feelin' hot hot hot.

So, way back when, in 2004, my sister and I went to China to visit some family. It's funny how the title of this post took me straight to my brother's living room with my niece and nephews dancing in their pj's to the Eddie Bauer Summer Edition CD that we picked up at the store in oh, say, 2000. Yeah, that's about right. So, we're all dancin' and acting silly and the kids LOVED that CD fro some reason. So much so that when Maren and I left, we left the CD for the kids. How could we not? They're so precious dancing and singing without a care in the world. Anyway, one of the songs on the CD is "feelin' hot hot hot". I'm not sure if that's the title, but I know it's about 80% of the lyrics, so we'll go with it. Boston, our oldest nephew, was 4 1/2 at the time and he kept singing (SUPER LOUDLY) "feewin' hot hot hoot...ree hot ree hot!" One of THE cutest and most precious memories EVER. And yes, when he gets married, I'll be sharing that story about him dancing in pj's singing at the top of his lungs to that crazy song. You'll have to forgive me. Sometimes I forget this is a cooking blog! Right...cooking! So, the other night, oh man, I think it was last Monday, Matt and I went to the grocery store together and were having the discussion of what to have for dinner that night. It's so funny how much in sync you are when we both looked at each other and said "how about stuffed peppers?!" It wouldn't be so much of a surprise if that's something we whipped up often in the Hargrove Casa, but, I can honestly say, we've never done that. We both looked at each other and it went something like this "WHAT?! NO WAY...I JUST SAID THAT TOO. WHOA!" Crazy. So, stuffed peppers it would be that night! Here's what we had...

Meg's Stuffed Poblano Pepper with Black Beans and Rice

*NOTE TO SELF: Start taking pictures of the dinners before they're eaten!
We typically eat dinner RIGHT after we workout, so, we're crazy hungry and it's like we can't get it from the stove to the plate to the table fast enough!

What you'll need:

~2 Large poblano peppers, top and seeds removed
~1 Lb. 93/7 lean ground turkey
~Cooking spray
~2 Tsp. Olive oil
~1/2 C. Mexican mixed shredded cheese, divided
~1 Can black beans
~1 Bag brown rice, cooked according to directions
~1/4 C. bread crumbs (we used roasted garlic...HOLLA!)
~1 Fresh jalapeno, chopped
~Cilantro for topping
~1 Avocado, sliced, for topping
~1 Tsp. black pepper
~1/4 Red onion, chopped

What to do:

~Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
~Place seeded poblanos onto greased baking sheet and brush all sides of peppers 1/2 Tsp. olive oil
~Bake for 30 mins, then turn and reduce heat to 375 degrees for 25 mins, and remove from oven
~Place oven on high broil (500 degrees)
~Place remaining oil, jalapeno and red onion into heated skillet and saute until onion and jalapeno become soft
~Add ground turkey and seasonings and cook turkey all the way through
~Add ingredients from skillet to bread crumbs and 1/4 C. cheese in medium size mixing bowl and toss until mixture comes together. Add more cheese if you need
~Take a spoon and slide it down the middle of each pepper but make sure not to go through the bottom side
~Spoon turkey mixture into peppers (you'll probably have some mix leftover)
~Place the remaining cheese on top of the peppers and broil until cheese is bubbly
~Top with cilantro and avocado
~Heath the black beans in the microwave for 30 seconds and spoon on top of each serving of brown rice and top with cilantro

There ya have it! That's it!
Direct quote from Matt "I want to eat this every day for the rest of my life."

I think that sums it up! ENJOY!