chicken enchilada stuffed peppers

 

I loved this dish- I loved everything about it.  So did my husband.   When my daughter said she wasn't a fan of peppers I had her put some of the filling in a tortilla with some cheese and grill it like a quesadilla.  I'll be making these again soon.
P.S.  What I thought was cool about trying this recipe was that I learned how to make a homemade cream of chicken soup base!

chicken enchilada stuffed peppers (mel's kitchen cafe)
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups (single batch) homemade condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa or rice (I used a combination of both made by Hodson Mills)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 (4 oz) can green chiles
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 bell peppers, any color

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese and the cream of chicken soup.  Add the quinoa or rice (or the blend like I did), chicken, mozzarella cheese, chilies, cilantro, salt and pepper.
Slice each bell pepper in half and pack lightly.  Place the stuffed peppers in the baking dish.
Cover the dish with lightly greased aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot.  Let the peppers rest for 5 minutes or so before serving.

homemade cream of chicken soup (mel's kitchen cafe)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of dried parsley
pinch of paprika
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup flour

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth and all the seasonings to a simmer.
In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the milk and flour together until smooth.
While whisking the broth, slowly pour in the flour/milk mixture, whisking constantly.
Continue to stir and cook until the mixture bubbles and thickens, 3-4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add additional salt and pepper to taste as needed.  Use immediately in a recipe or cool and refrigerate for up to a week.  This will thicken much more as it cools.