Crab-Stuffed Poblano Chiles with Mango Salsa

Spicy - check
Sweet - check
Cheesy - check
Delicious - double check

Ingredients:
Salsa:
1 cup chopped peeled fresh mango
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Stuffed Peppers:
4 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese (I used low fat)
1 14-oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
8 oz fresh crabmeat
4 poblano chiles

Yields 4 servings.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients for the salsa in a bowl and mix well. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

To make the stuffing for the peppers, process 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese with next four ingredients (through ricotta cheese) in a food processor until smooth. Place into a bowl and mix in the crab and artichokes.

Cut the chiles in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Try to cut them in a way that will give you deep halves rather than shallow halves (makes them easier to stuff).

Stuff the halves with the crab mixture and place on a baking sheet. I lined mine with parchment paper just to make cleanup easier. You don't have to use the parchment paper, but if you don't it would probably be a good idea to spray your baking sheet with cooking spray. Once all the peppers are stuffed, sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese over top.

 Bake for 30 minutes, or until tops begin to brown. I ended up broiling mine for about 5 or so minutes at the end to crisp and brown the tops. Make sure you keep a close eye on the peppers if you use the broiler. I've learned the hard way that things burn all too easily when broiling is involved....

Serve with chilled mango salsa.

Source: Cooking Light

Jalapeño Feta Dip

Jalapeño and cheese...enough said. Sounds like a good combo to me! The first time I had this dip, my sister had made it for a party. We both could not stop eating it; it's so good.

Ingredients:
Two 8 oz blocks of feta cheese
Two bulbs of garlic
Olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
6-10 jalapeños, depending on size and desired level of heat
      *Note - I've made it with 3 large jalapeños and this time with 10 small. I
        think it's better this time - not ridiculously spicy, but just enough of a
        kick. If you're not sure, start with a few and add additional peppers
        until you reach the level of hotness that you like.
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the stem end of the garlic bulbs off, to expose the cloves. Be careful to try and keep them in one piece. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil.

Lay your peppers out on a rack or baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Place both the peppers and the garlic into the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In the meantime, break up the feta bricks in to a bowl.

Once peppers and garlic have cooled, peel the skin off the peppers and dice into small pieces. Add to feta crumbles.

Holding the garlic sliced side down over the feta and peppers, you should be able to squeeze the roasted cloves right out of the bulb.

Add lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and a little freshly ground pepper.

Pressing with a fork, break up garlic and mix everything together.

Serve with pita chips or crackers. YUM!

 

Source: Adapted from a recipe found on How Sweet It Is blog