Fleur de Lolly: Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Overstuffed Poblanos

For years, my friends and family have loved my Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. I recently visited to a farmer's market and scored some beautiful poblano peppers. I immediately knew I wanted to char them and then stuff them with the enchilada filling. The experiment worked great! These are delicious. You don't have to overstuff your poblanos as I did. I had plenty of filling with the following recipe to overstuff 3 large poblano peppers. For a normal filling in a stuffed pepper, this recipe would have been an ample amount for 6 - 8 peppers.

We'll start with the peppers. You need to char the peppers to remove the outer skin. This allows the peppers to be tender when you're ready to eat! If you don't have access to a grill, you can char the skin over a flame on a gas stove. But you'll need long tongs and be very diligent!

I used the gas grill. I brushed the peppers with olive oil and placed them on HOT grates on the grill. I turned the peppers ever so often until the skin is completely charred.

I then placed them on a small baking sheet and covered them with plastic film for about 30 minutes. This caused the peppers to sweat and it was an easy task to remove the charred skin.

Make a small slit lengthwise down the pepper (don't cut all the way through!) and carefully remove the seeds and membranes. Discard. Set the peppers aside while you make the filling.

3 - 4 cups cooked, shredded white meat chicken

1/3 cup water

2 - 3 T. taco seasoning

1 t. ground cumin

8 oz. cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces

1 small can (4.5 oz.) diced chiles

1 small can green enchilada sauce, divided

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a casserole dish (size will depend on how many peppers you're using) with non-stick spray. Spoon in 2 -3 T. of the enchilada sauce and spread it to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Place the prepeared peppers into the dish.

Place the chicken, water, taco seasoning, and cumin in a large skillet over medium heat. Let cook, stirring frequently, for 4 - 5 minutes. Add in the cream cheese and stir to allow it to melt and combine with the seasoned chicken.

Stir in the diced chiles and 3/4 of the remaining enchilada sauce and let cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.

Now it's time to stuff the peppers! Very gently spoon the filling into the peppers in equal portions. Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the stuffed peppers and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake for 22 - 25 minutes until the peppers are hot and the cheese is browned and bubbly.

Top with the chopped cilantro and serve immediately.