CORN BREAD PEPPERS

If you love corn bread muffins, then you'll love these: cubanelle peppers stuffed with healthy vegetables, fiery jalapenos, and moist corn bread- the perfect side dish! The sweet corn balances out the spicy peppers and the added mushrooms and spinach add delicious texture to the light fluffy corn mix. The only thing better than fresh corn bread is having an edible carrier for it!

INGREDIENTS:
2 large or 3 medium sized cubanelle peppers
1 box of corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy brand)
(mix needs: 1 egg and 1/3 cup milk )
3-4 button mushroom caps, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup corn
1/4 cup frozen spinach, thawed and additional moisture squeezed/drained out
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
1 jalapeno, minced
extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
-saute mushrooms and garlic in 1 tsp. olive oil, over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, add corn, set aside
-mix corn muffin mixture with egg and milk (or with whatever your brand calls for)
-add to the muffin mix the mushroom and corn mixture, spinach, cheese, and jalapenos
-cut the cubanelle peppers in half lengthwise
-fill the pepper halves with the muffin mixture (about 1/3-1/2 cup of mixture per pepper) and place in a casserole dish
-bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until corn muffin mixture is set
-let cool, serve, and enjoy!

serves 4 as a side dish

SHOUT OUTS:
This recipe was inspired by a recipe on Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals on Food Network.

TIPS and ADAPTATIONS:
-Instead of cubanelle peppers, try poblanos!
-Use whatever corn muffin mix you would like... you will need about 6 muffin sized servings. The egg and 1/3 cup milk was what was needed for my muffin mix. Replace it with whatever your muffin mix needs!
-Make it dairy free: skip the cheese and use water, broth, or soy milk with the muffin mix.
-You can use canned jalapenos or even canned green chiles.
-Add some extra protein by adding a couple of tablespoons of black or pinto beans into the mix.
-Use fresh, frozen, or canned corn.
-Be careful when working with hot peppers... always wash your hands with soap immediately after cutting, and beware of touching your eyes! Or, just wear rubber gloves when chopping!
-This is a great side dish to bbq or latin style pulled pork or grilled, marinated fish or chicken.