Tag: jalapeno peppers

Categories
Appetizer Side Dish Snack

Pepper recipes abound for whatever might pop up

These grilled jalapeno poppers feature sharp cheddar along with bacon instead of the traditional cream-cheese-filled offering. The combination of flavors is a delicious change of pace.
These grilled jalapeno poppers feature sharp cheddar along with bacon instead of the traditional cream-cheese-filled offering. The combination of flavors is a delicious change of pace.

If you have read this column for any length of time, you know that I am, in no way, a gardener. Despite that, I still follow a Kansas gardening group on Facebook, and I love seeing the posts of beautiful gardens, weird plants and bugs that show up in people’s yards and discussions about how to keep everything alive.

One of my biggest fascinations this summer is with what local gardeners are calling “peppergate.” Apparently, a large seed manufacturer mixed up pepper seeds, and as plants are popping up and peppers are growing, people are discovering that their gardens aren’t producing exactly what they thought they would.

Unfortunately, that means many people who thought they were growing bell peppers are ending up with spicy ones instead. That has to be so frustrating.

In our house, we’re not scared of spicy peppers, although I almost exclusively use them to make salsa, so I was excited to try something a bit different—especially since Joey was firing up his smoker, and that meant I could make him actually cook my experiment for me.

I ended up making some jalapeno poppers that were a bit different from most recipes, because they used sharp cheddar instead of cream cheese, and they were certainly worth the try.

This recipe comes from the blog “Sur la table” and featured a recipe by chef Steve Raichlen. You can find the original post at https://www.surlatable.com/steve-raichlens-grilled-jalapeno-poppers/REC-283658.html. I added seasoning to my version and didn’t add almonds like the original recipe dictated.

Also, I used a jalapeno grill rack to make mine, which lets you stand the peppers upright while they roast. If you don’t have one, you can cut your jalapenos lengthwise instead. They may cook a little quicker that way, so be sure to keep your eye on them.

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Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

These grilled jalapeno poppers feature sharp cheddar along with bacon instead of the traditional cream-cheese-filled offering. The combination of flavors is a delicious change of pace.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword bacon, barbecue rub, barbecue seasoning, grilled, jalapeno peppers, jalapeno poppers, sharp cheddar cheese, smoker

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 large straight(ish) jalapeno peppers
  • 4 to 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 to 6 thin slices bacon
  • Barbecue seasoning of your choice

Instructions

  • You’ll want to get your grill heated up to about 375 degrees.
  • To prepare your jalapenos, cut the tops off of each, and carefully scoop out the seeds and ribs inside.
  • Cut the cheese into sticks that leave at least one-eighth of an inch clearance all the way around when you slide them into the jalapenos.
  • Cut the bacon slices into three pieces (not length-wise; you want short, wide pieces).
  • Pour about two tablespoons of barbecue seasoning on a small plate.
  • To assemble the poppers, roll a cheese stick in the seasoning, wrap the bacon tightly around it, and stuff it into the prepared jalapeno. Continue until all the jalapenos are filled.
  • Roast upright in a rack on your grill or smoker for 20 to 30 minutes or until the jalapenos are tender and the bacon is cooked through.
  • Serve hot.

These were a nice change of pace from traditional poppers. I really liked the combination of the sharp cheese with the spicy pepper and a little sweet from the barbecue seasoning.

The other nice thing is you can customize this for however many people you’re feeding. The original recipe made 18. I ended up making 10, because we didn’t have a ton of people coming over.

I can’t tell you how these reheat, as we didn’t have any left over, but I would guess they’re one of those things that’s best eaten right away.

If you happened to be a victim of “peppergate” this year, hopefully you’ll be able to find uses for all of your garden surprises. For me, this might be the first summer I’m pretty glad I just get my produce from the grocery store; gardening is already hard enough.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 10, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Seize the ‘carne’ with a summer-friendly chili recipe

Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you're ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it's a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.
Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you’re ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it’s a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.

There is an in-depth article that appeared back in 2017 in Texas Monthly by John Nova Lomax about the origins of chili con carne in the United States.

It’s a great read, if you get the chance, and apparently there’s a lot of controversy about the recipe’s origins from historians, but I did love a quoted section from a Kansas newspaper reporter who visited Texas in the late 1800s.

“Speaking of hot things, at San Antonio they have a dish called chili con carne,” he wrote. “[…] It is awful seductive looking […] They always have enough to go around, for no stranger, no matter how terrific a durned fool he is, ever calls for a second dish. He almost always calls for a big cistern full of water, and you can’t put the water in him fast enough with a steam engine hose.”

Let me assure you that although I did decide to try this Texas staple this week, it is not spicy enough to call for cisterns of water. Instead, the recipe I tried has great depth of flavor and is easy to adapt, based on your own favorite spices.

This comes from the blog “Chili Pepper Madness” by Mike Hultquist. You can find the original post at https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/chili-con-carne/. I added lots of extra spices in my version. And, yes, despite the strong opinion of many Texans, I added beans, too.

