Monday, November 3, 2014

Stuffed Peppers (Chicken Santa Fe)

The following makes 4 peppers. I did a variation, half were with rice (the right pepper in the picture), the other two were without rice (the left in the picture). These can be a beautiful appetizer to your meal or the Entree itself.






INGREDIENTS:
1. 4 chicken boneless thighs (I manually grinded these in my food processor, keep an eye on it) 
2. 1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
3. 4 tbsp tomato paste 
4. 4 large green bellpeppers (you want to look for bellpeppers thst are wider, so you have something to stuff) 
5. 1 tbsp oil
Spices used:
6. 1 tsp salt
7. 1 tbsp ground cumin 
8. 1 tbsp red chili powder
9. 1 tbsp garam masala
10. 1/2 tbsp red chili flakes (crushed pepper)
Optional:
11. 1/2 can of black beans
12. 1/2 cup of whole kernel corn 
13. shredded cheese (I used colby jack)

DIRECTIONS:
Begin with 1 tbsp oil and warm that in a pot. When the oil is hot, add the ginger/garlic paste and sautee it a little. Add the ground chicken and the spices and mix it up. Cook this for approximately 15 minutes on medium high heat. This is to ensure the chicken doesn't let out too much water.
As the chicken cooks, boil water in a pot to prep the bellpeppers. (Cut the top 1 inch of the bellpepper and take out the middle core with seeds) As the water comes to a boil, you will put in the peppers for 5 minutes. When they're done, take them out and set them aside.
When the chicken is done, add the beans, corn, tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the temperature to medium heat. Let this cook until the water had dried and the beans and corn are tender. *NOTE: in order for the water to dry, leave the lid off of the pot during this process. (It takes about 15-30 minutes, depending on the corn, I used frozen corn that was thawed) Remember, you don't have to add in the black beans or corn. If you don't add them, just add the tomato paste and no water and cook on medium heat 5 minutes.
If you want to add rice, you can add it either to the pot entirely and mix it in, or in separate bowl.  Just make sure to mix the meat and rice well.
Stuff the peppers with your mixture, with or without rice. And sprinkle with cheese and a little crushed red pepper flakes. Broil the bellpeppers for approximately 5 minutes or until your cheese melts and begins to turn golden.

Enjoy this recipe of stuffed peppers and please include pictures and comments of your versions of this item.

No comments:

Post a Comment