Nikki L/Flickr Creative Commons
There is something just a little wonderful about stuffed jalapeños, maybe it’s that hint of danger like it’s the pepper version of Russian Roulette. If you’re not a spicy person, yet you enjoy the flavor of jalapeños, let us first talk about how to pick the right pepper for the amount of heat you can stand. Generally speaking, if you want a jalapeño with less heat you look for a uniform light green color and smoothe skin. The darker the pepper becomes, and if the skin has little lines, the hotter that pepper will be. So for the purposes of this recipe, choose jalapeños that fit into your own personal heat spectrum. Get macho if that’s your thing, or wimp out guilt-free if you need to, because it ALL tastes good.
So here is what you’ll need (ought to be enough for a family gathering):
- twelve Jalapeños (try to pick uniform color and size if possible)
- half cup of shredded pepper jack cheese
- quarter cup of pretty finely chopped white onion
- quarter cup of chopped bacon (already cooked)
- quarter cup chopped fresh cilantro
- teaspoon and a half of cumin
- teaspoon oregano (dried)
What you’ll need to do is pre-heat that oven to 375. While the oven is warming up to temp, cut the stems off the jalapeños then cut them in half lengthwise. You’ll need to scrape the seeds and ribs out as well. Mix all the ingredients together and pack the mixture into the jalapeños. Then you’ll put the stuffed peppers on a foil lined baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them as you get close to 20 minutes because what you’re looking for is the cheese to be bubbling and turning a light brown. Once you see that, they’re done. As an aside, some folks will cut a strip of pepper jack cheese and place it on top of the mixture to act as a kind of “lid” to the whole deal and you’re welcome to do that depending on how much cheese you like. Same indicators for being done though, bubbly cheese turning light brown. Enjoy!!