Hot like a jalapeno

One great thing about living in SoCal is the abundance of Mexican ingredients, food, restaurants etc.  We never get tired of the flavors but I do like to mix things up once in awhile.  I am always searching for new recipes and ways to cook.  So I was happy to have found a really easy recipe for stuffed jalapenos that someone had posted on Facebook.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground sausage (HOT if ya like! )

22 jalapeños

1- 8 oz block cream cheese, softened

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat over 425. Cook sausage until browned. Set aside. Mix cream cheese with Parmesan cheese. Add cooked sausage and mix well. Rinse jalapeños. Cut each jalapeño lengthwise and remove seeds. Stuff jalapeños with sausage mixture. Cook for 20 minutes until tops are golden brown (cook on a large baking pan).

I had made it already once last week when I decided to make it again a few days later (at hubby's request). The first time I used all the same ingredients according to the recipe.  The second time I decided to use ground beef with homemade taco seasonings instead of the sausage.  It turned out okay but I think I liked it better with the sausage (I used the all natural Trader Joe's kind). How the stuffed jalapenos turned out was not the only thing that was different from before.

The first time I was making the recipe and cutting up the jalapenos I must have been more careful with not rubbing too many of the seeds on my hands.  The second time I must have somehow gotten the seeds/oil on my hands (though I thought I was being careful) because my hands burned for several hours afterwards!  I googled what one should do in such a situation. I tried all the different remedies but none offered immediate relief.  In the end the burning sensation did go away on its own but only after I had endured a lot of pain and discomfort.

Lesson learned: Always wear gloves when cutting up jalapenos (or any hot peppers for that matter)!