Holy Jalapeno!

Big Daddy has spent about 20 years dreaming of growing his own fruits and veggies.  It was tough to do in South Florida with the rather wet, hot weather, the sandy soil and the sun burning down on you with no relief.

When we bought our house a couple of years ago, Big Daddy's eyes lit up when he saw the 16 x 16 foot garden, already fenced in.   He had plans for that area that did not include any of the flowers that were there...

He spent the winter of 2011 flipping through seed catalogs, buying soil testing kits, having our water tested (it's City water, so I'm not sure what he was looking for),  taking the soil temperature.... boxes and boxes of plants and seeds were misdelivered through out the neighborhood, so we got to know our neighbors a little bit... actually, in a few cases, I got to know the housekeepers as some of my neighbors apparently don't answer their doors themselves.

Weird.

Big Daddy bought Peat Moss and mixed and mixed and mixed it in to our soil.

He bought some funky dunky compost from Canada that's made with lobsters and he mixed and mixed and mixed it into our soil.

He took over my indoor growing area in the mud room with flats of seeds that he was starting...

I asked for two things in this garden:  Jalapeno plants and Tomato plants.

I got 3 Jalapeno plants which pretty much took their sweet time to get used to their new home. 

Then they started to produce the mildest peppers you have ever encountered.  What?  We had given a whole bag full (probably 1 lb) of peppers to a friend. Who is from Texas. Who wanted them for some kind of super hot Jalapeno jelly.

Weren't we embarrassed when the entire batch was "ruined" because it was so mild?!

Eventually, the plants started to produce hotter peppers (can someone please explain this to me?)... and we were getting maybe 1/2 pound of peppers per day... now there's only so many Jalapenos you can put into a salad before it's too hot to trot, so we had a bit of a build up....

Until one day.....

I was making Buffalo Wings.... See my recipe somewhere here, under recipes, for Wings. We love wings.

I figured, the flour was out, the panko crumbs were out... I had some sour cream and "shred ched" (shredded cheddar) ... the oil was hot.... are you thinking what I was thinking????

Home made Jalapeno Poppers!!!

They were hot! They were spicy! They were tasty! They were delicious!

Here is your chance to make my "Poppahs"!

Jalapeno Poppahs Ala GruvEmom:

6-8 whole Jalapenos
4oz Cream Cheese, softened for 15 seconds in the microwave
2ish oz shredded cheese
1/4 C flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 C Panko crumbs w/ Italian Seasoning or Flavored Bread Crumbs (your call!)
1 egg whisked and in a saucer or small plate

Preheat about 1-1/2 inches of vegetable oil to 350degrees
Line a
Cut tops off of the peppers, then use a steak knife to remove the seeds

Stir the cheeses together and use a spoon to fill each pepper from the top

When the peppers are stuffed with cheese, one by one:

roll them in the egg
roll them in the flour
roll them in the egg
roll them in the panko/crumbs

Carefully, put them in the hot oil

Turn them gently with metal tongs and cook 2-5 minutes until the bread crumbs are a toasty brown.

Remove the peppers to  a small plate or small flat cookie pan that has been lined with paper towels and let the peppers drain and cool for a minute.

Serve hot with any kind of dipping sauce you like (I prefer Bleu Cheese dressing!) and a napkin or two.

Feel free to make your own decisions on cheeses/ stuffing/ coatings - but let me know how you like them!

Oh, PLEASE be sure to handle the peppers with care. ALWAYS wash your hands after handling them and before touching your face or eyes or kids... just trust me....

Gruve On!