Grilled Stuffed Peppers

This is what it looks like every time we pick peppers.
We probably pick once a week or so.
And this is why I have to freeze them or make green pepper jelly.

I found this recipe on a blog called Calendula & Concrete. For some reason I can't direct link to the pepper recipe, so if you scroll down it is the third (I think) post.
I used green bell peppers & sweet bananna peppers. But I'm telling you right now, I did NOT like the taste of the bananna peppers roasted. The flavor was just...gross. So it was a good thing I only grilled a few of those. LOL
So, grill your peppers until blackened on all sides. Here's a picture of mine just starting out on the grill.

Grill until completely blackened. Remove them from the grill & place in a paper bag & put in the freezer for 10 minutes. This helps in removing the skins. Actually, I guess I wouldn't know, because I was in a hurry & skipped this part. LOL
Remove the outer skin, it should come off easily.
Slice the peppers open & remove the seeds.
In a bowl, combine:
A few cups of fresh corn. I used our freezer corn, but it would be really cool to use fresh corn on the cob & grill that too!
1 C. Monterey Jack Cheese (I also added some cheddar)
I onion, diced
cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Fill the peppers with this mixture, & place into a casserole dish. I had corn mixture left over, so I added it to the corner of the pan. Bake at 350 until heated through, about 10-15 minutes.

There's the extra corn in the bottom right hand corner of the pan.
And the banana peppers in the bottom left corner of the pan. Those went into the trash. yuk.

But the green peppers were delicious! Oh goodness! We had leftovers because this was a side dish when we had mexicali tuna melts. This was so good, that I had this plate for breakfast the next day. And, I thought it tasted even better that following day! There are just some things that once they spend the night in the frig, they taste even better.

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

My tip this week involves green peppers.
Thankfully, most years, we have an over abundance of green peppers.

I hate to waste them, so besides using fresh green peppers often in my cooking, I share with friends & family. Also, now I've found the new recipe for Green Pepper Jelly. (oh my goodness...YUM!) But I still usually have loads of green peppers. So I chop them & freeze them.

My trick for freezing them, I'm sure everybody already knows, but I couldn't think of another tip. LOL

I dice them & then spread them out on a cookie sheet & put them in the freezer until frozen firm.

When they are frozen, I uses a spatula to remove them from them from the frozen cookie sheet, & put them into a ziplock bag, & then store the bag in the freezer.

The first year I did this years ago, I just dumped them in a bag & froze them. Of course they became a large mass of frozen green pepper. That didn't work so well. But freezing them like this, keeps them seperated. I can reach in & get a handful for any recipe during the winter. I really don't like having to buy those waxy things they sell in the stores in the winter. Yuk. This year, for the first time, I have frozen a few bags in longer, thin strips.
Sometimes when we have sandwiches (like steak sandwiches or sausage sandwiches)
I saute green pepper & onions in olive oil. So I thought it would be nice to have some frozen like this.
You can see more Kitchen Tip Tuesdays here at Tammy's site.

Green Pepper Jelly

I had never heard of green (or red) pepper jelly before a few months ago.
This isn't the kind of jelly you have on bread with peanutbutter. Although I 'spose you could.
You use green (or red) bell peppers, & you can add some heat buy adding a few jalapenos, red pepper flakes, or even cayenne pepper. The best way to eat this jelly is on crackers with cream cheese. I've also seen it online with toasted pita & goat cheese.

Green Pepper Jelly
5 lg. green bell peppers (about), seeded
2 jalapenos (seeded or not, considering how hot you like it)
OR
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you'd like it hotter)
5 1/2 C. sugar
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 pkg fruit pectin (I used the 3 oz. liquid pouch)
3/4 C. apple cider vinegar
green food coloring (if you prefer, you don't have to use it)

Finely chop peppers in food processor. Strain, pressing lightly. Measure 2 full cups & 1/4 c. pepper juice. Discard remaining juice. Combine the 2 cups of ground peppers, 1/4 c. pepper juice, sugar, & vinegar in 4 quart pan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat & let stand for 15 minutes. Reheat to boil, stirring constantly. Add lemon juice & return to boil for 1 minute, stirring. Add pectin & let boil for 3 minutes, skimming off the foam as it accumulates. Pour into sterilized pint or half pint jars & process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, making sure the water is 1/2 to 1 inch above the lids. Remove from water & let jars sit on the counter overnight. Check in the morning that they have each sealed (they usually seal within seconds of removing from the water).
Makes 6 half pints.


The first time I made this I used 2 jalapenos, but I did remove all but about 2 or 3 of the seeds.
It really was not hot at all. It was so good that in one evening we 'dusted off' a whole half pint jar (that sounds funny...a whole half pint LOL).
The second batch I made a few days later, I used 1 t. crushed red pepper flakes. I liked this better as it has just a bit more heat to it. But not too much. You could surely add more if you'd like. I feel like I've found a new recipe & I'll never let peppers go to waste again! If I've got too many (which is mostly every year), I'll just make it into this jelly. My dh & I ate a plateful of these tasty crackers last evening while we watched the debate on tv. The taste of this jelly just goes perfect with cream cheese. YUM!