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Recipe: Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

07 Jun
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

 

Is there a better comfort food than a great grilled cheese sandwich? Maybe. I think fried chicken and macaroni and cheese come pretty close. During a recent football party, I put together a grilled cheese menu and this one, the Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich, was my favorite.

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Assembling the Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

This grilled cheese uses Cheddar, cream cheese, jalapeño strips (all the ingredients in a jalapeño popper) and bacon. Why hasn’t anyone thought to add bacon to jalapeño poppers? That’s a mystery. Anyway, this is super easy to make and quick.

Ingredients:

  • 2 jalapeños, seeded and cut into strips
  • 4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
  • 10-12 pieces of nice crusty bread, cut along the bias
  • 4 TBSP cream cheese
  • 4 TBSP salted butter, melted
  • 1/2 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, sliced
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Unsalted butter is a necessity when grilling sandwiches.

Directions:

  1. Preheat a panini press, griddle, grill or skillet.
  2. Spread cream cheese on one slice of bread.
  3. On another, place two slices of Cheddar cheese.
  4. Lay three or four jalapeño strips on the cream cheese side.
  5. Sprinkle bacon on top of cream cheese side.
  6. Place cheddar cheese side, cheese down on top of the cream cheese side.
  7. Brush melted butter on top of sandwich and place buttered side down on the panini press.
  8. Brush top side with melted butter.
  9. Shut panini press and grill four to five minutes or until Cheddar cheese is melted. Alternately, flip sandwich after two or three minutes if using a griddle, grill or skillet.
  10. Cut in half then serve.
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Use a panini press to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

You may think this Jalapeño Popper Grill Cheese Sandwich recipe is spicy, but to me, fresh jalapeños aren’t too spicy. Especially, when compared to pickled jalapeños. The peppers give the sandwich a nice crunch.

Be sure to pick a nice bread that won’t fall apart. I used a jalapeño-Cheddar bread from my local Whole Foods and it was perfect. Try this sandwich next time you need some good ‘ol fashioned comfort food.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on June 7, 2017 in Appetizers, Cookin', Entrees, Recipes

 

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Recipe: Spicy Chicken Chili

13 Mar
Spicy Chicken Chili

Spicy Chicken Chili

Cold temps may be on the way out (fingers crossed), but there’s still time to make chili. Using chicken thighs, I made this Spicy Chicken Chili.

This is a very simple dish to make that’s full of healthy ingredients. I used dark meat, but if you want it even healthier, you can use white mean. But I actually prefer dark meat for the flavor in slow-cooked dishes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6), cut into strips
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
    • Spicy Chicken Chili and Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread

    Serve Spicy Chicken Chili with Jalape&ntidle;o-Cheddar Cornbread

  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 TBSP white pepper
  • 2 TBSP black pepper
  • 3 TBSP chili powder
  • 1 TBSP ground cumin
  • 2 TBSP kosher salt
  • 3 jalapeños (seed removed), chopped
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes with their juice
  • 1 can black beans, drained
  • 1 can pinto beans, drained
  • 1 can red kidney beans, drained
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
  • Sour cream (optional)
  • Shredded cheese (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a large pot or saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, or until they soften.
  2. Increase the heat to medium and add the chicken. Cook about two minutes until the strips are no longer pink.
  3. Stir in the salt, white pepper, chili powder and cumin.
  4. Add the jalapeños and the tomatoes with their juice.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  6. Uncover and stir in the beans and black pepper. Simmer until the chili has thickened (about 15 minutes longer).
  7. Spoon chili into bowls and garnish with cilantro, sour cream and shredded cheese (if desired)

If the chili seems to spicy for you, remove a tablespoon of chili powder and take out a jalapeño or two. Also, if your chili is a little too thick, cut it with some chicken broth (or water if you don’t have chicken broth).

I served my Spicy Chicken Chili with Jalapeño and Cheddar Cornbread (cornbread I don’t share the recipe for). You can also sub in different kind of beans as you see fit. Chili is a really versatile dish so use your culinary imagination.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on March 13, 2013 in Cookin', Entrees, One-Pot Wonders, Recipes

 

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Recipe: Bacon-Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

19 Mar
Bacon-Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

Bacon-Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

No picnic is complete without deviled eggs. And what better way to take deviled eggs to another level than by adding bacon and jalapeño?

These Bacon-Jalapeño Deviled Eggs are sure to disappear very quickly so be prepared to whip up some more. Luckily, they’re very simple.

Ingredients:

  • 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
  • 4 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 1 fresh jalapeño, seeded and diced
  • 4 TBSP mayonaisse
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Pinch of chili powder
    • Deviled Egg Yolk Mixture

    The Egg Yolk Mixture

  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of garlic powder
  • Paprika, for dusting

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Cut up bacon and place in a oven-safe pan. Bake bacon for roughly 20-25 minutes or until crispy throughout. Remove from oven and cool on a paper towel-lined plate. Once cooled, cut into small pieces.
  3. Remove the yolks from the hard-boiled eggs and place in a mixing bowl.
  4. To the yolks, add salt, garlic powder, chili powder, jalapeño and most of the bacon (save some bacon for later).
    5. Bacon-Jalapeno Deviled Egg

    Bacon-Jalapeño Deviled Egg

  5. Mash/mix all ingredients with large fork. Gradually incorporate mayo until a fluffy mixture is formed. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
  6. Using a pasty bag (or a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off), place yolk mixture into bag and squeeze into boiled egg white centers.
  7. Garnish with remaining bacon and dust with paprika.

Once the bacon is cooked, preparing these deviled eggs takes no time at all. And you’ll get a lot of flavor for a little time.

This is a dish you can take to any party. I guarantee they’ll be a hit.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on March 19, 2012 in Cookin', Recipes, Sides

 

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