Baked Jalapeno Poppers

So my cousin Ed (who's the General Manager at Sapporo's, in Scottsdale) prepared a quick snack for the family. It involves bacon in some capacity, and so I had to add it to the blog. Here's the recipe.


Baked Jalapeno Poppers

2 lbs. of fresh jalapeno peppers.
2 8-oz packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/2 lb of green onions, sliced
1 lb bacon

Preheat the oven to 350F.





Remove the stem off the peppers, and slice in half. Then remove the insides of the peppers (you may leave them if you want them to be spicier.)

Fry the bacon well done, and chop into bacon bits.

Cut the cream cheese in 1/4 inch by 1.5 inch strips. The idea is that the cheese will fit on top of the sliced peppers.

In a baking pan/cookie sheet, lay out the halved peppers. Place a piece of cheese, a bit of the green onions, and a few bacon bits on each pepper half.





Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Tomato Pie

So, I'm spending Xmas with my family, and it turns out my cousin Berto's wife, Kristi ("cousin in law") prepared a Tomato Pie for us. I must admit, I've never had Tomato Pie until tonight, and I figured it makes for a good recipe.
















(It was also suggested bacon can somehow be incorporated into this recipe. That remains as an exercise to the reader. Although I might experiment at some point and see how it goes. Stay tuned.)

Tomato Pie

Ingredients:
8 tomatoes
2 pie crusts (with aluminum pan)
8oz packet of cheddar cheese
8oz packet of mozzarella cheese
1 cup of mayonaise
salt, black pepper, dried oregano

In a pre-heated 400F oven, prebake the pie crusts for 5 minutes, or until lightly brown (not too brown!) Remove from the oven and allow to cool somewhat.

Slice all the tomatoes.

In a deep bowl, mix the cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and mayonnaise.

















In each pie shell, add half the sliced tomatoes, and top with half of the cheese and mayo mix. Add a sprinkle of salt (1 teaspoon?), a pinch of black pepper, and about 1 tablespoon of dried oregano.














Lower the oven temperature to 375F, and bake the pies for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Wait for the pies to cool, serve and enjoy.