Print FriendlyThis is not a cooking blog and I promise I won't post a thousand recipes. However, it IS a FOOD blog. From the ground up. Essentially, over time, I hope to touch on everything from our soil, to the food that comes from it, to ways in which to use that food! AND I love to cook, it's a big part of who I am. Sooo, from time to time I WILL share a recipe that is either one of my favorites and/or that showcases a great way to use some of our produce. This particular recipe does both! It makes for a delicious appetizer and would be a hit at any football party. AND it uses our cute miniature bell peppers!
Believe it or not, these peppers are not hot. They are sweet just like a bell pepper!
Recipe credit goes to my fantastic husband! He is the one that introduced me to these Cream Cheese Chicken Poppers! For a printer friendly version click here.
Before we start preparing these bad boys, you need to decide if you want to bake them in the oven or cook them on the grill. I highly recommend the grill but both ways are good and if you prefer the oven, now is a good time to preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step one:
Wash the peppers and cut in half lengthwise leaving the stem intact. The reason we leave the stems intact is to keep the filling from pushing out as we proceed. Once you've cut the peppers, clean the seeds out of the middle. Don't get too hung up on this step. Remember, these are sweet peppers and the seeds aren't going to set your mouth on fire and so if you miss a few it's not a big deal! Once you've got this done, set the peppers aside.
Before we start preparing these bad boys, you need to decide if you want to bake them in the oven or cook them on the grill. I highly recommend the grill but both ways are good and if you prefer the oven, now is a good time to preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step one:
Wash the peppers and cut in half lengthwise leaving the stem intact. The reason we leave the stems intact is to keep the filling from pushing out as we proceed. Once you've cut the peppers, clean the seeds out of the middle. Don't get too hung up on this step. Remember, these are sweet peppers and the seeds aren't going to set your mouth on fire and so if you miss a few it's not a big deal! Once you've got this done, set the peppers aside.
In this picture, I have not removed the seeds yet. To see what the peppers look like seeded please refer to the photo in step four where all of the ingredients are assembled in one photo.
Step two:
Mix 2 tsp of herbs into your cream cheese. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any combination of herbs that you like! And you can use as much or as little of them as you like. Two teaspoons is a guideline to help you get started! We recommend garlic and chives because that is what we like but feel free to experiment! You're going to want to make more than one batch of these chicken poppers anyway ;)
Step three:
Cut a thawed chicken breast into small cubes. We are going to use the cubes to stuff the peppers so make sure they are small enough to fit inside these little guys! While you're working with raw meat, go ahead and cut your bacon strips in half and set them aside as well.
Mix 2 tsp of herbs into your cream cheese. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any combination of herbs that you like! And you can use as much or as little of them as you like. Two teaspoons is a guideline to help you get started! We recommend garlic and chives because that is what we like but feel free to experiment! You're going to want to make more than one batch of these chicken poppers anyway ;)
Step three:
Cut a thawed chicken breast into small cubes. We are going to use the cubes to stuff the peppers so make sure they are small enough to fit inside these little guys! While you're working with raw meat, go ahead and cut your bacon strips in half and set them aside as well.
Friendly reminder - anytime you work with raw meat make sure to prevent cross contamination and check internal temperature of the finished cooked product. Here is a good reference with tips for handling raw meat and promoting food safety!
Step four:
Once you have all of the components assembled,
Step four:
Once you have all of the components assembled,
fill the peppers with cream cheese mixture and then place a cube of chicken into each pepper half. Once all of the peppers are filled, wrap each one with the bacon slices you prepared by cutting in half earlier.
Place a cube of chicken in each pepper. It's ok if the chicken sticks up out of the pepper!
All wrapped in bacon and ready to go in the oven (or grill)!
Step five:
If you chose to bake these in the oven, place them in a baking dish and into your preheated oven and bake them for 30 minutes. It's always a good idea to take the internal temperature of a couple of them using a meat thermometer to verify that the chicken is done. Chicken should reach at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. As you will see in the picture below, mine actually reached 195 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you chose to bake these in the oven, place them in a baking dish and into your preheated oven and bake them for 30 minutes. It's always a good idea to take the internal temperature of a couple of them using a meat thermometer to verify that the chicken is done. Chicken should reach at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. As you will see in the picture below, mine actually reached 195 degrees Fahrenheit.
Finished product!! Mmmm mmmm good!!
Enjoy! Brun Ko Farm
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