Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Shrimp and Chorizo

Chef FAIL! I must begin this blog with a preamble that I forgot to take a photo of the dish in its proper, plated setting. Rather, this is a picture of the leftovers, on a paper plate. HA! But it's just as delicious!

I've also begun to notice a bit of a trend on my blog subjects ... foods that are spicy, savory and likely containing some sort of seafood. (ha ha ha!) I suppose that means that I enjoy the warmth of the spice, the "comfort food" aspect of the savory and ..... well .... sorry. I can't explain the seafood part. Exotic, maybe? Perhaps an interior desire to go "vegetarian" or drag out "Catholic Fridays" throughout the whole year. (aka ... the abstention from meat on Fridays during the season of Lent).

Nonetheless, this meal, I suppose, is no different. It comes from "Latin Flavors/Sabór Latino", a cookbook I ordered from Pampered Chef. I decided that our first home-cooked meal should be from a new cookbook, and be among my husband's favorite food genre ... Mexican food. This meal (as usual) was easy to make but it is helpful to use a "Sous Chef" or perhaps even a food processor to do some of the chopping for you to save a little time.

I began by washing 6 poblano peppers (the ones they make Chile Rellenos out of in the restaurants) and sliced down the center of one side to split each pepper. I then steamed them in the microwave with a little water for about 8-9 minutes, until they were a crunchy-tender.

Meanwhile, I began to cook 3 oz of Beef Chorizo and about 1 1/2 c of frozen corn. (The recipe calls for the corn to be freshly shucked off of 2 ears of corn .... ha ha ha ... frozen is just fine) over medium high heat. While that was cooking, I started dicing 1 small red onion, 1/2 cup of cilantro and 1 red bell pepper. The recipe also calls for 12oz. of uncooked shrimp. NOTE: I used cooked, tail on shrimp .... BUT to save even more time (and a little $$ too) use 12 oz. of bay shrimp. It will save both the cooking of the shrimp and the chopping of it.

Once the chorizo and corn had been properly cooked and heated through, I added the onion, red pepper, cilantro and shrimp. Heat through. Have 2 cups of cheese ready. The recipe called for "Chihuahua" cheese ... never heard of it, didn't find it. I use Queso Fresco, similar to Feta Cheese in consistency. But even a nice, low-fat Monterey Jack would be great!

Open the peppers and place in the stuffing mixture (corn, chorizo, bell pepper, onion, shrimp and cilantro) and stuff a little of the cheese in each pepper as well. Microwave it for at least one more minute, or until the cheese has completely melted.

These stuffed peppers definitely fit my blogging trend. Spicy (but not too HOT), Savory and Seafood. The flavors are kind of Tex-Mex, but in a good way. You get just enough zing from the chorizo to taste it, but there's not so much that it's greasy. The corn gets slightly toasted when it's cooked and the peppers and onions top it off and compliment the freshness of the cilantro. The cheese speaks for itself ... it hold the whole thing together.

Each pepper is about 320 calories, but they are filling for their size ... that's a good thing. However, if you're so inclined, serve this up with a small side salad, a small helping of black beans or even a little rice to accompany the delicious dish.