Meatless (and Mexican) Mondays

I am a meat eater, but I mostly eat vegetarian--mainly because it's cheaper and tends to be easier to do so as a cook (i.e., it's a lot easier to mess up a piece of meat than a pot of pasta). Nowadays though, I try to make it a point to be meat free on Mondays--mainly for health reasons, but also for budget purposes. So I've been experimenting with more exciting vegetarian meals, and though I'm not a fan of green bell peppers (and they don't like me, either), I've always found that when a poblano is cooked, the flavor is mild and tasty. So last week I picked up some poblanos, which I decided to grill and stuff with beans, rice and corn.

Grilled and Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Ingredients
4 Poblano peppers
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup of black beans (I used refried)
1/4 cup of sweet corn kernels (canned or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
a few grape tomatoes sliced (for garnish)
Oil for grill pan

Serves 4

I cut each of the poblano peppers in half (lengthwise), removed the seeds and washed them. Then I popped them onto a lightly oil grill pan. I left them on the pan (on a medium flame) until they had some nice grill marks and were softened.

In the meantime I made the "stuffing" by combining the rice, corn, beans and all the seasonings (chopped cilantro through garlic powder) so that everything seemed well mixed.

Once the peppers were ready, I let them cool for a few minutes and then stuffed each with about a half cup of the filling and placed them in a roasting pan. Then I sprinkled the cheese on top of each and garnished with slices of grape tomatoes.

I popped the peppers in the oven for approximately 35 minutes on 350° just so the peppers would be nicely warmed through and until the cheese was melted well (see top photo).

I decided to use a jarred mole sauce to top the peppers, but the sauce itself, which isn't bad, seemed like it needed something extra, so I doctored it up with some  raisins and smoked paprika. Any tasty Mexican sauce (salsa verde, enchilada sauce, etc.) would probably go well with these, but I did enjoy the rich flavor of the mole.

I served the peppers with chopped romaine lettuce and pea shoots and the mole sauce, and it was a lovely meal. I definitely think I'll add this into my rotation. I've even considered adding chopped spinach to the stuffing, just for a little more greens.