Thought I’d post my chicken version of a chile rellenos casserole now. I just layer the common chile rellenos ingredients into a casserole dish and bake. Doesn’t get much easier. It comes out just as delicious every time, plus so much simpler than stuffing the peppers. Another plus…….deep frying! Tastes almost exactly the same as the real deal, but it’s much less trouble for the cook. Of course, to serve this to company, I would go to the trouble to stuff the peppers and deep fry for authentic presentation. This Atkins Induction-friendly recipe garnished millions of fans on Facebook when I was posting there regularly for the Low Carbing Friends team. It deserves to be in my Mexican celebration of great great Mexican dishes. This one is suitable for all ketogenic diets and Primal diners but is not suitable for Paleo followers.
INGREDIENTS:
3 poblano peppers (2-2.5 oz. each)
12 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 T. olive oil
2 oz. onion, sliced
½ tsp. dried guajillo chile, seeded, chopped fine (optional)
¼ tsp. dried ancho chile powder (optional)
¼ tsp. chili powder (use ½ tsp. if guajillo & ancho are unavailable)
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 oil in non-stick skillet. Sauté onion until tender. Add chicken and sauté until meat is no longer pink. 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 3 individual casserole dishes (or use one larger casserole dish if you prefer). Top the peppers in each serving dish with 1 spoon of the chicken filling. Spread 1/3 of the cheese over the chicken filling in each dish. Place the remaining chicken filling evenly in the dish(es). Top with the remaining cheese. Pop 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).
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:
547 cals, 35g fat, 07.7g carbs, 2.23g fiber, 5.47g NET CARBS, 47.7g protein, 620 mg sodium