Poblanos Stuffed with Ground Turkey and Pepperjack Cheese

 

I love to stuff peppers.  In going back through the blog posts, I've found posts for stuffed with rice, shrimp, veggies, but for this recipe, I chose ground turkey and pepperjack cheese.

The first step for this recipe is to wash the poblanos. For this recipe, using 1 pound of ground turkey, I used 6 poblanos. Blistering the outer skin on the peppers makes them more tender. You can either use tongs and hold the peppers over a gas flame on your stovetop or with a kitchen torch. But the afternoon was nice and I wanted an excuse to be outside for a bit, so I went the gas grill route.

After washing and drying, the peppers, I normally brush with olive oil.  But today I had the bright idea to spray them lightly with olive oil spray.  Same effect, less mess!

Put the peppers on the grill grates and turn up the heat! Use long tongs to keep turning them over and over until the skin blisters and darkens. 

When all the peppers have blackened, remove to a rimmed baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap immediately. Let them rest on the baking sheet for 10 - 15 minutes. When the peppers are cool enough to handle easily, carefully peel off the outer layer and discard.

While the peppers are cooling, make the filling using the following:

1 lb. ground turkey

2 - 3 T. fajita seasoning

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

I used this delicious and creamy pepperjack cheese.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown the ground turkey, seasoning with the fajita seasoning.  When the turkey is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese.

Let the filling cool while you prep the peppers.  Very carefully, using a sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise in the pepper removing the seeds if you'd like less heat in the pepper.  Repeat with remaining peppers.

Spray a shallow baking dish with nonstick spray.  Spread a thin layer of salsa in the bottom of the baking dish.  Here's the brand I used.

Place the prepared peppers in the baking dish.  Carefully spoon the filling into the peppers dividing the filling equally among the peppers.

Now comes the yummy part.  Grate however much more pepperjack cheese you'd like and pile it on top of those peppers!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Place peppers in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the peppers are hot through and the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serve immediately with sour cream for topping if you'd like.  I served these with Mexican rice and refried beans.