Meaty Stuffed Poblanos

Sometimes we just need a little spice in our lives. Am I right? I make several different types of stuffed poblanos; this is the meat version and has received the stamp of guy approval. Who am I kidding though. This is my favorite version as well!

This dish is spicy. Seriously. So you may want to have a glass of milk around in case smoke starts blowing out of your ears. I may be living in Nebraska right now but don't think this native Texan is foolin'...

Meaty Stuffed Poblanos
servings: 3, serving size: 1 stuffed pepper
calories: 303, fat: 12.6g, carbohydrates: 8.3g, fiber: 0.8g, protein: 29.9g

Ingredients:
3 poblano peppers
8 oz 90% lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium tomato
1/2 c white onion
1/2 t cayenne (also called red chili pepper)
1 jalapeno
2 T salsa (medium or hot depending on your taste buds)
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
*optional: fontina or Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet saute the garlic and onion until the onion becomes translucent. Add in the ground beef and cook until well done.

While the beef is cooking, coursely chop the tomato and put it in the blender along with the cayenne, salt and pepper. Set tomato mixture aside. Finely chop the jalapeno and set aside. Cut each poblano and remove the membrane and seeds. If you enjoy a little more zip then you will want to leave some of the membrane since this is where the spiciness is in peppers. My vote is to leave some membrane. Be adventurous. (Ha, no peer pressure here!)

Add tomato mixture and jalapeno to skillet once beef is fully cooked. Allow to heat up for 5 minutes. Fill poblanos with mixture. I chose to add a sprinkle of fontina cheese (I'm trying to get it out of the fridge before it goes bad) but I don't usually do this.

Bake for 30 minutes or until pepper is tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then serve. Enjoy!