Sunday, July 3, 2011

Firecrackers for Your Mouth -- Happy 4th of July!

It occurred to me that it's been a really long time since I've posted a recipe.  I love finding and creating new recipes and I love to cook.  Making food makes me happy!  So here's what made me happy today:

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos!

I found this recipe in the most recent issue of Cooking Light magazine and made it today for the second time.  I made a few minor modifications.


Ingredients
2 slices center cut bacon
8 oz. 1/3-less fat cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup minced green onions
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 clove garlic, minced
14 small jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
Cooking spray

1.  Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (we have a gas grill that gets insanely hot, so we only turn it on to low).

2. Cook the bacon according to package directions until crispy.  Remove bacon from pan to drain on paper towels (I actually cook my bacon in the microwave or the oven) and, once cooled, crumble.

3. Combine crumbled bacon, cheeses, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a bowl, stirring to combine.




4. Spread cheese mixture into each jalapeno half.  Place peppers, cheese side up, onto a piece of foil that's been sprayed with cooking spray and placed on the grill.  Grill for approximately 8 minutes, until bottoms of the peppers are charred and cheese mixture is slightly browned.

I made enough for tonight and tomorrow night!

5.  Place peppers on a serving platter and, if desired, sprinkle with chopped tomato and cilantro.

They turned out beautifully and you might be wondering where the picture of the final product is, but my dang camera died!  So you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that they looked and tasted great.  They've got a perfect amount of heat to them, I love the fresh garlic and green onion flavor, the slight tang from the lime juice, and the bacon gives them a really nice smoky flavor.  Needless to say, I popped more than a few of these "firecrackers" in my mouth tonight.

What special foods will you be making for the 4th?

Happy 4th of July!  Enjoy your holiday and good luck to all those running races tomorrow!

5 comments:

  1. Those looks awesome! We made the very exciting hamburgers for dinner last night for our family BBQ. I had a veggie burger :)

    Nothing special on the docket for today. Just rest and relax!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Perfect! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Since I'm away, um, I'm not making anything!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those look amazing! I'm definitely making them...or better yet, I'll have the husband make them - they look like something he would love to work on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. hahaha firecrackers for your mouth. Love it ;) I didn't really eat any festive foods... unless you count a margarita! haha

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my...those look good! Whew, could I handle that spicy snack?! Yum!!

    ReplyDelete