This installment of “how do I use these hot peppers?” ended in an oldie but a goodie – jalapeno poppers.  While not exactly the height of sophisticated cuisine, I found that when I made these myself they were so much tastier and fresher than what you’d get in any chain restaurant appetizer plate.  They’re baked, not deep fried, so that saves some calories and fat, and this once recipe used all my hot peppers for the week, which makes me happy.  Nothing saddens me like having my farm fresh produce rot from disuse.

The filling is a little more complicated than your normal poppers.

1/4 to 1/2 c onion

1/2 c mushroom

1 clove garlic

Drizzle of olive oil

4 oz cream cheese

In a skillet, saute the onion, garlic, and mushroom until soft.  Add that to the cream cheese and smoosh together with a fork.  Salt and pepper as needed.

This filling will fill about 10-20 peppers, depending on size.  Jalapenos are small, so it will fill about 20, but I used banana peppers, too.  I filled 6 jalapenos and 4 banana peppers with a little extra filling.

To prepare the peppers, first remove the stem end of the pepper.  Then remove the seeds and veins from the inside.  This took some experimenting.  I found that a small steak knife and a grapefruit spoon worked best for this task.  Fill the peppers with the mixture by either pressing it in with a knife or piping it in with a piping bag sans tip.  Bake the peppers in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes, or until they soften.  I did notice that the filling tried to make a bit of an escape while in the oven, but it didn’t go far so no big deal.