Ready to party poblanos.

Editor's Note: Please enjoy what is hopefully the first of many guest blog posts! Following is the inaugural guest post from Rachel, who you've seen many a mention of in this space over the years. Enjoy, friends! (Because I love her, I'm even going to leave her imported font in place. Definitely not because I can't figure out how to change it! Wink.)

In honor of Halloween month, I’m putting on my Stephanie costume and blogging!

Nice bloggy! Good bloggy!

A bit of background: I’m a lazy curmudgeon who could eat the same thing every day, namely: rice. That said, I have taken to random fits of cooking and recently made stuffed poblanos. A nearby friend harvested a bunch, another friend was coming over and the lovely peppers sat on our counter, calling “Hola! We are delicious and green! Cook and ingest with vigor!”

I don’t like being told what to do, so recipes are suggestions to me. I mostly just need help with cooking times/temps, so there’s not much to officially follow. I knew I needed cream cheese and regular cheese with which to stuff, but then I took a wild ride at the store and came up with this, which I’ll call Ready to Party Stuffed Poblanos (makes about six of various sizes, I guess). 

First, I grabbed two regular size tubs of onion and chive cream cheese. While perusing this glorious section, I saw these newfangled Kraft thingies for rolling meat in. 

I needed bread crumbs and cheese, so into the basket it went. Take that, meat! We don’t need ya (World Vegetarian Day is October 1, people! I’m ignoring rennet, though.). Editor's Note: TODAY is October 1. Which makes today World Vegetarian Day! GO VEGGIES! WOOP WOOP!

Once you’re home, wondering if it really will be as delicious as you think, spread out the dairy bonanza and get to work. Right after you put the oven on 425, chop off the heads of the peppers (and cackle maniacally!). Get rid of the stem, but keep what you can of the pepper top and ditch the seeds. Chop up the tops and mix in with the cream cheese, bread crumbs (not all, though, save some for later), cheese and about three healthy shakes of chili powder. I used a hand mixer so things didn’t get too smoooooooth.

Next up, jam those suckers full and wedge them into a baking dish (Pyrex shout out!). Lastly, mix up a little olive oil and the remaining bread crumbs and spread lavishly about your peppers-in-waiting (you could use one of those fancy food brushes, but I just slopped it on with a spoon). Also, make sure everyone is upright and tucked in the dish. You don’t want your peppers barfing out filling onto the oven and making a mess.

When they look like this...

...lovingly check your alcohol-to-balance ratio as I am wont to do when drinking and cooking and use your expert skills to get it in the stove without incident.  I had to include this before shot mostly for that Pyrex pattern because, like Steph, I am a Pyrex Pyrate. Arrrr.

Let everything mingle for about 40 minutes and then olé! You have a chair-wetting, profanity-worthy appetizer --

Holy sh*t, enjoy yourselves! Mmmm.

Thanks for letting me blather on, Step on me. XOXO

Editor's Note: Thank YOU, miss Rachel, for sharing your story with us. And for embracing the kick ass cook that has been hiding inside of you! It's all about finding your own groove and doing what you love and how you love to do it - on your own damn terms! Keep it up. girlfriend! PS Please come make this for me. ASAP.