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.

Recipes: Aran~itas de Platano (Plantain Spiders.)

No, no, we don't eat actual spiders. We do like to eat plantains, though, and one of the ways of preparing them is by making them look like fried spiders. Very tasty.

My cousin Miriam is an expert at making "aran~itas" (spanish for "little spiders",) and so she shared this recipe with me.

Aran~itas de Platano:

Ingredients:

• 6 green plantains (the greener, the better.)
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• salt
• 4 oz water

On a big bowl, grate the plaintains using a cheese grater (similar to grating cheddar cheese, for example.) On a separate, small bowl, mix the pressed garlic, salt (to taste - about a tablespoon), and the water until the salt dissolves. Pour the seasoning mix onto the grated plantains, and mix with your fingers. Try not to compact the plaintain dough; make sure the plaintain flakes stay nice and loose.

On a deep casserole (4-6 qt), bring cooking oil to 350F degrees. Once hot, pick a small handful of plaintain flakes and compact them somewhat (not too much), and place in the hot oil. You should see good bubbling action in the oil. Cook for about five minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oil, and drain in either paper towels or a draining pan.

Serve while hot/warm. This serves about 10 people. You may want to adjust the amount depending on how many folks you have eating these.

Variations:

- some folks like these things to be very garlicky. You may want to add more garlic if you are entrenched in this camp.

- if you compact the aran~itas before frying them, the inside will not cook as much and stay soft. Compacting them less will allow the insides to cook to a crisp (which I tend to prefer.) Try either method until you get the consistency you like.

That's it - fairly simple. And very tasty!

Recipes: Stuffed Yellow Peppers

My cousin OT (pronounced "Oh - tee") cooked some stuffed yellow peppers for us the other day. Here is the recipe, along with a picture of her preparing the peppers. (That's my mom in the background, preparing more food.)

Ingredients:

• A bag of multi-color mini sweet bell peppers.
  
• Manchego Cheese, cut into strips 1 inch wide.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cut a slit lengthwise through each pepper, and remove all the seeds. Stuff a strip of manchego cheese into each pepper. Place the peppers in a roasting pan, and brush them with olive oil. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. Roast in an oven at 375F degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the peppers start turning brown/dark.

Let cool for a few minutes. Serve. Enjoy. Yum.

Recipes: Chili

So, on New Years Day, I made a batch of chili to munch on while we nursed our mild hangovers, at it was pretty good. So I figured I'd post it here.
Maybe I'll add pictures at some point.

I borrowed the recipe from a co-worker. Below is the recipe verbatim. I tend to go heavy on the cumin, and a bit light on the tomato paste. I also top with chopped onions, cheddar cheese, white rice, and/or oyster crackers. You can top with anything you want.

Oh, and if chorizo is not available, any sausage will do (although the spicier the better.) Andouille works well, as well as hot italian sausage, hot links, etc. Experiment and let me know how it goes.

Enjoy!

New Year's Chili

Ingredients:
4 Garlic Cloves - chopped
1 Green Pepper - chopped
1 Red Onion - chopped
1 Large can of diced tomatoes with liquid
1 lb Round Steak - chopped into small pieces
1 lb Pork Roast - chopped into small pieces
1 lb Chorizo (Mexican Sausage) - chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 tbsp Chili Powder
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Cumin
4 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 can Red kidney beans
1 can Black beans

In three tablespoons of oil cook sausage, onion, pepper, and garlic about 5 minutes. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside. Add meats (beef and pork) and cook until well browned. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside. Place in large pot, add all ingredients except beans, cover with lid and cook for approximately 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally. Add beans and tomato paste. Cook on low for another 15 minutes.