Sauteed Chili Peppers

Put some spice on your plate with The 99 Cent Chef's Sauteed Chili Peppers. You can use any small chili peppers, I used mild ones. I've also run across sweet mini-bell peppers and chili peppers -- these are good substitutions if you are heat averse.

I simply saute small whole chili peppers in a teaspoon of oil and finish with a sprinkle of chili powder or paprika. This gives the peppers an extra smoky kick. They soften and slightly sweeten but still have a spicy heat.

It all depends what kind of chili pepper you use and how much heat you can take. This recipe came about after a trip to East LA for 99 cent fish tacos at Tacos Baja. This is a great cheap$kate deal sold on Wednesdays only (other days their fish taco is $1.69, still a bargain.) After I got my fish taco I headed to the salsa bar and noticed a tray of yellow small Chili Peppers dusted with dark red powder.

The first bite had a spicy kick that was a great contrast to crunch fried fish topped with cool cabbage, pico de gallo and sweet creme. I was hooked. And be sure to check back, I have a Cheap$kate Dining video on the Wednesday Special 99 cent Fish Taco from Tacos Baja coming up.

I ate a couple more Chili Peppers, trying to analyze how they did it. The lady who took my order said they didn't roast them, all they have is a fryer and a grill. Then I noticed a fry basket loaded with the peppers being dunked in the fryer - probably cooked for a minute or so to soften them up. As for the powder on the chili peppers, I figured it was either chili powder or paprika. Both are similar in flavor, so you can use whichever one you have on hand.

If you are looking for a spicy accompaniment to one of my Latin recipes (especially my homemade Fish Tacos - recipe coming soon) be sure to add some Sauteed Chili Peppers.

Ingredients

• Small package of Chili Peppers - about 6-12 small peppers. Okay to use any favorite sweet, mild or spicy peppers, including mini-bell peppers.
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder or paprika

Directions
Heat frying pan over medium heat. Add oil, coat pan and add Chili Peppers. Saute Chili Peppers, for a couple of minutes.

Cover pan and reduce heat to low/medium. Cook about 5-7 minutes. Rotate chili peppers every couple of minutes to heat through on all sides. Saute chili peppers all at once or in batches.

You don't need to char the chili peppers, just lightly brown them, enough to slightly soften.

Remove Chili Peppers and place in a bowl. Sprinkle on teaspoon of chili powder on all sides. Serve with your favorite Latin dish, backyard BBQ or spice up a party with these appetizers.

Turkey Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos with Cheese

Like a green heat-seeking missile wrapped in turkey bacon, the latest 99 Cent Chef appetizer is one intense flavor bomb! A Turkey Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno with Cheese will separate the men from the boys, and the timid from the brash -- this recipe is not for the faint of palate.

This dish should earn The Chef hazard pay for handling a bag of spicy jalapenos. You need radioactive-proof mitts to keep off the fiery chile oils. And don't even think of satisfying that itch on your nose -- touch the skin anywhere near your eyes and you will be sorry.

But boy is it worth the risk. Melting cheese cools off some jalapeno spiciness, and a slab of savory turkey bacon brings this appetizer to delicious heights.

I was wary of cooking with turkey bacon - it just doesn't seem right, like lipstick on a pig. I had bought a package at my local 99c only Store a few months ago, and forgot about it collecting freezer burn in my freezer. When I picked up a bag of jalapenos from my local Latin market, I started Googleing recipes. Most whole jalapeno recipes call for stuffing them with cheese, breadcrumb coating and finally deep frying. I wanted to go after a lower calorie recipe though. (If you want an excellent use of whole cooked jalapenos, be sure to check out my L.A. Street Hot Dog video recipe by clicking here.)

The other recipes called for wrapping jalapenos in fatty (but delicious) bacon; that's when I remembered the turkey bacon in the back of my freezer. At first glance turkey bacon looks real -- but upon opening the package I noticed it resembles those fake plastic food display toys in the window of a Japanese restaurant.

I pinched off a piece to try: the texture is baloney-like and the flavor has that liquid smoke tinny taste. This was not a good start, but I was determined to push through and see what happens. And things turned out much better than I anticipated.

After stuffing the jalapenos with cheese, I wrapped them in a turkey bacon slice and roasted a pan full at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I figured the turkey bacon would dry out and taste like a piece of hot asphalt -- wrong on both counts. The bacon held up well to slow cooking (maybe the steaming jalapeno kept it tender,) and the taste only got better when cooked through. While you will miss that crunchy pork bacon texture, you will sleep better, having not eaten your daily calorie limit with one cheesy stuffed and bacon wrapped jalapeno.

I always find 4 ounce pucks of Mexican cheese, Queso Fresco, and cream cheese cheap enough. You can use any favorite inexpensive cheese, either low fat or regular.

This is a recipe you may want to get out those bright yellow rubber gloves for, when stuffing my Turkey Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos with Cheese appetizers. And make sure to serve with a tall cold drink!

