Jalapeno peppers, stuffed, mmmmmm.  If you think about it there’s almost no better combination out there:  cheese and spice.  I espied the plump and oh-so-fresh-looking jalapenos at the grocery and thought how they looked so green, as if they were were just picked out of someone’s garden.  That garden would be in Mexico and I can’t imagine what route the peppers took to get all the way up here but boy I couldn’t wait to stuff them.

I didn’t have a recipe so I settled for improvisation.  While we had a fridge full of cheese there was no cream cheese to be found.  There was Philly onion chip dip bought for movie night so a spoonful of that landed in the bowl with shredded mozz/cheddar, some bread crumbs and bated breath.  I liked the look of the peppers standing up so I chose to not slice them lengthwise.  Instead I inserted a very sharp knife after cutting off the tops and twisting it gently to remove the veins and seeds.  I stuffed the mixture in, overstuffed actually, and then put the tops back on.  In order to keep them standing upright in the baking dish I had to sit each one into a little tin foil cup that I’d fashioned for each.  I baked them at 400 degrees for roughly 25 minutes.  They were really tasty, quite a bit spicier than I thought they would be since I’d de-seeded them.  Next time I might consider blanching the peppers very briefly before stuffing them because, as T said, the skins were a little firmer than preferable.

Then, I washed my hands thoroughly before I stuck my fingers into my eyes, which I seem to do only after I’ve sliced garlic, onions or jalapeno peppers.  I don’t know why that is.  My kitchen carelessness is directly proportionate to the damage I can do by what’s left over on my fingers.

You know how it is.