Bacon Jalapeño-Cheddar Cornbread

Cornbread and chili…goes together like peanut butter and jelly. So since I made chili one night for dinner, of course I also had to make cornbread! 😀

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Bacon Jalapeño-Cheddar Cornbread

8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1/2 cup green onions

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400˚F and spray a 8″x8″ pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cook bacon strips in skillet until crispy. Reserve bacon grease. Crumble/chop bacon into small pieces.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Next add the eggs, bacon grease, milk, and lemon juice. Mix so that it is all incorporated.

Next add the bacon, cheese, jalapeno, and green onions. Stir to combine.

Pour into the prepared greased baking dish, and bake for about 30 minutes until the top starts to lightly brown. Serve warm.

Enjoy!!

“The North thinks it know how to make corn bread, but this is a gross superstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite as bad as the Northern imitation of it” – Mark Twain

Fajita Turkey Cheeseburgers

Fajitas + cheeseburgers makes me happy. I’m obsessed with combining things together. This brings my love of fajitas into a healthy burger. ¡Olé!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Fajita Turkey Cheeseburgers

2-4 Servings*

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon favorite hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2-4 slices of pepper-jack cheese, optional
• guacamole, optional
• avocado, sliced, optional
• tomato, sliced thinly, optional
• salsa, optional
• 2-4 hamburger buns

*This recipe can make 2 half-pound burgers or 4 fourth-pound burgers.

Directions:

Put meat in a large mixing bowl. Add garlic, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, cumin, thyme, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and cilantro to the bowl and mix together. Form into 2 or 4 patties.

Cook in skillet with oil (or on a grill) over medium high heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Place the cheese over the patties in the last 2 minutes of cooking to melt (optional).

Remove the burgers from the pan or grill and allow the burger rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Dress your cheeseburger with guacamole, avocado, tomato, salsa, and any other desired toppings.

Enjoy!!

“Yeah, I’d like 6,000 chicken fajitas, please? Yeah, 6,000 chicken fajitas.” – Peter Griffin, Family Guy

Ultimate Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Grilled Cheese…brings me back to my youth. It’s so simple and so yum in my tum. I usually have grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato basil soup. It got me thinking about different variations of grilled cheeses. This recipe combines my husband’s love of jalapeño poppers with jalapeño cheese beer bread and bacon, of course. Who doesn’t love bacon?! When I proposed this dish to my husband, he couldn’t be more thrilled. I hope y’all feel the same!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Ultimate Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Yields 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 2 jalapeño peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 2 slices of bacon (I used smoked mesquite bacon)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup mild cheddar and monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/8 cup gruyère cheese, shredded
• 1/8 cup fontina cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded
• 4 slices jalapeño cheese beer bread
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Directions:

Set oven to broil. Cover a small baking sheet with foil and then spray with non-stick spray. Place the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side down. Broil the peppers on the top rack for 8-14 minutes until the peppers are blackened and blistered. Place in a zip lock bag and seal. Set aside and let cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes. Next, remove the skins from the peppers. They should peel off easily.

While waiting on the  jalapeños to cool, cook the bacon in a pan/skillet until browned and crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off the grease from the pan, wipe clean, and set on the stove for later.

Combine and mix the red pepper flakes in a small bowl and cheeses.

Make sure you have enough room for a work surface. Lay 2 slices of the bread on your surface, and distribute half of the cheese evenly among bread pieces.

Next, top each piece with 1 slice of bacon (I like to break the 1 slice of bacon into multiple pieces) and then 2 slices of  jalapeños. Evenly distribute the remaining cheese among the 2 slices on top of the jalapeños and bacon.

Lightly butter one side of the remaining 2 slices of bread, and put them on top of the sandwiches, butter side up.

Heat pan/skillet over medium heat. Place the sandwiches butter side down in the pan and cook on the first side until the bread is golden brown and toasted. Meanwhile, butter the top slice of bread on each sandwich. Flip the sandwiches using a spatula and continue to cook on the other side until the bread is golden brown.

You can use the spatula to compress the sandwich as it cooks on the second side and make sure all the cheese melts.

Remove the sandwiches from the pan. (Alternatively you can also butter both outsides of the sandwich and place in a panini maker.)

Cut the sandwiches in half and serve.

Enjoy!!

“I’m the jalapeño on a stick!” – José Jalapeño, Jeff Dunham

Jalapeño Cheese Beer Bread

Beer bread…I’m pretty much obsessed with it. I still remember the first time my family brought me to Rock Bottom Brewery, and I had their beer bread for the first time. It was heavenly! Beer bread is also easier to make than traditional breads since you don’t have to mess with yeast. I’ve jazzed this beer bread up with some jalapeños and cheese. Both are necessities in our kitchen and my husband’s tum.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Jalapeño Cheese Beer Bread

Yields 1 9×5 loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 cups of shredded mild cheddar and monterey jack cheese, divided
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup green onions, diced
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer (used Lone Star – yeah we classy up in here!)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F, and spray a 9″x5″ loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first four ingredients. Mix in 1 cup of cheese, jalapeños, and green onions.

Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the beer until just mixed. Put the batter into the pan.

Pour the melted butter on top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese evenly across surface of the batter.

Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick/skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve.

Enjoy!!

“Bread is the staff of life, but beer is life itself.” – Anonymous