I just love chile rellenos, but I don’t like all the fuss of actually stuffing the poblano peppers. Lazy me, what can I say. So I just make the popular dish up in a layered casserole. Tastes exactly the same, but it’s much less trouble to put together. Shown above with a serving of black soy beans (not regular black beans which are higher in carbs) and guacamole salad. This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and Primal diners who eat cheese can also enjoy this dish. It would not be suitable for Paleo followers.
INGREDIENTS:
3 poblano peppers (2-2.5 oz. each)
12 oz. lean ground beef
2 oz. onion, sliced
½ tsp. dried guajillo or ancho chile, seeded & chopped (optional, but both very mild in heat)
¼ tsp. chili powder (½ tsp. if guajillo & ancho chiles above are not available)
¼ tsp. garlic powder
3/4 c. Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, solids only (mild)
¼ c. cilantro, chopped
6 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 450º. Roasting your peppers will make them milder and sweeter, so don’t bypass this step. Cut tops off poblano peppers and remove seed cluster. Cut in halves, lay the halves on a non-stick baking sheet and roast in 450º oven for about 15-20 minutes, turning once during roasting. Remove and cool. Lower oven to 350º. Peel tough skin gently off the peppers.
While they are roasting, heat ground beef in non-stick skillet over high heat. When meat is no longer pink, add onion and sauté until tender. Add all remaining ingredients except the cheese. Simmer 3-4 minutes for flavors to meld together. Lay the skinned poblano pepper pieces in the bottom of 4 individual casserole dishes or one larger casserole dish if you prefer. For the next layer, spoon half of the beef mixture equally amongst the 4 dishes. Spread half of the cheese equally over the tops of the 4 servings. Next, place the remaining beef filling equally in the 4 dishes. Finally top each equally with the remaining cheese. Pop them into a 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted. Serve at once with a nice guacamole salad (and if you are in Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance, this is nice with a ½ c. of heated refried beans).
VARIATION: If your are at goal weight and you can afford the extra carbs, a thin layer of refried black soy beans is delicious on this (I usually start out with the bean layer, or you can dot them on top before adding the final cheese).
NUTRITIONAL INFO: REcipe makes 4 servings, each contains:
412 calories, 27.7 g fat, 6.72 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 4.72 g NET CARBS, 32.6 g protein, 897 mg sodium
(adding ½ c. mashed soy black bean layer increases carbs to 10.7 g, fiber 5.5 g, net carbs 5.22 g).