Stuffed Jalapenos: A super appetizer to serve on Sunday

“If you take out the seeds and the membranes, it’s not really hot. You just get that jalapeno flavor,” she said.

Weiker’s been making the recipe for five years after seeing it in a flyer at a grocery store.

“But it was boring so I souped it up.”

She added sweet peppers, garlic and Parmesan cheese.

“We eat jalapenos and sweet peppers just about every meal,” Weiker said.

A tip for this dish is to bake the jalapenos in a shallow pan.

“If you don’t cook them on a cookie sheet, they don’t get crispy.”

The jalapenos are a hit, whether it’s football season, the holidays or a summer party. They’re usually served in the Weikers’ barn, which they built themselves 10 years ago. The space is insulated, heated and full of games, like darts and corn hole.

“We have a lot of get-togethers out in our barn,” Weiker said. “It’s always ready to party out there. We’ve had everything out there from my mom’s and dad’s retirement party to their 50th wedding anniversary.”

Mom and dad, John and Rita Goris, live right across the street, where Weiker grew up. She and her husband, Tom, first bought a home on Mermill Road, then moved back to her old stomping ground in Custar in 2001.

Weiker learned to cook when she was little, as did her three siblings.

“When we were growing up, they (their parents) both worked so we learned to cook young,” she said. “Our family always functioned as a team.”

She went to school at St. Louis School, where she also was married.

Weiker is a nurse for Deshler Family Practice and has worked for Dr. Carol Hicks since 1995. Tom is an electrician. Their children, Alex, 24, and Mollie, 21, live in Bowling Green. As empty-nesters, Weiker said the couple still prefer to eat in, rather than dine out.

They eat a lot of fish, and one specialty that may get served this Super Bowl Sunday is Seafood Pinwheels. Weiker will buy a prepared seafood salad and add onion, peppers and crushed red pepper flakes. Spread the mixture on a tortilla, then slice them into pinwheels.

Hands-down, her best recipe is a homemade cinnamon roll that she bakes every Christmas.

Weiker doesn’t prefer brand names for cooking, shopping a lot at Walmart and Aldi’s.

Her meats do come from the butcher shop, and most of her vegetables pop right out of her backyard.

They grow tomatoes, jalapenos and two or three different kinds of peppers. She makes her own salsa, and sauerkraut from cabbage in the garden. She also makes her own pickles and relish.

“I can can anything.”

When Weiker is shopping, she has a huge, detailed list. She only shops for groceries once every two weeks.

“When you live out in the country, you definitely plan ahead.”

If the Weikers aren’t cooking, weeding the garden or playing in the garage, they’re probably on their Harleys, riding the rural roads.

Weiker swears there’s nothing like motorcycle riding to give a rush to the senses.

“You just smell things. You go by a field that’s just been tilled. … There’s so many things you can appreciate.”

Stuffed Jalapenos

CRAB STUFFED JALAPENOS

Ingredients

8-ounce imitation crab meat

6-ounce spreadable cream cheese-softened

1⁄2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1⁄2 cup Mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons minced onions

6 mini sweet red/orange/yellow peppers chopped fine

uncooked bacon slices cut in half

fresh jalapenos

Directions

Soften cream cheese and mix all ingredients but crab meat with mixer. Chop crab meat and add to cream cheese mixture.

Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise. Remove stems and seeds. Generously stuff with crab meat mixture. Wrap 1⁄2 slice bacon around jalapeno and secure with toothpick.

Bake on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

(stuffs 12-15 jalapenos)

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE STUFFED JALAPENOS

1 pound Italian sausage

2  tablespoons Chili powder

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

6 small sweet peppers chopped finely

1⁄2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1⁄2 cup Mozzarella cheese

1⁄2 cup water

fresh jalapenos

Brown and drain sausage. Chop finely. Stir in tomato paste, water, chili powder, chopped sweet peppers and cheeses. Cook 1-2 minutes until water cooks in.

Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise. Remove membranes and seeds.

Generously stuff jalapeno halves.

Bake on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until jalapenos soften.

(stuffs 12-15 jalapenos)