Jerry the Blogger

Well, I just finished celebrating Labor Day with a back yard cookout, but I didn't have time to make one of my favorite appetizers for the party: jalapeno poppers. Yes, most jalapeno poppers are stuffed with fattening cheeses, bacon, and sometimes other unhealthy ingredients, but my personal recipe is a little healthier and mighty tasty. Here's a quick recipe for your next time you want to prepare an appetizer at the grill:

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• PAM Non-stick spray
• 12 fresh jalapeno peppers (plump)
• 4oz Philadelphia Fat Free Cream Cheese
  
• 4oz Kraft Mozzarella Fat Free Shredded Cheese
  
• 1/2 yellow onion (diced)
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt and ground pepper

Directions:

Wash the jalapeno peppers and make a small slice along the length of each pepper to remove the seeds and the "meat" of each pepper. If you prefer extra spicy jalapeno poppers then you should leave some of the light-colored meat inside the pepper (which is were the bulk of the spice comes from). Set the peppers aside after you have removed the insides of each pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the diced onion, fat free shredded cheese and fat free cream cheese. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste, then top off with parsley.

Next, begin stuffing the cleaned jalapeno peppers with the cheese and onion mixture. After each pepper has been stuffed, spray the outside of the peppers with PAM to prevent sticking to the grill.

Grill whole peppers on hot grill until skins are partially blackened and peppers are tender, about 15 or 20 minutes. Turn peppers often so that they cook evenly on both sides ... being careful not to cook the open sides of the peppers face down for too long so that the stuffing stays inside.

Remove peppers from grill; allow to cool for at least two minutes and serve.