recipe: naked chicken chili rellenos

i needed something to do with leftover chicken from sunday's beer can chicken, and have been eyeing the stash of poblanos in the grocery store. so... chili rellenos it is... just a quicker version (weeknight), and a more naked version (no batter & frying... for calorie & timing's sake). i'm sure there is nothing authentic about this, but here's how it went down:

ingredients list (for 2):
- 1 shallot, diced (or 1/4 cup onion, whatever you have)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1/2 cup shredded chicken
- 1/3 package cream cheese (2.6 oz if you want to be technical)
- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, divided (i used the hot heat one)
- 1/8 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 oz of monteray jack cheese, cut into large chunks
- 1/3 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
- 2 tbsp bread crumbs
- salt & pepper to taste
- olive oil

to make: rub poblano peppers in olive oil, and broil for about 10-15 minutes, until skin begins to char. while poblanos are roasting, sautee shallot & garlic over medium low heat until it starts to brown, then remove from heat.

when poblanos are done cooking (and cooled enough to handle), preheat oven to 250 degrees, and then cut a small strip out of the top length of each pepper (the charred skins can be removed if preferred). carefully cut out the stem and seeds from inside, rinsing it under water if need to get out all the seeds & guts. mix together the shallot/garlic, chicken, cream cheese, 1/3 of the enchilada sauce, cilantro, and a touch of salt & pepper in a small bowl. stuff mixture into peppers, then add in the chunks of monteray jack cheese (i keep the chunks large so they melt down slowly).

pour 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into a small baking dish. add peppers do the dish, then top with the remaining enchilada sauce,
shredded mexican cheese, and bread crumbs. bake for 30 minutes until bubbly & toasty.
***
verdict: i had no anticipation for this since it was a relatively quick throw-together din,  but we really loved it. fried & battered rellenos would have been lovely, but i didn't really miss it. it was like having a giant jalapeno popper, which is a-OK by me. the peppers + hot enchilada saucy were spicy/spicy, so the mass amount of gooey cheese was peeerrrfect. there was enough to still ooze all over my rice which was an added bonus. 7 *******.