BONNIE'S ROASTED PIGGY PEPPERS

BONNIE'S ROASTED PIGGY PEPPERS image

A terrific appetizer made from the end of the season banana peppers and stuffed with a delicious cream cheese filling and hot Italian sausage and then roasted in the oven. Serve plain or topped with tomato salsa. Be sure to make extra because they won't last long! Enjoy!

Provided by BonniE ! @ReikiHealsTheSoul

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

3 links johnson's hot italian sausage
12 small banana peppers
1 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
about 1/2 cup mozzarella grated cheese to sprinkle on top
tostitos mild salsa to garnish top

Steps:

EQUIPMENT I used a Copper Chef skillet to roast the peppers. Use a small pan with one inch of water to put in the bottom of the oven to create moisture while the peppers roast.
OVEN Grease the skillet or baking pan. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Roast the peppers for 30 to 35 minutes until peppers are done. Don't forget the pan with about one inch of water that goes in the bottom of the oven.
COOK LINKS Slit the links with a sharp knife and remove the casing. Crumble the pork into a medium size skillet and cook until light brown. Drain well. Set aside.
PREPARE PEPPERS Take a damp paper towel and wipe the peppers. Don't remove the stems. Don't wet the peppers. Keep them dry. Slit the pepper from stem to just before you reach the end of the tip. I use an ice tea spoon to scrape out the seeds and membrane of the peppers.
MAKE CHEESE FILLING In a small bowl, add the 1 cup of cream cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix well with a fork.
STUFF WITH CHEESE Using an ice tea spoon, put 1 heaping spoonful of cheese filling in the bottom of each pepper and smooth it with the back of the spoon.
STUFF WITH SAUSAGE Fill the pepper with the cooked sausage as much as it will hold. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of Mozzarella cheese on top before roasting.
ROAST IT! Put the peppers in the prepared baking pan and roast the peppers in a preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly brown..
SERVE Serve hot with a small spatula. The peppers can be eaten plain or topped with a heaping teaspoon of Tostitos mild salsa. Both are equally good.
Or you can serve half plain and half with salsa. Enjoy!