First Frost Friday Night Bite

Alas, the growing season has passed us by...so the older sweet pea and I pulled all of our remaining vegetables yesterday afternoon.
I was glad we did, for when we woke up, the roof over our porch was frosty and white.

We grew poblano peppers this summer and we have quite a few left over to use tonight. This recipe is like many of mine--easily adapted to suit any taste. We do ours with poblanos since we all love peppers. But if you or your kids don't like spicy food, you can easily omit them. Like most many Tex Mex recipes, this one uses lots of "hidden" vegetables.

A bonus: if your kid is not so sure of this meal, the chips on top should help convince them to try a "no thank you" bite!

Poblano Chicken
4-5 poblano chili peppers
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes (or use canned chicken if you are under a time crunch)
1 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15oz can beans (we use black, but can use chili, kidney or white)
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1/4-1/2 cup salsa
3 T minced cilantro
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t oregano
1 c baked tortilla chips, crushed

First, slice poblanos in half, seed and place skin side up under a broiler for about 10 minutes. Once skin is blackened, wrap in foil, seal and let sit for 15 minutes. Peel and place in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Turn oven to 375 degrees. Mix all remaining ingredients except for chips in a large bowl. Layer the chicken mixture over the poblanos, top with crushed chips. Lightly spray chips with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles.

When serving, if you don't like spicy food, leave the poblanos in the pan for someone who does!