• 10 jalapeño peppers
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, drained well
• 1 (16-ounce) package bacon (not thick-sliced)
• Barbecue sauce

Slice jalapeños lengthwise, then remove and discard seeds and core. Do not do this with your bare hands; use a paring knife or latex gloves.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add pineapple, and stir until thoroughly combined. Spread cream cheese mixture into jalapeño halves, leveling the top. (The mixture will expand when cooking.)

Cut fatty ends off bacon. Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with 1slice of bacon, and arrange on a large baking pan that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 375° for 30–35 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Baste poppers with barbecue sauce, and continue baking for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

*This recipe makes enough filling for twice as many poppers. If you’re making these for a party, double up on the peppers and bacon — trust me, you can’t have too many of these! If not, refrigerate the leftover filling to use as a spread for bagels or crackers.

Sriracha Bacon Deviled Eggs

• 12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash of each: garlic powder, onion powder, and white pepper
• 3–4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Place yolks in a small mixing bowl, and arrange whites on a serving platter or plate.

Combine egg yolks, mayonnaise, sriracha, salt, and spices, then mix well with an electric mixer or the back of a fork. If filling is too thick, add more mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency. Taste for salt and spices, and add more, if desired.

Fill each egg white half with yolk filling (if you don’t have a piping bag, this can very easily be done by using a zip-top bag with a small hole cut out of one corner). Top each egg with crumbled bacon. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Times of Oman

If you want to lend sizzle to your favourite salsa, marinade, and jellies, add jalapenos to them. Though they aren’t really very hot like chillies but this moderately hot

Pickled

Take apple cider vinegar, jalapeños, garlic, salt, bay leaves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, and sugar. Heat vinegar and water with sugar. Slice jalapeños and fill a jar. Add the other ingredients and pour hot vinegar. Refrigerate it.

pepper is sure to spice up your meals.

Roasted

Cut the jalapeno peppers in halves and remove the seeds. Place them on a baking dish with cut side down. Set the oven to broil for 15 minutes. Flip and broil for another 5-10 minute. Add them in any dishes for the chilli

flavours.

Jellied

Remove stems and seeds and blend the peppers. In a large pot boil the blended pepper. Stir in vinegar, salt and sugar and boil for 10 minutes. Add liquid fruit pectin. Pour the jelly in a canning jar and give it a water bath. Let it rest till it is fully set.

Stuffed

Cook shredded chicken sausage in medium heat and in a bowl mix cheese and the sausages. Cut the jalepanos into halves and put 1tbsp of the mixture into each. Place in baking dish and bake, uncovered, at 218 C for 15-20 minutes till brown.

Fried

Mix flour, salt, pepper, red chilli powder, garlic powder, and eggs, in a bowl. In a deep fryer, or large pot heat oil to 180 degrees C. Dip the sliced jalapenos in the batter. Place the coated jalapenos in deep fryer till they are golden brown and crispy.

By: FOX4News.com Staff

Chef Sarah Penrod, a private chef and Food Network Star, will be at ZestFest this weekend at the Irving Convention Center. She stops by Good Day to make her favorite hot wings.

Marinade:

4 Chicken Thighs
2 Chicken Breasts, Butterflied
5 Chicken Legs
½ Quart of Buttermilk
½ c. Frank’s Red Hot or Buffalo Sauce
3 Large Eggs

In a large deep casserole dish or bowl blend the buttermilk, buffalo sauce, and eggs with a whisk. Place the chicken pieces in to marinate overnight or at least 6 hours.

Crispy Fried Batter:
1 pound Self- Rising Flour
1/3 c. Cornstarch
1 T Salt
2 T Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 T Onion Powder
½ c. Dried Parsley
2 Liters Canola or Peanut Oil

Honey Jalapeno Glaze:
3 c. Diced Tomato
3 Small Jalapenos, seeds scooped out but reserved
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/3 c. Honey
1/3 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 c. Red Wine Vinegar
2 Sprigs of Basil
1 ½ t. Kosher salt
½ t. Pepper

Dice the tomato, mince the garlic, and cut the jalapenos in half. Using a teaspoon scrap the insides of the jalapeno out reserving the seeds and ribs of one of the halves for the sauce and discarding the rest. Half of one of the jalapenos gives a nice balanced medium hot flavor. Dice the seeded jalapeno peppers.

