Perfectly Stuffed Poblano Peppers

For the stuffing:
Prepare rice according to package instructions. While the rice is cooking (it takes about 45 minutes) heat a skillet over medium heat with the oil. Add the onions and mushrooms, season with the fajita seasoning, and saute until they are nice and soft. Then remove the pan from the heat and let rest.

Grill the corn. I like to rub it with just a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and fajita seasoning and place on a hot grill. Turn occasionally until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. You could probably use canned, but I like the grilled taste. Once it’s done, remove it from the heat and when it’s cooled cut the kernels off.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

When the rice is done, just add all the stuffing ingredients into the rice pot and stir. Taste and adjust seasonings to make it spicier if you like. The seasoning amounts are approximate—just add and taste until you’re happy.

I recommend that you use gloves for this part. Cut the poblano peppers lengthwise up the middle in a way that they can sit without tipping over. Remove seeds. Spread them apart a bit so you can stuff them.

Gently spoon in the stuffing. Arrange peppers in an oven-proof dish so they sort of hold each other up. Add about 1/4 cup water to bottom of pan, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

While it’s cooking, make the sauce. Put tomato juice in a small bowl and gradually taste and add the other ingredients. It’s important to taste as you do this so it’s not too hot or spicy for your taste.

After 20 minutes, add 1/2 of the sauce to the bottom of the pan and spoon a little on top of each pepper. Cover the pan again and cook for 15 minutes or until peppers are almost tender.

Remove foil and add remaining sauce and cheese to the top of each pepper and cook for 10 minutes until cheese melts. At the end I turned on the broiler and cooked it for a couple of minutes to get a nice color.

I know this may sound hard, but it really wasn’t. Just trust your taste buds to have it come out great.