Stuffed Jalapenos

I love jalapeno peppers. Fresh or pickled. These are typically found in my vegetable bowl on any given day of the week. I put them in a lot of different things such as soup, omelets, or stir-frys. As I do often, I shopped at the local Latino market, El Rey, gathering limes, avocado, chicken pieces, and fruit, but one thing caught my attention this time, and that was the jalapeno peppers. These were fresh, and big. I could not resist, and so I picked up a half a dozen of so, thinking that I would make jalapeno poppers. So, the following day, I stared at the jalapeno peppers, still admiring how great they looked, and thought about the poppers, but I did not want to fry anything. Strange as that might sound, I still thought of stuffing the peppers, and so it happened. Stuffed Jalapenos, or what I like to call Jalapeno Boats.

I was already making my kids thin cutlets of chicken, cooked in a bit of olive oil, so I decided to make a bit more so I could finely dice, and stuff into the jalapeno, making a great appetizer, or for that matter a nice meal. Enough said, lets get started.

Ingredients:

• 3 large, fresh jalapenos, seeds, veins, and stem removed
• Mix of cheddar and Monterey jack cheese
• Chicken breast cutlet, cooked and diced
• Scallions, chopped (optional)
• Cilantro (optional)

Begin my slicing the jalapeno length-wise, being very careful not to cut through the otherside. My fingers are a bit big, so I was being careful, and used a chopstick to remove not only the seeds from the inside but also the veins which pack a ton of heat. This is typically known as the capsaicin. Once these are removed, you are pretty much good to go on the stuffing. To a small bowl, add your diced chicken and cheeses, and mix well.

Preheat your oven for 425 degrees.

Begin using the mixture and carefully stuff eat pepper, stuffing them to the top as they will fall down a bit. If you have left over cheese and chicken, reserve, and mid-way through cooking, stuff them again, making sure you have a loaded jalapeno boat.

Add these to a foil lined baking sheet, and cook for roughly 15 minutes. I keep on eye on them, as I still like a little bit of a crunch to my pepper. You will know if you are really cooking the pepper when it begins to soften and darken in color.

Once they are cooked to your liking, remove them from the oven, and let them sit for about five minutes as you want the cheese to cool off a bit before biting into them.

Top with scallions, and a cilantro leaf for garnish.  Like I said, these are great for appetizers, or you can make a meal out of them, serving with a side of guacamole, sour cream, or nice salad.