Recipe: Cream Cheese Beef and Jalapeños

Sometimes ideas for dinner come to me at the strangest times. Like poetry, once in awhile dinner inspiration can arise in the reveries I enjoy while driving. That’s what happened with the recipe I’m going share today.

I had dropped Ian off at work and was heading toward the local Fry’s grocery store thinking about what to make with the steaks I thawed earlier in the day. I wasn’t in the mood for the old fried steak and baked potato combination that had been a go-to when I was feeling particularly carnivorous in the past.

I thought about stir-fry with rice, beef stroganoff, and Mom’s old “goodie steak” recipe with bell peppers and tomatoes, none of which struck my fancy.

I had a vision of the big cream cheese stuffed jalapeños wrapped with bacon that Fry’s stocks at the meat counter. I began to salivate a little. That was it! I decided I’d purchase a few of those, grab some kind of vegetable, and fry the steaks. No baked potato.

I know, it doesn’t sound like much of an inspiration, yet. Just wait.

Once I got to Fry’s, I picked up a few of the other things I needed and then headed to the meat counter. As I wove through the aisles avoiding the clutches of shoppers, I went over a list of things I had at home to work with. That’s when I remembered the bag of small jalapeños I had sitting on the counter. They were quite small, but maybe I could stuff them anyway.

At the meat counter, I ordered a pound of apple wood smoked bacon for upcoming breakfasts and eyed the giant, pre-stuffed peppers. It wouldn’t be as much work to just purchase them. They were a dollar a piece. I’d bought them in the past for 75 cents. On sale, they had been two for a dollar. Did I really want to spend a dollar for one pepper? The taste would be worth it. But, I thought, what about that bag of peppers at home? They weren’t going to last forever. That’s when I decided to forego the big peppers, turned the cart toward the dairy section, and picked up a package of cream cheese. Then, over in produce I picked up some mushrooms.

At home, I washed a handful of peppers and started slicing them in half. They were much too small to stuff. What would I do with them? I definitely wasn’t going to change my mind about using them. That’ when the inspiration came together. From salivating over a vision of spicy stuffed peppers in the car to standing over my wooden cutting board, a new recipe emerged.

I think I’ll just call it Cream Cheese Beef and Jalapeños. Try it – you’ll like it!

Cream Cheese Beef and Jalapeños

Ingredients:

• 1 – 2 lb stew meat or steak, cut into small cubes
• 4 – 6 slices of back, chopped into smaller pieces
• 1 cup small Jalapeños or Serrano Peppers, cut in half longwise
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 – 6 large mushrooms, chopped
• 1 package cream cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbs oil
• 3 cups cooked rice (optional)

Directions:

• Heat oil in medium sized skillet on medium heat
• Sauté onions, garlic, and peppers until soft
• Add beef and fry until brown on all sides
• Add bacon and fry a few minutes, stirring constantly
• Stir in mushrooms
• Turn heat down to low and cover.
• Simmer until beef is tender, stirring frequently (add a little water if it starts to stick to pan)
• When meat is tender enough for your taste, cut cream cheese into little squares and place all across the top of the meat. Use the entire package of cream cheese.
• Replace lid and simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
• Stir all ingredients together so cream cheese is distributed evenly.

Serve by itself or on top of cooked rice

Sadly, I didn't take a photo of this dish. It's probably okay, though. It isn't a pretty looking dish, but I promise you, this is a taste extravaganza!

We liked it, anyway!