Appetizers

Hot Hot Hot Appetizers!

Hot hot hot!  I used to love hot stuff, now not always as much.  But these stuffed jalapeños are my husband’s favorite and can be made in a few different ways to control the heat and boy are they good!  Remove the ribs in the jalapeños to reduce the heat or leave them in for a nice kick.  Use mild sausage for a smaller kick or hot sausage for a “oh boy I need a glass of milk now kick”.   Serve with a side of ranch dressing to cool it off or a side of blue cheese with hot sauce to spice it up. 

The little red hot bites are stuffed peppadews.  Just stuff peppadews with cooked sausage and finish on the grill.  You can find peppadews on an olive bar or in a jar in your grocery aisle, they have a delicious spicy sweet finish…

Stuffed Jalapenos

Makes 28

14 Jalapeños

4 Italian Sausage Links, mild or hot

4 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

14 slices of Bacon, halved

  1. Remove casing from sausage (a sharp knife slit and it should easily come out) and cook while crumbling over medium heat until browned. 
  2. Remove from heat and mix in cream cheese.  This helps melt cream cheese into sausage a bit.  Then mix in cheddar cheese.
  3. Wear gloves or plastic sandwich bags work when working with Jalapenos.  Slice in half length wise and remove seeds and white rib.  That rib holds some of the hot stuff.
  4. Fill each half of jalapeño with sausage mixture.
  5. Wrap each half with bacon strip.  You can secure with toothpick if you want, we have done it both ways.
  6. Roast at 350 or throw on your grill for 20-30 minutes until bacon is crispy.  We have tried to par-cook bacon before it doesn’t work so well…

Have a great day!

-Angie