Thankful ... Roasted Poblanos Stuffed with Pork Chili Verde

I am thankful.

Dinner. Come to mama.

I am thankful to have a loving and wonderful family. Mom. Dad & Margie-Mom. Amy, Randy & little Ruby. Alexis, Lyn & baby boy on the way.

I am thankful for the abundance of amazing friends in my life. The ones who make me laugh until I pee my pants, who pour me another glass of wine when I've probably already had one too many, who give me a hug when they know I need one, who let me find my own way along this road. Thank you for being a part of my life and my journey. I love you.

I am thankful to be spending Thanksgiving week in Colorado with my sister-friends and their family. My goal was to relax ... to really really relax.  It has been a busy semester working full time and taking 3 classes, while trying to maintain some sort of exercise routine, seeing family and friends, and find a moment now and then to breathe ... and to be.

When in Colorado, we eat, we shop and we drink. And we repeat.  This time, I brought my apron because we planned to cook, bake, eat and drink. Eat. And drink.

Roasted Poblanos Stuffed with Pork Chili Verde

Fixin' for corn casserole and poblanos stuffed with deliciousness.

1 Tablespoon of canola oil
3 lbs. of pork shoulder or butt
1 medium brown onion
5 cloves of garlic
16 ozs tomatillo salsa
3 Tablespoons of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 Tablespoon of cumin
1 Tablespoon of coriander
3 cups low sodium, gluten free chicken broth
15.5 ozs of pinto beans
Juice of 1 lime
Salt & pepper

6 poblano peppers
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
3 Tablespoons of chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons of chopped red onion
1 Tablespoon of chopped jalapeno
1/2 avocado diced
Sour cream

Directions:
1. To prepare the chili, trim any excess fat from the pork and cut into 2 inch cubes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, chop onion and garlic and set aside. Heat oil in a dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides, then remove from pan and drain oil.  Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
2. In a large Pyrex measuring cup, mix together tomatillo salsa, chopped chipotle peppers, chicken broth, cumin and coriander and add to dutch oven, stir and add back in pork.
3. Heat oven to 300°.  Bring chili mixture to a boil on the stovetop and then transfer the oven.
4. Cook chili in oven for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, remove from oven then increase oven temperature to 350°.
5. Meanwhile, prepare poblano peppers to roast and chop the toppings.
6. If you are fortunate enough to have a second oven, then turn it to broil and place peppers on a large baking sheet and put in oven, brown peppers on all sides.  When all sides are brown, remove from the oven and put in a plastic bag to steam - this will make it easier to peel the skin. Leave peppers in the bag until they are cool enough to handle.  Remove from bag and peel skins, make an incision from the top to the bottom, remove the stem, ribs and seeds and lie flat.
7.  When pork is done, remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes, then using two forks shred meat. Add shredded meat back to dutch oven, add pinto beans and the juice of one lime.  Reheat over medium heat for 10 minutes.
8. Put a hearty 1/2 cup of chili in the middle of the poblano pepper, sprinkle with cheese and use a toothpick to close the pepper. 
9. Place stuffed peppers in a baking dish and heat in the oven for 15 minutes or the cheese bubbles, melts and browns a little.
10. Plate up a pepper, top with some creamy things, and dish up some corn casserole. Enjoy!

My sister-friend Tane and me.  XO

Black & Tan Brownies for Tami's 40th

Tomorrow is a big day.  My good friend Tami turns 4-0!  Happy Birthday to you!

My amazing and beautiful friend Tami

Her birthday falls during the time of year where many of us (myself included) are taking stock of our life and making lists.  I've come across several of those "lists" the last couple of days.  One of them speaks of friendships.  Keep people in your life who truly love you, motivate you, encourage you, enhance you, and make you happy.  For me, Tami is one of those people.  A keeper.

Friends and brownies.

Tami somehow knows when to call me and really ask, "Hey, how are you?" as she listens intently to me as I go on and on ... oh and on about this and that.  I hear her on the other end of the line ... smiling and I feel my shoulders relax and whatever was my "on" for the moment becomes insignificant and we share a good laugh.

To you my dear friend, I hope this 40th year is a special and wonderful year for you.  You are a treasure and I hold our friendship close to my heart.

Black and Tan Brownies
Modified from Cooking Light, March 2010

Tan Brownies
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4.5 ozs. gluten-free flour mix (I followed Gluten-Free Girl & the Chef's whole grain flour mix ratio and used * see below)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Black Brownies
3 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Guinness Stout
4.5 ozs. gluten-free flour mix
1/4 teaspoon salt

Good looking ingredients: beer and chocolate.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350° and lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Start with making the tan brownies by placing the softened butter and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl, beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time then stir in vanilla.
4. Add dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and beat until combined, fold in pecans.
5. Pour tan brownie mix into pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
6.  While tan brownies are baking, start making the black brownies by melting chocolate and butter in a small microwave safe bowl.
7. Add granulated sugar and stir to combine.
8. Add eggs, vanilla and Guinness and stir with a whisk to combine.
9. Add flour and salt, stir to combine.
10. Pour black brownie mixture over tan brownies and bake for an additional 25 minutes or so.
11.  Cool in pan on a wire rack then cut into squares.

Black & Tan Brownies.

* AB's Whole Grain Flour Mix
300 grams each of quinoa flour, amaranth flour, and brown rice flour
150 grams each of potato starch and tapioca  flour

Directions:
1.  Set large plastic container on a kitchen scale and hit tare, then add first flour until scale reaches 300g, then start adding the second flour until the scale reaches 600g, you're following me right?
2.  Seal and shake to combine flours.

A little Guinness left over for me.