Black beans, fresh corn, chicken marinated in a flavorful, spicy lime chipotle marinade, stuffed into a fresh poblano pepper, topped with gooey, melted cheese…this is my entry into Saucy Mama’s Extraordinary Condiment Contest.

Crossing fingers!

I’m a newbie to the food contest scene, but it’s pretty fun and I’m sure I’ll be signing up for more in the near future.  It’s challenging to try to be creative and come up with something unique but flavorful, quick to make yet delicious.  I had quite a few ideas, and I’ll be making a few more entries before the contest ends on September 1st.  The grand prize is an Amazon Kindle 2, $150 Amazon gift card – and the winning recipe on their bottles nationwide!  That would be so amazing!

Hope you enjoy this one.  It’s pretty simple, really, but if you like Southwest-style food then this is a no-brainer.  It’s easy but versatile, and of course, tasty!

Stuffed Poblanos with Chicken and Lime-Chipotle Corn Muffins

• 6 large poblano peppers
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 – 1 cup Saucy Mama’s Lime Chipotle marinade
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 cup corn (fresh is best, but canned is fine, too)
• 1 cup black beans
• 2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup mexican blend cheese, shredded

Place poblano peppers on a sheet pan and place under preheated broiler.  Blacken all sides, then remove to a resealable plastic bag; let sit for 10 minutes.  Remove one pepper from bag at a time and carefully remove blackened skin.  Cut a slit lengthwise down each pepper and carefully remove seeds (don’t worry about getting every last seed, just get the bulk of them).

Marinate chicken breasts in Saucy Mama’s Lime Chipotle marinade for at least 10 minutes (longer if desired).  Preheat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat; add red onion and saute one minute.  Add chicken breasts and cook thoroughly.

Meanwhile, mix together black beans, corn and cilantro; season with salt and pepper.  Remove chicken breasts from skillet and chop into small bite-sized pieces.  Add chicken to black bean mixture along with onions and drippings from skillet; mix thoroughly.

Stuff each pepper with chicken mixture until completely full.  Top each pepper with some shredded cheese, and bake for 7 – 10 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is melted.  Serve with lime-chipotle corn muffins (recipe below).

Lime-Chipotle Corn Muffins

• 1 box corn muffin mix, prepared according to package directions (I use the Jiffy brand)
• 2 – 3 T Saucy Mama’s Lime-Chipotle marinade
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup mexican blend cheese, shredded (optional)

Prepare muffins according to directions on box, adding Saucy Mama’s Lime-Chipotle marinade, chopped cilantro and cheese (if using) to batter; mix thoroughly and bake according to package directions.  Enjoy!

VARIATION: Instead of stuffing the peppers, place prepared chicken mixture into a baking dish.  Layer peppers (remove the stem at this point) on top of chicken mixture, add a layer of cheese, the top with corn muffin mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees until corn topping is done and “casserole” is heated through.  (Still not fast enough for you?  Skip the roasting of fresh poblanos and replace them with a large can of canned green chilis.  Easy peasy!)

You can purchase Saucy Mama’s Lime Chipotle marinade (and many other delicious products) here.  The Lime Chipotle is my favorite!