I love spicy food. One of the things I miss most about casual dining-out is the jalapeno popper. I have never seen them sold in a supermarket, though it's probably just because I never noticed them before. At least until now. During the course of the weekend, a friend told me where I could buy jalapenos and it suddenly occurred to me that "hey, I can make those at home!" Yes. It was a kin to an epiphany. Obvious though it may seem, I just never made that connection. Put it down to being blond and a newbie at fancy (-ish) home cooking.
Turns out they are not as expensive as I was expecting. And surprisingly easy to make. All you need is:
12 jalapenos
1 250g tub of plain cream cheese
grated cheddar
chives, finely chopped
streaky bacon
Cut off the stems from the jalapenos and slice them lengthwise, but not all the way through. You need to remove the seeds and membranes they are attached to. The remaining jalapeno makes a kind of pocket for the stuffing. When handling the seeds, either use a pair of gloves or make sure NOT to touch your eyes or any other sensitive spots until after you've properly scrubbed your hands. Trust me on this. I had two spots on my hands burning for a couple of hours afterwards. It wasn't painful, it was more the kind of burning you get from a really strong muscle ointment like Deep-Heat.
Mix the cream cheese, chives and cheddar cheese together. Then stuff the jalapenos. Wrap the streaky bacon around the jalapenos and secure with a toothpick. Each. I used a baking tray and wrapped the jalapenos collectively in one big piece of tinfoil. Pop in the oven at 200*C for 30-40 minutes. Depends on how crunchy you want the bacon to be. Take them out the oven and tinfoil, leave to cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy!
So much for the starter, now on to the main course.
I had four chicken breasts, 6 baby marrows, and 200g of mushrooms and half a can of coconut cream in the fridge. Perfect. Brown one onion with a stick of butter, add the chicken (cut into cubes), the coconut cream and the remaining chives (also finely chopped), and stir. Then add the sliced baby marrows and chopped mushrooms. Keep the heat up and the whole lot bubbling for about 2 minutes, then bring down to simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Switch the heat off completely and leave to cool and settle before serving.
Tip: If a lot of cheese escapes from the poppers and you've caught it all up in the tinfoil, just pour it into the chicken mix for some extra flavour. Have to do this while the cheese is hot and runny, otherwise it'll just cling to the foil.
The poppers and chicken dish make a filling meal for two. However, that means that there's only the chicken dish to pack in as lunch for the following day. You can always just put a mini salad together if you are not sure if it's enough to see you through the day. Alternatively, it's a potluck, so feel free to add whatever else is in your fridge to stretch the meal a bit. I have found that fewer ingredients tend to taste better. Too many ingredients and you end up with a confusion rather than a tasty meal.
From now on, I'll keep my eyes peeled for jalapenos. Great for when you're entertaining. Enjoy!
Turns out they are not as expensive as I was expecting. And surprisingly easy to make. All you need is:
12 jalapenos
1 250g tub of plain cream cheese
grated cheddar
chives, finely chopped
streaky bacon
Cut off the stems from the jalapenos and slice them lengthwise, but not all the way through. You need to remove the seeds and membranes they are attached to. The remaining jalapeno makes a kind of pocket for the stuffing. When handling the seeds, either use a pair of gloves or make sure NOT to touch your eyes or any other sensitive spots until after you've properly scrubbed your hands. Trust me on this. I had two spots on my hands burning for a couple of hours afterwards. It wasn't painful, it was more the kind of burning you get from a really strong muscle ointment like Deep-Heat.
Mix the cream cheese, chives and cheddar cheese together. Then stuff the jalapenos. Wrap the streaky bacon around the jalapenos and secure with a toothpick. Each. I used a baking tray and wrapped the jalapenos collectively in one big piece of tinfoil. Pop in the oven at 200*C for 30-40 minutes. Depends on how crunchy you want the bacon to be. Take them out the oven and tinfoil, leave to cool for a couple of minutes and enjoy!
So much for the starter, now on to the main course.
I had four chicken breasts, 6 baby marrows, and 200g of mushrooms and half a can of coconut cream in the fridge. Perfect. Brown one onion with a stick of butter, add the chicken (cut into cubes), the coconut cream and the remaining chives (also finely chopped), and stir. Then add the sliced baby marrows and chopped mushrooms. Keep the heat up and the whole lot bubbling for about 2 minutes, then bring down to simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Switch the heat off completely and leave to cool and settle before serving.
Tip: If a lot of cheese escapes from the poppers and you've caught it all up in the tinfoil, just pour it into the chicken mix for some extra flavour. Have to do this while the cheese is hot and runny, otherwise it'll just cling to the foil.
The poppers and chicken dish make a filling meal for two. However, that means that there's only the chicken dish to pack in as lunch for the following day. You can always just put a mini salad together if you are not sure if it's enough to see you through the day. Alternatively, it's a potluck, so feel free to add whatever else is in your fridge to stretch the meal a bit. I have found that fewer ingredients tend to taste better. Too many ingredients and you end up with a confusion rather than a tasty meal.
From now on, I'll keep my eyes peeled for jalapenos. Great for when you're entertaining. Enjoy!