Southwest-Style Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I’ve been craving Mexican food something fierce lately. In the past few weeks, I’ve taken trips to Chipotle, Blockheads, Cascabel, Chipotle again — the combination of black beans and cumin and smoky chipotles and cheese and corn tortilla and my new found love for avocados has become something of an addiction for me. I’m not proud, as my penchant for adding margaritas to the mix means that my aforementioned diet plan is not going well. But I just can’t get enough.

So when trying to plan a meal with ground beef, I immediately thought tacos. But in an effort to be more creative, my thoughts turned to stuffed peppers. The most traditional versions involve mixing ground beef and rice in a tomato-y sauce, and stuffing bell peppers. (Clearly we don’t do traditional around here, since the only other time I’ve made stuffed peppers, they were very Mediterranean.)

I wasn’t in the mood to make rice, so I created a pseudo-chili filling instead. Black beans, corn, cumin, cheese — all the best parts of a burrito, stuffed inside a fiery pepper. I couldn’t scoop out the innards of two of the peppers cleanly, so I sliced those in half lengthwise, creating jumbo-sized jalapeño poppers. The best part of that situation? You get to top the popper-style peppers with cheese. Lots of cheese. Diet be damned, some days you just want to eat a ton of melty cheese.

While we didn’t do this, I guarantee that these stuffed poblano peppers would pair well with an ice cold Corona. Don’t take my word for it — just go try.

Southwest-Style Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Makes 8 peppers

– 8 poblano peppers

– 2 tablespoons olive oil

– 3 cloves garlic, minced

– 1 pound ground beef

– 1-1/2 tablespoons chili powder

– 2 tablespoons cumin

– 1-1/2 tablespoons cayenne pepper

– salt and pepper, to taste

– 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

– 1 15-ounce can corn kernels, drained and rinsed

– 1/4 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

1) Trim the tops off of the poblano peppers. If you’re making traditional stuffed peppers, pull out the seeds and membranes*, leaving hollowed-out cones. If you’re making popper-style peppers, slice these cones in half lengthwise. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the garlic and saute on medium until the garlic browns slightly. Add the beef and break the meat up into crumbles. When it has browned slightly, add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.

3) Let the meat cook for another 3-5 minutes, then add the beans and corn. Cook for 7-10 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings. Remove from the heat, then stir in the cheese. Scoop the filling into the peppers and top with additional cheese.

4) Bake the peppers for 15-20 minutes, turning them halfway. Serve with sour cream or avocado (or both).

*You may want to wear gloves for this. Or at least wash your hands thoroughly a million times before touching your eyes. Don’t be like me and rinse them slightly before removing your contacts. My eyes burned for almost two days.