Ultimate Pepper Poppers Food

PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, combine cheeses, bacon and seasonings; mix well. Spoon about 2 tablespoonfuls into each pepper half. Roll in bread crumbs., Place in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and peppers are heated through, 15-20 minutes. Serve with sour cream, dip or dressing.

SWEET PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
• Meanwhile: Fry the bacon pieces until cooked.
• Rinse the peppers and cut each of them in half. Make sure to leave the green parts on. Remove the seeds and membranes.
• Mix together cheddar cheese, cream cheese, black pepper and bacon.
• Fill the peppers with the mixture and bake for 10-13 minutes or until heated through and the peppers are soft.
• Best served right away!

SWEET PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice each pepper in half lengthwise, keeping the stem intact. Remove the ribs and seeds and discard, hollowing out each of the peppers. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and place in an 8- by 8-inch baking dish.
• Whip the goat cheese and ricotta together until light and airy in a mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, about 2 minutes. Stir in the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Fill each pepper halfway with 2 teaspoons of the cheese mixture and level off with a small offset spatula.
• Place the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Pour the butter over the breadcrumbs and toss to combine. Sprinkle each pepper with the buttered breadcrumbs. Bake until golden and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

MINI BELL PEPPER POPPERS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the ribs and seeds. Arrange the peppers on the prepared baking pan cut-side up.
• Mix the cream cheese, Cheddar, bacon, Fresno pepper and milk together in a bowl until very well mixed and soft.
• Put the mixture into a resealable plastic bag (or a disposable pastry bag) and snip a corner to make an opening a little less than 1/2-inch across. Pipe a line of the cream cheese mixture into each of the peppers (the filling should not fill the whole pepper; it will spread as it cooks).
• Bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is melted, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

JALAPENO PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium heat.
• Cut about 1/2-inch off the top each jalapeno pepper. Take the top pieces that you just cut off, cut the sides off and reserve, discarding the middle stem pieces. These will be used to plug the open end of each pepper to help keep the cheese from melting out. Using a straight peeler, scrape out the seeds and ribs from the inside of each of the peppers.
• Slice each cheese stick into pieces that are just slightly shorter than the jalapenos. Stuff a pepper with a piece of cheese. Take the reserved side pieces and place them into the open end of the pepper, covering the cheese and plugging the hole. Take a piece of bacon and wrap the pepper from the bottom end to the top end, making sure to secure the "plug" at the top end. Take a second piece of bacon and lay it down on a clean work surface. Roll up the pepper so that it is almost completely covered in bacon and secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining peppers, cheese, bacon and toothpicks. Sprinkle each with chili powder.
• Place on the grill, cover and cook over indirect heat until the bacon is crispy, 15 to 20 minutes, making sure to turn every 3 to 4 minutes.
• While the poppers are grilling, combine the sour cream, cream cheese and honey in a small bowl. Mix until well blended and serve with the poppers.
• Cook's Note: The poppers can also be made in the oven. Place the poppers onto a baking sheet fitted with a rack that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a 400 F degree oven until the bacon is brown and crispy, 15 minutes.

ULTIMATE PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• In mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients, mix well.
• Spoon about 2 Tbl. filling into each pepper half.
• Roll in breadcrumbs, and place into greased 15"x10"x1" baking pan.
• Bake, uncovered, in 350º oven for 20 minutes for spicy, 30 minutes for medium, and 40 minutes for mild.
• Serve with sour cream, salsa, dip or dressing.
• Makes about 2 dozen.

GRILLED SWEET PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• Spoon sour cream into a 1-quart zip-loc freezer bag; seal and chill.
• Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
• Rinse peppers; cut in half length-wise. Remove seeds and veins.
• Mix together in small bowl cheese, tomato, onion, cilantro and salt.
• Fill pepper halves evenly with cheese mixture; pressing it into hollows.
• Lay filled peppers, cheese side up on grill (I use a grill pan for ease, but it's not necessary).
• Cook until blistered and slightly charred on the bottoms, approximately 3-5 minutes.
• With a wide spatula, move peppers to serving platter.
• Snip 3/4-inch corner off the sour cream bag and pipe evenly over the hot peppers.
• Serve immediately.

JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, then top with a wire rack.
• Halve jalapeños lengthwise. (Do your best to halve them through their stems for added visual appeal.) Using the tip of a small spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Set the halved jalapeños aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, cilantro, scallions, garlic and lime zest, if using; season generously with salt and pepper.
• Season the inside of each halved jalapeño with salt and pepper, then fill each with about 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture. (Fill until there's a slight dome on top.) Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with 1 piece of bacon, setting one tip of bacon on top of the cream cheese filling, then wrapping the bacon under and over the popper at an angle, so the bacon covers the filling on top in two layers. (The bacon will shrink as it cooks, so you want to make sure the top of the popper is well covered.) Arrange poppers evenly on the wire rack, nestling each popper between two parallel wires to keep it upright so the cream cheese doesn't spill during baking.
• Transfer to the oven, and bake until bacon is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Broil on the rack closest to the broiler until crisp, about 2 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve warm.

JALAPENO PEPPER POPPERS

Steps:

• If you are NOT A HEAT-FREAK, you can tone down the jalapenos by soaking them in milk for about 15 minutes before stuffing, but this makes them real, real mild.
• If you don't mind a little warmth, just follow the rest of the recipe without soaking.
• If you do soak them, rinse and blot the peppers dry before stuffing them.
• WARNING: Wear rubber gloves when slicing and cleaning jalapeno peppers.
• You can get real bad chemical burns if you don't!
• Do not touch your eyes or suck your thumb after preparing peppers until after you have washed your hands real well, even if you do wear rubber gloves.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the cheeses, bacon, and seasonings, and mix well.
• Stuff jalapeno halves generously with cheese mixture.
• Roll tops in breadcrumbs, refrigerate for 10 minutes, and coat again with the breadcrumbs.
• Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake, uncovered, in a preheated 300degF oven for 20 minutes for a spicy flavor, 30 minutes for medium flavor, or 40 minutes for mild.
• Serve with dipping sauces of choice or just plain.

PEPPER POPPERS (TASTE OF HOME)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cheeses, bacon, and seasonings and mix well. Spoon about 2 tablespoonfuls into each pepper half and roll in bread crumbs.
• Place in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Bake uncovered, at 325 for 15 minutes for spicy flavor, 25 minutes for medium and 35 minutes for mild.
• Serve with sour cream, dip or dressing.