This was last night's dinner. Excuse my plate presentation (I've been out of practice. Don't tell Brother Hamblin; he would be ashamed of me) and my iffy photo (iffy camera).
Sometimes I am shocked at the wonderfulness of cream cheese. Seriously! It can be used in oodles of recipes – ranging from dessert to appetizers to main course meals – to give the dish the perfect amount of creaminess. I will probably be posting more about cream cheese in the future because I use it all the time. (Confession: I always have at least four packages of the stuff in my fridge.)
I love anything in a tortilla. This tortilla is stuffed with tasty chicken and then grilled - like a grilled cheese sandwich. I made sure that I made enough to have leftovers for days.
BBQ Jalapeno Poppers
Modified from Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond
18 fresh jalapenos
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 whole green onion, sliced thin
18 thin slices of bacon, cut in half
Bottled BBQ sauce
Preheat oven to 275o.
Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onion and garlic powder.
WEARING RUBBER GLOVES (as you should always do when working with hot peppers) cut the jalapenos in half – leave the stems intact if you can. Scrape out the seeds and most of the membranes of the jalapeno halves – if you like things really spicy then leave some of the membranes in there.
Stuff each hollowed out jalapeno half with the cheese mixture – don’t be afraid to put in enough that the cheese mixture heaps up a little.
Wrap a half slice of bacon around each jalapeno half – don’t wrap it too tight because if you do all your cheese will squish out as the bacon cooks!
Brush the surface of the bacon with BBQ sauce – I get lazy by this point and just use my fingers to do this.
If you’re concerned that your bacon needs to be secured with a toothpick so that it doesn’t unwind, feel free to secure ‘til your heart’s content. I usually just make sure that my bacon ends are underneath the jalapeno so that the pepper will hold the bacon down and in place.
Bake for one hour or until the bacon is sizzling!
I actually like these better the next day. I can eat them cold or pop ‘em in the microwave for about 19 seconds until they are just heated up enough to keep me from eating them too fast for fear of burning my tongue.
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
Modified from My Kitchen Cafe
1 ½ cups cooked rice
1 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 whole green onions, finely shredded
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1 ½ tbs. lime juice
Almost 1 tbs. chili powder
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
Almost 1 tsp. garlic salt
2 ½ shredded cheese
Sour cream
Burrito-sized tortillas
Sauté the red peppers in a wee bit of olive oil until they are "bendy" as I like to call it, but don't let them get "mushy" because that's just gross! Don't be afraid to blacken some of the peppers' edges, it tastes better that way.
Mix everything but the cheese, sour cream and tortillas together until well combined.
Sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla leaving a bit of a border around the edges. Layer on some of the rice and chicken mixture (I used a little less than ¾ of a cup). Drop dollops of sour cream down the center of the mixture. Roll up the tortilla like a nifty burrito – you don’t want the good stuff leaking out while you crispy up the tortilla.
Spray the tortilla all over with cooking spray. Then cook it like you would a grilled cheese until crispy and toasty. We used out waffle maker which moonlights as a sandwich maker when you switch out the waffle plates to the flat sandwich ones.
I also made this super tasty cilantro mayo to dip my wrap in – later I used it in the wrap.
Cilantro Mayo
Modified from Blog Chef
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbs. lime juice
1 tbs. honey
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 tbs. cilantro
1 jalapeno, minced
Pinch of salt and pepper
Mix it all together!
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