of medium salsa. I stuffed the poblanos and topped them with a mixture of cheese I had on hand (Colby, cheddar and pepper jack) that I shredded.
For the veggie ones, I took another can of black beans, added leftover rice from Chinese takeout, salsa and sauteed onions. I topped them with even more cheese than the first batch.
I baked them in a 350-degree oven covered with foil for 15 minutes (with no cheese). I uncovered them, added the cheese, and baked them for an additional 15 minutes.
The poblanos were a fantastic accident — way better than regular peppers — and this dish is making its way to my regular rotation. Here's the recipe using turkey, but, honestly, these are very forgiving and would be good with any number of variations.