Jalapeno Poppers

I went with my first instinct and made jalapeno poppers and they were absolutely delish! Best I've had in fact.

Between Phil and me, along with our euchre partners, the neighbors, these were devoured over the past hour!

Ingredients:

1/2 box cream cheese, softened (I wouldn't recommend using fat free; just doesn't have the flavor)
Approximately 1/2 cup provolone/mozzarella blend shredded cheese
Ground Cumin (I just sprinkled some over the cheese; probably equaled about 1/4 teaspoon)
10 Jalapeno Peppers, halved and seeded
10 slices partially cooked bacon (will use 1/2 slice for each popper)
Toothpicks (for holding bacon on poppers during baking)

Wash jalapenos and slice each in half longways. Scrape out the seeds and cut out as much of the vein as you can so the pepper is not quite as spicy (or if you like a good amount of heat, leave the vein intact).

Mix the cheeses and cumin. Place the mixture into a plastic baggie and snip the bottom corner. You can then hold like an icing bag and squeeze out of the bag onto the 20 jalapeno halves (don't put too much cream cheese on the pepper or it will just melt and escape during baking). Take a 1/2 slice of bacon and put it parallel with the pepper (will cover the cut end of the pepper and go down under so it helps keep the cheeses from running out the end during baking). Basically, the bacon covers the entire top of the cream cheese and goes down under the pepper so it can be pierced all the way through (pepper, cheese, bacon) with a toothpick.

Place all of the peppers on a greased baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

So yummy!

Until next time................

Jalapenos!!

Had a good little bunch of jalapenos pulled from the garden yesterday. I am currently hatching plans for using these within the next day or two.....

I'm kind of leaning towards jalapeno poppers, but have also considered pickling them.

Stay tuned!

Homemade Pizza

A fond memory from my childhood is going to my Aunt Linda's for her homemade pizza. It was always a treat! So, today, I attempted to make my own homemade pizza. One of the best things about my aunt's pizza is her canned pizza sauce, which unfortunately I do not have (canned some last summer, but just used the last jar a couple weeks ago).

My dough recipe was compliments of my Betty Crocker cookbook. It goes like this....

2.5 to 3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast
0.5 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)
2 tbsp. olive oil
Cornmeal (optional)

In large bowl combine 1 1/4 c. of the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 min. total). Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Grease two pizza pans or baking sheets; sprinkle with cornmeal (optional). On lightly floured surface, roll each dough into an 11-in. circle; transfer to prepared pans. Build up edges slightly. Cover and let rise in warm place until nearly double (30 to 45 min.). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick dough with a fork. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light brown.

On to assembling the pie...first, the ingredient list:

2 lb. Italian sausage

2 jars pizza sauce

Pepperoni

Canned mushrooms

Artichoke hearts packed in oil

Chopped green peppers

1 or 2 leeks, chopped (you can replace with onion if you don't have leeks)

Mozzarella and provolone shredded cheese mix

Italian seasoning

Cook Italian sausage with chopped leeks in a skillet.

Generously add pizza sauce to the crust. Add meat mixture on top of sauce with pepperoni layered on top. Add vegetables on top of meat. Finish with a generous layer of the cheese mix. 

                          

Sprinkle top of cheese with Italian seasoning.

Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until cheese melt and starts to get slightly golden.

Let the pie rest for a few minutes before cutting and serving. Each pizza will make four 2-slice servings.

By the way, I love using leeks in recipes like this. If you're not familiar with leeks, they are very similar to onions, but are more delicate and sweeter in flavor. They are delicious and very aromatic when cooking! To prep them, pull the outer layers off and discard. Slice the leek at the top of the white area (where it starts to be tinged slightly green). Then slice the leek in half longways. You will then need to 'fan out' each half and wash under running water (often dirt is trapped here). Then put on cutting board (cut side down) and slice in approx. 1/4 in. slices.

Enjoy!

Fresh Garden Salsa

Summer has come and gone, but the garden continues to produce although it is nearing the end of the growing season. We have had buckets upon buckets of red plump tomatoes this year ... some that Chloe planted from seed that were gigantic (one was, no lie, about as big as her head)!

I am going to attempt to use the last of the summer vegetables as well as some of the many herbs from our garden over the next few days. So....

Today, I used vine-ripened tomatoes and jalapenos to make fresh garden salsa. (We like to eat the salsa with tortilla 'scoops'). The remainder of the vegetables had to be purchased from the supermarket (I have a very healthy herb garden, but cilantro did not do well this year).

This is a pretty simple combination; I use: 2 medium red tomatoes; 1/3 red onion; 1 fresh jalapeno; 2 to 3 garlic cloves; about 2 tbsp. lime juice; fresh cilantro; and 1/4 tsp salt (or, to taste).

Finely chop the tomatoes (I seed mine as well), red onion, jalapeno (I seed mine, but depends on how much heat you want); and cilantro and combine in bowl. Mince the garlic and add to the mix. Add the lime juice and the salt.

Note: when I cut my jalapenos, if I don't have a plastic glove to wear, I place a sandwich baggie over the hand so that I don't get the 'fire juice' on my hand (I got tired of having my hands burn or my face burn after I touched it with the oils there!).

When all ingredients are together, mix and cover with plastic wrap. The flavors need to marry, so I usually allow it to sit (in the fridge) for a couple hours at least before serving.

This is the finished result. Fresh, healthy, delicious!