I'm a frugal gourmet, and this fits the bill. I'll be posting a few other recipes over the next week or two that are hearty (or just plain decadent!), but are also easy on the wallet. And all kid-approved!
Bella's Armadillo Eggs
Disclaimer: Though this dish does contain eggs, it doesn't contain armadillo. You'll get the armadillo bit a little later on!
Another note, this is a recipe that I came up with on the fly. Any measurements are rough guestimates because I don't really measure, I just use a pinch, poke or dash of different things ... It's a recipe that can really just reflect the overall mood! Most any seasoning can be substituted, changed, or just excluded all together (minus the eggs, breadcrumbs and liquid agent)
* 5 pounds ground beef/hamburger (I suppose you could also use ground turkey, if you're health-conscious!)
* around 10-15 whole jalepenos (number depends on the size of each pepper; you really need only enough to use up all of the meat mixture - and there will be steps later to alter how hot this is, if you're not a fan of spicy!)
* 1 20-ounce bottle of teriyaki sauce
* 3 cups breadcrumbs (I use Italian flavored, but you can use plain, or whatever you choose)
* 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
* 1 teaspoon each onion powder, ceyenne pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning (if you don't use the Italian breadcrumbs)
* salt and pepper
* 3 large eggs
* onion powder (for later)
* 1 large onion
* bacon bits
Ok! Now the fun starts. So, for the start of the process, you wanna get your meat in a great big bowl, and add the 3 eggs, the teriyaki sauce, the breadcrumbs, your various seasonings (remember, add and subtract as you like!) and a little sprinkle of bacon bits if you so choose.
What I do when this is a family affair, is let one adult (or young adult) to handle mixing the raw meat mixture, and another for this next step. Little ones can handle the next two steps after.
Take a small paring knife and slice off the very top of the pepper (which you then throw away) and use a knife and scrape out the veins inside. What works best is to run a little water in the sink, and just scrape the edges of the blade along the insides of the jalepeno. Important note: If you don't dig spicy, make sure to get ALL of the white and all of the seeds from inside, out - that's where the heat lies, not just the seeds! If you don't take out all of the heat of every pepper, make sure you lay them in a different bowl/plate than the ones with some hot still in 'em.
Next step, this is where the kiddies come in. After you get the cream cheese opened, with a butter knife, split it into ten even sections. Even a plastic knife works here, and just watch those little fingers! What I do when I'm making them alone is just liberally sprinkle the onion powder over the cream cheese, but with the kiddos, I spread some out on a paper plate, and let them press each little section onto the powder to give it a little coating.
Once you've got the cream cheese sprinkled with the onion powder, take your whole jalepeno and carefully stuff it with the cream cheese. This I suggest to let an older kid do, because the small ones might split open the pepper, and where this isn't a huge mistake, the cheese may later cause the meat to split.
Now that you've got your pepper stuffed, it's time for the meat again! Take a nice big handful, and make a well big enough to lay in the pepper. Wrap the meat around and pinch to seal closed. You want it completely wrapped, with extra meat around, not just a thin coating. Once it's packed in there, set it on the cutting board, and carefully shape them into an egg shape. Place your meat-eggs into a baking dish with high sides (like a cake pan).
Take your onion and slice it like you're doing 'em up for hamburgers, in rings. Here's where the whole "armadillo" comes in. Take your onion pieces and lay them on top of the "eggs" in the pattern of an armadillo's armor!
What about those bacon bits? For the "eggs" you make that have some spice still in the pepper, I press a few on top, or give the "egg" some eyes so people will know the difference in the spicy and regular ones.
Go ahead and put them in the pan close together; remember the beef is gonna shrink up as it cooks. Also, you'll want to check on the eggs at about 15-20 minutes to see how high the grease level is. Feel free to pull it out long enough to drain off excess grease before slipping back into the oven. I always line a pan with foil to make cleanup easier!
How do you cook it? 365 degrees Fahrenheit (185 degrees Celsius) for 30-35 minutes. If you don't pack the beef thick enough, it WILL crack. At the 30 minute mark, I'll use two forks and carefully peek inside the thickest "egg" to check for doneness.
LET them COOL! The cream cheese inside those peppers is gonna be like white lava. Serve with salsa, sour cream or just plain old ketchup, and dig in! It's like your own little Meatloaf Surprise, because if you get big peppers, these suckers are big!
What I've also done in the past is use the food processor to mince up the jalepenos, and used a spoon to mix it in with the cream cheese and onion powder, and just make little stuffed meatballs. Or, you can just split the pepper in half and set some cream cheese on top for smaller "eggs". It's just a really fun recipe, so make it your own!
Here, am armadillo for you! Happy eating!
