Fire-Roasted Stuffed Jalapenos

I have to begin by crediting this recipe to my uncle, David!  Every time I eat jalapenos (or any pepper, for that matter) I think of my two uncles--Charlie and David--who grow the best peppers ever!

First brown up and crumble some breakfast sausage (I like to use the "hot" kind for the extra spice).  I use about a half of a roll for 16 poppers (and still had a little left over).  So, you probably won't want a whole package unless you're making a lot of peppers.

Then, mix in a package of cream cheese and a few handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese.  The only way to mix it thoroughly is with your fingers.  So go ahead and get dirty.

Now for the jalapenos.  This is the best tool ever!!

It's the jalapeno corer from Sur la Table (the best store in the world).  If you don't have one of these you could use a really skinny paring knife to get in the peppers to take out the ribs and seeds and make room for the delicious stuffing.

Once you get them cored, I like to rinse them with cold water to get any stray seeds.

Next step....stuff!  Again, use your fingers.

For cooking, I definitely prefer grilling!  But you could definitely bake them if you don't have a grill, or don't want to for some strange reason.  However, the flavor is much much better!  We have this handy little tool, that my uncle, David, welded for us that makes grilling a breeze using skewers.  They have a jalapeno griller at Sur la Table too.

Before you grill, they should look like this...

Don't over stuff them or it will all ooze out and get really messy.

Now....grill!  It doesn't matter how long.  Just until they are to the point you like them, and the cheddar is melted.  The longer you grill them, the less heat in the pepper, though.

Again, thanks to David for the oh-so-handy pepper rack, and thanks to my dad for the charcoal grill.  We use it so often!

Here's a picture of my uncle, David, cooking some peppers of his own!