Stuffed Poblanos

I headed out early this morning making my way through a series of shopping stops. I began my spending spree at Trader Joes picking up some produce and then made my way over to Whole Foods. I was on a mission at this stop for granola, polenta, quinoa and some dried bulk herbs (which this store only stocks bottled herbs).

Everytime I pop into Whole Foods with the intention of picking up only what is on my list, I undoubtedly see something else I just have to have. In this case it was a clump of fresh basil with the roots still intact that I thought would be delicious in my salad tonight. I can plop this into a glass of water to keep fresh and sit on the kitchen counter as a temporary live plant.........until it's totally consumed. I bought it and chopped a few leaves into my salad.

The next stop was Target. It's an easy stop for me, usually in and out in minutes. I picked up a couple of rugs for our entryways and a new water bottle for Brian. I'm never tempted to linger and browse in a department store. I suppose if they had a gourmet food section I would have to take a stroll through it.

Onto Kroger for cleaning supplies, paper towels, crabmeat and a survey of the produce section to compare Trader Joes prices. I did good.

Since Whole Foods didn't have the bulk spices I wanted, I decided to make one added stop that wasn't part of the itinerary to Fresh Market. This is another challenging place for me to pop into and pick up only what brought me there in the first place. I bee-lined to the bulk spices without grabbing a shopping basket, found what I needed and as I turned the corner to head to the cashier, there it was, the bulk sections of nuts, snacks, dried fruits and candies. As I saw all those wonderful bins filled with yummies I instantly turned into one of the kids with the golden ticket entering the Willie Wonka factory for the first time. I made my way over to each bin deciding which of these treats was coming home with me. The winner was a trail mix blend. I justified this added purchase by saying that I would mix it with the granola I bought from Whole Foods.

As I headed home the clock in my car was reading 12:13pm. I am kind of hungry I thought to myself. As I was driving down Roswell Rd. my car seemed to begin steering out of control and drove right into a Popeye's parking lot. Isn't that a coincidence. I haven't eaten Popeye's since I left New Orleans in June of 2003. I went inside, ordered a two piece with cajun rice, sat down and scarfed it down in 2 minutes. It was heavenly. Just as I remembered. Playing in my head was the jingle from the 80's " Love that chicken from Popeyes's".

I made it home, did some work around the house, and then prepared dinner. I stuffed some Poblano peppers with a cilantro rice, crabmeat, cumin, roasted garlic powder and some diced applewood smoked cheddar. I topped it off with some mild wisconsin cheddar and baked it in the oven. It was really good. I'll have to do this again.