Oh-my-goodness, people // tonight was the night, oh, yes it was!  I made my Cheater Chile Rellenos with the delectable-sweet-**mildly-spicy**-luscious Poblanos from my garden!

They are cheater, to be sure.  What part?  I did not make a homemade batter, nor take the time to make my own Green Chile (which, as they say in Colorado, is its’ own food group!) for smothering purposes.

These peppers came from one plant in one square foot of my garden (and there are more to come!).

I rubbed them with a little bit of olive oil, then roasted them over a hot grill, until they blistered and blackened a little.  Then into a Saran-wrapped bowl they went to continue to steam and soften.

About an hour later, using gloves (pepper disaster last weekend – different story, yikes!), I gently removed the blistered outer skin leaving the dark green, smokey, savory amazing flavor of the pepper right where it belongs (never ever run them under cold water to peel, it works to clean them, but the flavor is washing down the drain)!

Next, I split them open, removed the seeds, stuffed them with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and then wrapped them in an egg-roll wrapper (purists make an egg batter, but I like the crispness and simplicity of the egg roll wrapper – thus, I am a cheater).

Then they were deep-fried just until the wrapper achieved that slightly brown, crispy condition.

Finally –  smothered in Green Chile from Santiagos, for that truly Colorado-style, pork-roast and chile flavor.

I also made cilantro-lime rice and had some gor-geous Colorado-grown sweet corn (with real butter and some red pepper).  We had the homemade salsa and huge bowl of guacamole (thanks-to-the-hubs::see previous post on his hilarious generosity) with OTB chips, and some cold, incredibly sugary-sweet, chunks of watermelon from the Western Slope for dessert, but really?

My heart was full with just the Poblanos on the plate —-smothered in green chile!  My very soul was satisfied!!!

Oh, I adore a Poblano – they are my sweet Green Chile choice (even over the much more well-known and tasty Hatch).  Poblanos are mild, yet the most wholly flavor-packed of the chiles, and beautiful in shape and color, to boot!

Did a Mariachi Band show up as I prepared them?  Was I dancing the entire time?  You be the judge!  Go ahead – guess!

It was so good, I cannot even tell you!