Ingredients

• 12 jalapenos - depending on size. I used big fat ones in the 2 - 3 inch length range.
• Cream cheese - a small container of about 5 ounces. Okay to substitute a firm cheese like mozzarella, cheddar or Swiss.
• Queso Fresco - about 4 ounces of Mexican cheese. Okay to use any favorite cheese you have.
• Turkey bacon - one package. If you insist, it's okay to use regular bacon.

Directions
Allow the cream cheese to soften at room temperature. Add it to a bowl and mix in any other  type of cheese - I used 4 ounces of Queso Fresco.

 Lay each jalapeno on a flat surface to see how it naturally lays flat. You want to slice the side that now faces you, so when the stuffed jalapenos roast, the cheese won't leak out.

Slice each jalapeno lengthways and make one more slice across the top, near the stem, to form a cut in the shape of a "T". Open up the jalapeno and remove seeds and the lighter membrane strands -- this is were a lot of spiciness resides. Be sure not to touch you face when handling jalapenos, because you will inevitably get the heat too close to your eyes.

Fill each jalapeno with cheese mixture. Wrap jalapenos in slices of turkey bacon. You can attach with a toothpick if necessary. Place stuffed and wrapped jalapenos in an oven pan and roast uncovered, about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Check after about 30 minutes to make sure turkey bacon does not burn black. Mine just got a deep mahogany brown.

The cheese is extremely hot out of the oven, so allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Hindsight
 Next time I would just use Queso Fresco and another firm cheese like mozzarella, Swiss or cheddar. The cream cheese mix melted out of a couple of stuffed jalapenos. After they cooled down some, I just unwrapped them and put some of the cheese back in. (Turkey bacon remains flexible, so it's easy to work with.)

If you use real bacon, just bake until it is brown and crispy as you like, about 30-45 minutes.

 If you are sensitive to spiciness, then this recipe is not for you. However, taking out the seeds and membrane, plus roasting the chiles, does take out much of the heat. While I found it suited my tastes, my wife could only eat one half at a time. Hey, that left them all for me!

You may want to wear rubber gloves and fish out the seeds with a small spoon or butter knife -- or even wash the seeds out under running water.

If you use smaller jalapenos, then slice the bacon in half, if it is too long.

Jamaican Style Chicken Patties - Deal of the Day

Coo yah -- dis Deal of the Day practically jumped off a shelf, mon. How could you pass up an exotic Jamaican Style Chicken Patty? The Raggamuffin Chef got it from dat frozen deli case in dehya Dollar Tree store. 

I an I just started a job deh 'bout Marina Del Rey near a beaches of Babylon, and a store is right down deh street on Lincoln Boulevard, click here, and I an I had to a go deh 'bout. (By the way, I an I am shooting  a new comedic 99 Cent Chef video that takes place in a Marina Del Rey Garden Center that will have you rolling in da herb and veggie garden aisles -- let's just say I an I take full advantage of free-dining on low hanging fruit and veggies.)

Dollar Tree's are a Middle-American version of our West Coast Babylon Los Angeles 99c only Stores. Dis one did not have fresh produce, but carries a lot of frozen items, along wit canned veggies and packaged rice, pasta and other food stuffs. Not a bad selection, but nowhere near the variety or fresh fruits and veggies you get at local 99c only Stores -- yet.

A frozen deli case stocks frozen fillets of fish (Pollack), small head-on uncooked shrimp, 3.5 ounce ribeye steaks, and frozen cooked items like corndogs, and these Jamaican Style Chicken Patties.

This rude bowy grabbed one and paid a buck -- the fluffy checkout lady said they were good, too. Her authoritative tone made me want to slap it in the office microwave when I an I got back from my ten toe turboing. But I an I didn't bring deh camera to record this Deal of the Day, so I an I brought it home to cook over a weekend, and here's the result.

It's a pretty good deal and I an I would get it again. It's a microwavable meal: cut a slit in deh package; place it on a plate; microwave in the "crisping" package for 2.5 minutes; allow it to cool for a minute; and finally chow down. 

Named a patty, I an I was expecting something like a crab cake -- it's more like an empanada. A large flaky bright orange crust surrounds curry-spiced gravy wit shredded chicken. It's a generous three-by-five inch stuffed meat pastry, almost enough to fill any wanga-gut.

First the good news. It's very flavorful wit a Jamaican hot Scotch bonnet (pepper) kick. I an I liked the scenty and strong curry spiciness and the pastry was flaky and tasty, although a bit chewy (maybe from microwaving?)

A bad news is I an I couldn't find the chicken. It was so shredded, or ground up, that the filling was a mushy mess -- although a tasty one. And a ratio of chicken curry sauce to pastry was off -- definitely more stuffing was needed. But for a buck it's a decent Deal of the Day loaded wit positive vibrations.

Made by Golden Krust Caribean Bakery and Grill (website click here), I an I would definitely try any of their other products, mon and recommend them to all my bredren.

So on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being best, the Stulla Chef, gives Jamaican Style Chicken Patties a solid 7.

Click here for italicized Jamaican slang translations.