Picadillo Poppers

By á-25087

Ingredients

• 8 ounces lean ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion (1 small)
• 1 8.8 ounce pouch cooked Spanish-style rice
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
• 1 - 2 tablespoons dry sherry or lime juice
• 24 fresh plump jalapeno peppers*
• Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

For filling, in a large skillet cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until meat is brown and onion is tender, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks. Drain off fat. Stir in cooked rice, the 1 cup cheese, raisins, olives, and sherry. Set aside.

Cut a lengthwise slit in one side of each jalapeno pepper to create a pocket, being careful not to cut the pepper in half. Cut a very small crosswise slit on both ends of the long slit, making an I-shape opening. Leave stem intact and use a small spoon to remove seeds and scrape out membranes. Spoon filling into peppers.

Place filled peppers, slit sides up, in a greased grill basket or on a greased vegetable grilling pan. For a charcoal grill, grill peppers in basket on the rack of a covered grill directly over medium coals for 8 to 12 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender and filling is heated through. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place peppers in basket on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.)

If desired, sprinkle grilled peppers with additional cheese.