Stuffed Jalapenos

With just two of us in the house, I don't make "snack" foods very often, since they hang around the house begging to be eaten. But when I saw these on Good Morning America, I knew we had to find a way to try them.

Lets see - jalapenos are a vegetable, right? Voila! Now it's a side dish!!

Keep in mind if you make these for loved ones, peppers, even of the same variety, have varying levels of heat. Scraping a bit of the rib out will help control the unexpected.

Can you feel the excitement as they wait to be cooked?

We LOVE hot peppers, so the ribs stayed in!!! In our case, any heat we didn't expect was countered by the cool cream cheese and sweet barbecue sauce.

Appetizer, side dish, after school snack - heck a light dinner - TRY THESE!


Stuffed Jalapenos (Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

18 fresh jalapeños
One 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 green onion, sliced
Diced pineapple (optional addition- I didnt use this time, but will the next)

Bottled barbecue sauce
Toothpick
Rubber gloves (or plastic bags) for working with jalapeños

Preheat the oven to 275ºF.

Begin by cutting jalapeños in half lengthwise. Try to keep the stems intact.

With a spoon, scrape out the seeds and light-colored membranes to match your heat-tolerance level.

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, chopped green onion and pineapple (if using). Mix the ingredients together gently. Stuff each hollowed jalapeño half with the cheese mixture.

Brush the cream cheese with your favorite barbecue sauce. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until pepper is getting soft, but is not "mushy".

These are good hot, room temp and cold!