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Chili con Carne

Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you're ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it's a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword ancho peppers, beef, chili con carne, chuck roast, coriander, cumin, garlic, guajillo peppers, jalapeno peppers, kidney beans, oregano, paprika, Tex-Mex, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces dried guajillo peppers
  • 2 ounces dried ancho pasilla peppers
  • 4 to 6 pounds chuck roast cut into one-inch pieces
  • 4 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons oregano
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons coriander
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers diced
  • 20 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 to 4 cups beef stock optional
  • 2 15.5- ounce cans light red kidney beans rinsed and drained

Instructions

  • Start by heating a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Drop in the dried peppers, turning them every so often, until they are warmed through.
  • Remove from the pot and remove the stems and seeds from the dried peppers and submerge them in very hot water (at least three cups) in a container with a lid. Let them sit for 20 minutes. When the peppers are done, combine them with three cups of the soaking liquid in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
  • While the peppers soak, place the cubed roast in a large bowl along with the paprika, smoked paprika, oregano, black pepper, brown sugar, cumin, coriander and salt. Mix well to coat the meat evenly.
  • Heat the oil in your large pot over medium heat and add the meat, onions and jalapenos. Saute for around six minutes or until the meat is nicely browned and the vegetables are softened.
  • Add in the garlic and pepper sauce. If you already have a decent amount of liquid in the pot from the meat and vegetables, bring the mixture to a boil. If there isn’t much liquid or not enough to your liking, add beef stock to the pot and then bring it to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to a low simmer and place the lid on the pot. Let it cook for at least two hours or until the beef is tender.
  • If desired, shred the beef at this point. Add in the beans, and add more beef stock, if desired.
  • Serve in a bowl with rice, wrapped in tortillas, with chips or however you like it.

This was extremely delicious. We ate our chili con carne with some Mexican rice along with some corn chips on the side. When we ate the leftovers, we rolled it up in tortillas and ate it like burritos.

If you like peppers, you’ll love the flavors in this chili. It was fairly mild (I did deseed my jalapenos), if you’re not into something overly spicy.

And unlike the long-ago reporter from Kansas, we did go back for second helpings when we were finished. I guess that cements us as durned fools in our house.

This piece first appeared in print on June 23, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Crockpot Main Dish Soup

‘Peas’ your tastebuds with a spicy crockpot soup

Spicy black-eyed peas are a great way to warm up on a cold day and are even better with some fresh cornbread on the side.
Spicy black-eyed peas are a great way to warm up on a cold day and are even better with some fresh cornbread on the side.

There is enough debate about black-eyed peas that there’s actually an article about them on the Library of Congress website.

It starts out very simply, asking, “Are black-eyed peas really peas?”

The answer is simple: “No.”

The article then goes into a very technical, scientific explanation of how peas, beans and legumes are classified and named. It’s great reading if you want to take a nap.

But I suppose no matter what their official classification, their presence in our house every New Year’s Day is a constant, as they are supposed to create good luck in the coming year.

Obviously, with all the craziness over the past year, I must have not cooked them quite right in 2021, so I’m hoping this year’s recipe was a better one.

I decided to go with a spicy version of black-eyed peas this year, mostly because I had some jalapeno peppers languishing in my crisper drawer already. You can leave those out and just add another bell pepper and cut out the cayenne if you want to try this recipe and you’re not much of a spice person, but if you like a little heat, you’re really going to like this one.

This recipe from Trisha Haas comes from the blog “Salty Side Dish.” You can find the original post at https://www.saltysidedish.com/slow-cooker-black-eyed-peas/. I added extra spices in my version.

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Crockpot Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

Spicy black-eyed peas are a great way to warm up on a cold day and are even better with some fresh cornbread on the side.
Course Main Course
Keyword bacon, bell pepper, black-eyed peas, cayenne, crockpot, cumin, garlic, ham, jalapeno, oregano, slow cooker, soup, spicy, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces dry black-eyed peas
  • 3 beef bouillon cubes
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 bell pepper diced (any color)
  • 1-2 jalapeno peppers diced (remove the seeds for less kick)
  • 1 cup ham chopped
  • 6 slices bacon chopped
  • 3 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Add the beef bouillon cubes to about 1 cup of hot water. Smash the cubes before adding them to a large crockpot along with five more cups of water, and then add all of the rest of the ingredients, as well. You do not have to do anything to prep the peas. Just dump them in.
  • Give the mixture a good stir and then cook on high for six hours or until the peas are cooked through.
  • This is fantastic served with fresh cornbread.

The photos on the recipe’s website show a mushier-looking soup without a lot of broth. I had a decent amount of broth with mine, so it’s really more about what you prefer with yours if you let it cook down even longer to really get the liquid thinned out. Personally, I love having broth with soups like this so I have something to soak up with my cornbread.

This was so, so easy, since it was as simple as just dumping everything in the crockpot. It literally took no cooking skills whatsoever, which I appreciate sometimes.

Now, with our bellies warmed, supposedly Joey and I are covered for 2022 and all the luck life can bring us. I’m not sure if it worked, but I have some leftovers in my freezer just in case we need a boost in the coming weeks.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 13, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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