By 7-0 and the program is rolling through what might be its most balanced season. No single dominant player this year — Jeremiah Cole at running back, a sophomore receiver named Webb who is developing into something real, a defense anchored by two linebackers who work in concert like they share a brain. I've been coaching balanced teams and star-driven teams and I've learned to trust the balanced ones more in late-season games when schemes adjust to stars. This team won't get adjusted to. It does too many things too well.
Diego called on Tuesday with news: he's been named a starter for the second half of the season. He told me with the composure he always uses for good news — stating the fact, moving on, asking what I thought about his blocking scheme. I told him the scheme was good and that I was proud of him. He said he knew. He always says he knows. I think he genuinely does know and it's a gift I don't take for granted.
Hector has been sleeping more than fourteen hours a day. Marisol reports this without alarm but I receive it with attention. Long sleep is the body managing a kind of exhaustion that rest doesn't fully address. He's still himself when he's awake. He had opinions about a recipe I described on Sunday and he wasn't wrong about any of them. But the windows of wakefulness are narrowing. I sit with that knowledge and keep calling every Sunday. The call matters more each week.
Tenth chile roasting. A decade of this ritual. Diego isn't here but I thought of him at every rotation. The kids who were babies when I started this are ten years old and bagging chile themselves. Time is this: the smell of September and propane and the accumulation of years I chose to be present for.
Ten years of standing over a roaster, watching the skins blister and blacken, smelling September in the propane heat — that ritual has a way of making you reach for peppers long after the bags are filled and the season is done. This year, coming home from the roast with that smoke still in my jacket, I wanted something that honored the chile without making it the whole performance. Chicken-stuffed cubanelles let the pepper be the vessel and the point at once, which felt exactly right for a decade that’s been about accumulation and presence more than spectacle.
Chicken-Stuffed Cubanelle Peppers
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 large cubanelle peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 cup cooked long-grain white rice
- 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish and arrange the halved cubanelle peppers cut-side up in a single layer.
- Cook the filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add ground chicken, breaking it apart, and cook until no pink remains, about 6–8 minutes.
- Season and combine. Stir in diced tomatoes, cooked rice, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook 2 minutes to meld flavors. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
- Fill the peppers. Spoon the chicken mixture evenly into each pepper half, mounding slightly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the tops.
- Bake. Cover the baking dish loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10–15 minutes until the peppers are tender and the cheese is golden and bubbling.
- Rest and serve. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 480mg