Black Bean and Rice Stuffed Poblanos

Somehow the weather went straight from winter to summer, with spring being a few weeks of tornado-generating thunderstorms. After my exam on Thursday, I decided what would really make me happy would be to eat dinner out on our deck for the first time this season. And this meal fit the bill perfectly for the occasion.

It's a great light meal with a lot of flavor that is still filling. Joe helped me out in the kitchen by holding open the peppers for stuffing and putting together the salad. However, he neglected to remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno, so that was one HOT salad! I made a few changes and omissions based on what I did and didn't have in my kitchen, and Joe, who pretends he doesn't know anything about cooking, suggested I added a little cilantro to the salad next time and use lime juice instead of lemon. Little did he know that those things were actually in the original recipe!

This really came together pretty quickly for such a nice meal. I had dinner on the table within an hour without anything being prepped beforehand. We had quite a bit of stuffing leftover, but Joe quickly claimed the two leftover pepper halves and the stuffing to have with some tortillas and salsa while on-call at the hospital. He rarely likes leftovers, so this must've been a hit!

Black Bean and Rice Stuffed Poblanos with Creamy Corn and Avocado Salad
source: Ashlee's A Year in the Kitchen

Ingredients
Poblanos:

4 poblanos, 3 sliced lengthwise and gutted, 1 diced

3/4 red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used a 10 oz can of Ro-Tel)

1 c. chicken stock (I used veggie stock)

1 c. quick cooking rice

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

Dash of hot sauce

Salt and pepper

1 can black beans, drained (I used 2 cups of soaked and cooked dry beans.)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Corn Salad:

1 c. frozen corn kernels, defrosted but cold

1 avocado, diced

1/4 red onion, minced

1 tbsp. minced cilantro (I omitted)

1/4 jalapeno, minced

Juice of 1 lime (I used lemon juice.)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Place 3 of the peppers in a baking dish, put in the oven while you prepare rice.

In a pot over medium heat, add 1 tbsp. EVOO, red onion, garlic, 1 diced poblano, salt and pepper. Saute vegetables for a few minutes, until slightly softened.

Add tomatoes, stock, spices, and bring to a boil.

Add rice, stir, bring back to a boil, cover, turn to low and simmer 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked.

Stir in black beans.

Take poblanos out of the oven, spoon beans and rice mixture into pepper cups, top with cheddar cheese, place back in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and peppers are soft.

To make corn salad:
Add corn, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, salt and pepper to a bowl. Mix well.

Add avocado, gently fold in avocado, do not break it up too much.

Keep chilled until serving.