STUFFED JALEPENOS

Stuffed Jalepenos image

These work GREAT for Super Bowl Parties and as an appetizer to pass.

Provided by Terry Guynes

Time 50m

Number Of Ingredients 5

Previous Next

Ingredients

2 lb about 16 fresh whole jalepenos
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 lb breakfast sausage (tube)
1/2 c grated cheese-- asiago, parmesan, colby, cheddar, whatever floats your boat.
1 c bread crumbs

Steps:

1. Cook the sausage and crumble in to little tiny pieces and place in a medium sized bowl with the Cream Cheese. If you'd like, add spices or herbs--I like Sage, curry powder works well, Cumin works well, garlic powder, a little salt and pepper, or nothing works well too. Only about a 1/2 teaspoon though, because otherwise....well....eeeww! Mix it up really good and then stick it in the fridge while you work over the jalepenos
2. Slice the jalepenos in half and pull out the seeds. I suggest wearing a latex glove on one hand to hold the jalepenos, and using a spoon to scoop them out with the other, but if your brave and know you won't be rubbing your eyes, or going to the bathroom, go ahead and use your bare hands. If you visit the loo after doing this, and your privates feel like someone is rubbin em down with a brillo pad, don't say I didn't warn you to use gloves and a spoon.
3. If you want to pipe down the heat on the jalapenos, you can stick em in a bowl of ice water for a few hours. This will get them nice and crispy, and chill out the heat a bit. If you change the water a few times in that time, it cools them down even more. When I make these for parties, I soak them a good four hours. This summer I used Tam Jalepenos, which are purple and very mild.
4. Once the Jalapenos are stuffed you can either sprinkle with your favorite grated cheese, OR-- you can dredge in melted butter, and cover in bread crumbs and then sprinkle with your favorite cheese. I've also diluted honey with a little water, and used that as a dredge and covered in bread crumbs and sprinkled the cheese on it.
5. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the bread crumbs get golden brown. If you use a soft cheese such as mozzarella or cheddar, I would get the bread crumbs crispy and then sprinkle the cheese on it. If you use a hard cheese like Asiago or Parmesan you can sprinkle before you bake.
6. I've also used a tempura batter and deep fried them, and added sprinkles of Asiago afterwords and mixed it in with the cream cheese, and that was really yummy. I was once tempted to wrap these in bacon-but my girlfriend wouldn't let me. She said it's man food enough without it. I'm not sure how much longer we will be together.