So. This title. It's a doozy, isn't it? Well, before your question my sanity, let me explain.
In the past few months, I've really started to develop a love for spicy foods. Not super over-the-top why-God-why? spicy, but the the kind of spicy that just gives you a good kick as you eat it. As such, I've also come to love jalapeno poppers.
For those not in the know, a jalapeno popper is simply a hollowed out jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese. Often times the filling will contain chicken. Often times the entire thing will be wrapped in delicious, delicious bacon. Sometimes they're even deep-fried.
Yeah. They're tasty.
So I thought to myself: how could I add to that awesomeness? Well, I thought, they already have cheese inside, so what could go well with that? Simple: pasta! And spicy mac & cheese totally happens all the time down in the Caribbean, so there's all the precedent I needed.
But, the idea of trying to cram noodles into jalapenos (which are not exactly large) seemed questionable. So then I thought, what if I deconstructed the popper, mixed it into the macaroni, and then stuffed all of that into a different pepper? Hence this idea was born! Behold!!
WHAT I USED!!!
6 bell peppers, caps removed (and saved), inner cores and seeds removed
6 jalapenos, seeds similarly removed, and julienned (that's cut into strips)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 package bacon, cooked and diced
4 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
1-2 cups milk
2 blocks cream cheese, cubed
2 cups (8oz) elbow macaroni
shredded cheddar cheese for topping the peppers
WHAT I DID!!!
First, cook your chicken. I did what I always do: a little olive oil, some salt and pepper, medium to medium high heat in my favorite skillet, cooked until all the pink is gone. It only takes a few minutes. Oh, and be sure to drain the chicken well when it cooks.
Next, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapenos and saute until the veggies soften. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and cook for two to three minutes to form a roux. Add enough milk to create a sauce. (I admit, I didn't measure this, but it was somewhere between one cup and two.) Once you have a base sauce, incorporate the two cream cheese blocks one at a time. Once it's all completely melted and formed into a cheesy saucy consistency, stir in the bacon and the chicken.
Meanwhile, boil your pasta to al dente, following the packages instructions. Once the noodles are done, drain them thoroughly and add them to the cheesy-bacony-chicken sauce.
Now, scoop the mixture into the hollowed-out peppers. You're going to have left over filling most likely. Arrange the peppers in an oven-safe dish so they will sit upright. Sprinkle the mixture with your shredded cheese, and replace the caps. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the peppers have softened. Serve with the sides of your choice.
These came out quite well, I am very pleased to say. The mac & cheese filling had the perfect balance of heat from the jalapenos, savory saltiness from the meats, and sweet cheesiness from, well, the cheese. It tasted just like a jalapeno popper spliced with warm comforting mac & cheese, which was, after all, the entire point.
If I were to offer any criticism of the meal, it would be that the bell peppers seemed almost extraneous. The filling was definitely the star, which is good. But since the original idea was to add mac & cheese to a jalapeno popper, the bell peppers didn't seem to contribute much. Not that they weren't tasty, mind. They just didn't really add much to the dish.
I think next time I may go with my original idea of stuffing the mac & cheese inside the jalapeno. I may even deep-fry the suckers just for the hell of it! Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but I'm willing to try it and see!
As always, thanks for reading. Comments, suggestions, thoughts, and especially new ideas are always welcome. Until next time, go forth and eat well!