In a small sauce pan pour in the olive oil and honey. Bring it to a boil and let this bubble for approximately 1 minute. Pour in the red wine vinegar and turn down the heat as it will bubble and gush for a moment. Add the diced tomatoes, garlic cloves, 2 sprigs of basil, diced jalapeno, salt, pepper, and the seeds and ribs of half of one jalapeno. Simmer for 15 minutes. Take the mixture off of the heat and cool for several minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend for 1 min. Season with salt and pepper and reserve for the chicken.

Directions:

Mix all of the batter ingredients in a deep casserole dish. Prepare a large platter or cookie sheet lined with foil to rest the chicken on after they are battered. Using 1 hand for pulling the chicken out of the buttermilk mixture and the other hand for coating the chicken in the seasoned flour mixture, batter each piece of chicken with a good coating of batter. Place them on the platter. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 40 minutes and up to a day ahead. (I batter them during the day for dinnertime.)

Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed enamel dutch oven or wide stock pot. Fill it with oil half to three quarters full. You want the chicken to be completely submerged when frying 2-4 pieces at a time.

Bring the temperature of the oil up to 350 degrees. After resting the chicken, take it out of the refrigerator and check to see that the flour mixture has turned from white and powdery to looking like an opaque batter is coating the chicken. Bits of white may still be seen but primarily the chicken should look coated in thick batter. This is the secret to a strong, crunchy crust that will adhere to the chicken.

When the oil has reached 350 you may begin placing the chicken into the pot, up to 4 pieces at a time. I always use a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil to make sure it’s not rising too much (over 365 degrees) or not dropping below 325 degrees as I determine when to add more chicken. This recipe cooks in 3 batches.

WDBJ7‘s Melissa Gaona showed Lindsey Anderson how to make her Quinoa Enchilada Casserole.

Ingredients:

-1 avocado
-1/2 cup frozen corn
-2 tbsp cilantro
-1/2 black beans, canned
-1 cup quinoa
-1 can (10-ounce) rotel
-1/2 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp chili powder
-2 cup shredded cheese

For a vegan recipe or less calories, leave out the cheese (it’s still very tasty)

Pico De Gallo – Ingredients:

-4 Roma Tomatoes
-4 jalapenos
-3/4 cups red onions, diced
-2 tbsp cilantro, fresh leaves
-1/2 of a lime

Pico De Gallo – Instructions:

-Dice tomatoes, jalapenos, red onion, and cilantro.
-Combine
-Squeeze lime on top and mix.
Enjoy on top of anything!

Toppings For Casserole

Pico De Gallo – 2 tbsp, or measure of your choice.
Sour Cream – 1 tbsp, or measure of your choice.
Colorful Tortilla Strips – 2 tbsp, or measure of your choice.
Avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, diced – 2 tbsp, or measure of your choice.

Instructions:

– In a large saucepan of 2 cups of water, cook quinoa following instructions on package (this will make more than what recipe calls for). Set aside.

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

-Use an 8×8 or 2 quart baking dish for casserole.

-In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked quinoa, black beans, frozen corn, rotel, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, and 1 cup of shredded cheese.

-Spread quinoa mixture into baking dish. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheese.

-Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 20 minutes.

-Serve immediately, garnished with avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream, and tortilla strips, if desired.

-Eat slowly and enjoy the burst of fresh flavor!

BY JOSH MCAULIFFE   –   thetimes-tribune.com

Paul Cimino has a penchant for producing tasty pepper dishes.

Ask anyone who’s ever tried his Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos, an instantly addictive treat that has earned plenty of devotees through the years.

