Happy 4th of July!

Ah, the joys of the store bought rotisserie chicken...  Apparently I can't stop talking about them.  

My market has this game you can play at checkout to win coins that can then be used for discounts on items around the store.  There are silver, blue, red and gold.  The silver is the least valuable and in turn is the most common.  I have about 100 of them strewn all around my house.  But the gold, oh the gold.  Prized for its rarity and value, not the least of which it the deep discount on rotisserie chickens.  A couple of weeks ago I won two of these beauties and, not wanting to squander them, tucked them safely away in my coin purse.  This week I used one to buy said rotisserie chicken for $4.00!  Last night I figured out that it provided 8 meals, that's only $.50 per meal (I'm pretty good at math).

I know I promised a few dinners from the grill and I swear there were two on the list but apparently the weather did not get the memo that we have a new one and thus delivered some spectacular thunderstorms this week.  Soon...

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The recipe for these peppers calls for poblanos and I have to say that I prefer them to bells but I couldn't find any this week and so used the bells instead.  The flesh of the bell pepper is a little thicker and I think this is where I have the objection.  None the less, I love the filling for this stuffed pepper either way!

1. Chicken and Cheddar Stuffed Peppers

modified from Fine Cooking

makes 4 servings

4 large poblanos (or bells)

2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 t dried oregano, crumbled

1 t ground cumin

generous pinch ground cinnamon 

kosher salt

1 T olive oil

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used a combination of white and dark meat)

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I used brown)

2 cups grates sharp or extra-sharp white Cheddar (about 7 oz.)

1 T lime juice

Position top oven rack about 4" from broiler and heat the broiler.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Slit the peppers from stem to tip and place on the baking sheet.  Broil, turning when the top becomes black, until blackened all over.  Let cook slightly and peel off the skins and cut out the seeded cores, leaving the stem on.  (Don't be afraid that the peppers are burning under the broiler, they have to turn really black for the skins to peel of and the flesh will be fine.)Return the peppers to the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, puree the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, cinnamon and 1/2t salt in a food processor.  Heat the oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat.  Add the puree and cook, stirring frequently until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick and pulpy.  Remove from heat and stir in the chicken, rice, half of the cheese, and the lime juice.  

Spoon the filling into the peppers (they will be quite full) and wrap th

e sides up around it.  Broil until the cheese is melting and the top is beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.  Top with the remaining cheese and broil 2 minutes more, or until the cheese is completely melted.       

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Mmmm... it's been a while since I made this favorite.  So easy, so delicious.  This time I added a handful of basil in with the spinach.  It was a good addition.

2. Tortellini with Bacon, Greens and Brown Butter

Recipe is here.

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After I made the stuffed peppers I used the rest of the chicken for these sandwiches.  All I did was toss it in a large skillet with a little olive oil and some BBQ sauce (I thought briefly about making some from scratch but I decided against it this time) and let it get nice and warm.  I heated the bun briefly and topped the sandwiches with sliced red onion, banana peppers and more sauce.  Super fast dinner.  You can see on the side I made a little corn with bacon and red onion.  

3. BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

makes 3-4 servings   

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