Stuffed Hot Peppers

Since I haven’t made anything super spicy in a few weeks, I decided to up the anté and stuff hot peppers. Yes, that’s right; jalapenos, poblano peppers, and Anaheim peppers were stuffed and baked.

I got the idea last year when I spent the weekend at my friend’s shore house, and her uncle made a delicious appetizer spread with stuffed grilled peppers; they were stuffed with different cheeses, crab meat, and all kinds of deliciousness. I aired on the side of simple, and went with a cream cheese, a Mexican cheese blend, and panko bread crumb mixture. I tried my best to remove the flesh from the peppers while still leaving enough noticeable heat. I think I accomplished that, because both myself and my fiancé had burning mouths, and I of course had burning hands for hours afterwards.

These definitely aren’t for the spice wary, but the mixture could definitely go in more tame peppers. They’d also be great just as appetizers, but my fiancé and I paired them with some homemade oven fried onion rings and were stuffed. So next time you’re in the mood for some spicy deliciousness, make these bad boys!

Cheese Stuffed Hot Peppers

Ingredients:
3 Poblano peppers
2 Anaheim chiles
4 Jalapenos
8 oz. light cream cheese
1 cup of Mexican blend cheese
3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Slice half of the peppers long ways, removing the stems and flesh. Leave seeds for extra heat, remove for less. Slice only the hops and stems off the other half of peppers
3. Combine cream cheese, cheese blend, and bread crumbs until completely mixed.
4. Stuff peppers with cheese mixture (don’t worry about over stuffing, the mixture won’t ooze/bubble out).
5. Spray a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes, until peppers are slightly wilted and cheese has a light crust.