The recipe is this week’s featured entry for Local Flavor: Recipes We Love contest, earning Mr. Cimino a $100 gift card from Ray’s ShurSave Supermarkets, which has locations in Old Forge, Waymart, Factoryville and Montrose.

A resident of the Bull’s Head section of North Scranton, Mr. Cimino has been churning out Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños by the dozens for about 25 years. The recipe came out of “Pepper Night,” a weekly get-together for Mr. Cimino and a few of his buddies.

“We get together and tell tall tales, have a couple beers, put something on the grill,” Mr. Cimino said.

And, of course, eat peppers, including Mr. Cimino’s famous marinated cherry peppers stuffed with prosciutto and sharp provolone cheese.

Somewhere along the way, Mr. Cimino came up with the idea for Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños. They were an immediate hit with the Pepper Night crew, and before long he also was making them for parties and holidays.

Every year, on the Saturday before Easter, Mr. Cimino makes the peppers for the annual “Break the Fast” party at Dunmore’s San Cataldo Club.

“There’s trays of these peppers flying around there,” Mr. Cimino said. “The guys always look forward to them.”

Through trial and error, Mr. Cimino has developed a pepper preparation that works well for him.

First, he splits the jalapeños in half, then cleans them out using a teaspoon he’s specially fashioned for the task.

“The cleaner you get them, the less heat there is,” he said.

Then, he takes the sausage out of its casings — he uses both sweet and hot sausage from Ray’s — and puts it in a skillet over medium heat.

Once the sausage is browned, Mr. Cimino puts it in a food processor with cream cheese and cheddar cheese, then processes it until it takes on the consistency of chunky peanut butter.

He then stuffs the sausage in the halved jalapeños and puts them in the oven at 350 F, cooking until the peppers are semi-wilted and the sausage browns slightly on top.

The batch Mr. Cimino produced on a recent afternoon were devoured in minutes. Quite simply, the peppers and stuffing make for an outstanding combination, so much so that they can be eaten at a potato chip-like rate.

Unlike the jalapeños, Mr. Cimino grows the cherry

peppers in his garden. He’s gone through as many as 40 quarts of the marinated stuffed cherry peppers per year, such is the demand among family and friends.

“We have people who fight over them,” Mr. Cimino said, adding with a laugh, “I clean a hell of a lot of peppers.”

“Everyone keeps saying to him, ‘You should sell these,’” said Mr. Cimino’s wife, Diane.

Besides the cherry peppers, Mr. Cimino has other specialties that reflect his Italian lineage, like his homemade limoncello and coffee-flavored sambuca.

His sausage and peppers are so good that when he used to make them for North Scranton Vikings pee-wee football games (his sons, P.J., 21, and Nick, 18, were players at the time) the volunteers at the stand would keep the Crock-Pot in the back for themselves.

“He could have his own recipe book,” Mrs. Cimino said. “He sees a recipe, and he says, ‘Let’s try this.’ And then he’ll tweak it.”

He makes it his own. And, above all, he makes it really well.

Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com, @jmcauliffeTT on Twitter

Paul Cimino’s

Sausage Stuffed Jalapeños

 

1 pound hot sausage

1 pound sweet sausage

4 ounces cream cheese

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

12-16 jalapeño peppers

 

Halve and clean the jalapeños, then set aside.

Take the sausage out of its casings and place in a large skillet over medium heat. Continue to break up the sausage while cooking until it’s almost brown. Do not cook through. Drain oil and water from sausage.

In half to 1-pound batches, process the sausage in a food processor with cream cheese and cheddar cheese, processing until the mixture gets to the consistency of chunky peanut butter.

Stuff halved peppers with sausage mixture and place on a flat pan coated with olive oil.

Cook at 350 F until the peppers become semi-wilted and the sausage browns lightly on top.

Winestein says

Try this dish with a light red, such as pinot noir or barbera.

— DAVID FALCHEK