It’s creamy, it has shrimp, it has cheese and it’s on a jalapeno, oooo it’s spicyyy and oh wait, it’s baked too…

My obsession with jalapeno has started not so long ago, it’s only been an year now. When there is a hint of jalapeno in my dishes I will devour it happily, of course with few glasses of ice cold water. My favorite pizza topping is jalapeno. My favorite burger is the one loaded with pickled jalapeno. My favorite Thai food is garnished with jalapenos. My favorite bread is jalapeno cornbread. By now it must be crystal clear to you that I am a genuine jalapeno lover This doesn’t mean that I will ever dare to eat jalapeno as it is, I am not in for such challenges. I would rather hide

I’ve had stuffed jalapenos in many Mexican restaurants, since then I’ve been wanting to make this in my kitchen. Finally, I did make it. I bought a few pounds of jalapeno during my last grocery shopping. I wanted to make a different stuffing for the jalapenos. That day I had shrimp in my freezer. So, I made a stuffing with shrimp, cream cheese and parmesan cheese.

Be careful while seeding the jalapenos, if you want you could have the hand gloves on. Avoid the screaming part by accidentally rubbing your eyes with your jalapeno hands. If this happens for some reason, wash your eyes with cold water several times and if this doesn’t seem to work “Call 911″ immediately (just kidding).

I loved the bite of the shrimp from it, the creaminess and the mild spiciness from the jalapeno. While baking this, your house will smell as if you have jalapeno candles lighted on. Your eyes will have a slight burning sensation, but when you have a bite of this baked stuffed jalapeno you’ll forget about everything and your taste buds will melt into this.

Creamy Shrimp Stuffed Jalapeno

Ingredients:

• Jalapeno, halved and seeded, large- 7 no’s

• Shrimp, deveined, cooked frozen, minced- 6 no’s
• Cream cheese- 5 tbsp
• Parmesan cheese- 3 tbsp
• Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Dried Parsley- 1 tsp

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 425 F.
• Rinse the jalapenos, pat dry and cut them into halves vertically.

• If you want you could wear a hand glove while removing the seeds from the jalapenos and keep aside.
• Mince the deveined, cooked shrimp and keep aside.

• In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, ground pepper and dried parsley.

• Place 1 tsp of this stuffing on to each jalapeno.

• Bake the stuffed jalapenos for 25 minutes or until the top of the stuffing starts to turn golden.

• Let cool down for few minutes and serve immediately to kick off your smashing party.

Tips:

For Vegans: You could substitute shrimp with other veggies like green pepper or potatoes.

A healthy yet cheesy zucchini finger- food…

I love to bake anything and everything. While watching the food network or leafing through a food magazine, if I happen to hear or see the word bake, I will halt for sometime and will try to grasp the baking procedure. Baking is my companion on a lazy day, and a healthy way of cooking food. If you are trying to cut down on the oil consumption, stick to baking. Less oil and well-cooked food, that’s what you get to enjoy.

I always add zucchinis to my stir-fry, but never quite thought of baking it. When I found that this can be baked, I gave it a shot with all excitement. Now, the only way I can think of cooking zucchini is by baking. I scooped the flesh from the zucchinis and made a stuffing with the flesh and other veggies. Stuffed the zucchini with the filling and baked it. To enhance the taste of the baked zucchinis, I sprinkled them with some grated Parmesan cheese. What more you need? It’s baked and cheesy.

Baked Cheesy Zucchinis:

Ingredients:

• Zucchini, halved lenghtwisw-4
• Extra-virgin olive oil- 2 tbsp
• Onion, chopped- 1/2
• Cherry tomatoes, chopped- 7 no’s
• Breadcrumbs- 3/4 cup
• Walnuts, coarsely chopped- 1/2 cup
• Dried Oregano- 1/2 tsp
• Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Grated parmesan cheese- 1/2 cup

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Using a small spoon, scoop out the zucchini flesh, leaving a 1/4-to 1/2 inch-thick shell.

• Wrap the zucchini flesh in a paper towel and squeeze out any excess water in it.
• Place the zucchini shells cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat.
• Add the zucchini flesh, onion and cook, until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until tender.

• Push the vegetables to the side of the skillet, add the remaining 1 tbsp oil and the breadcrumbs, and roast for 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the nuts and dried oregano.
• Then, combine with the vegetables; season with salt and pepper.
• Flip over the zucchini shells and stuff with this filling.

• Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top

• Bake until the zucchini is tender when pierced with a fork, 20-25 minutes.