Pep up your diet: Cooking with peppers

From sweet and mild to hot and fiery, peppers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. Not to mention the variety in the heat they pack. A pepper's heat is indicated by its place on the Scoville index: bell peppers come in below zero, but habaneros top out around 350,000. Jalapenos fall in the 3,500 to 8,000 range.

Here, we've put together a list of recipes using some common peppers, from the mildest to the hottest. Proceed with caution:

Cheesy Grilled Banana Peppers

Ingredients:

4 fresh banana peppers

2 slices cooked bacon

1 plum tomato, diced

3 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, diced

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 cup panko (you can substitute regular breadcrumbs)

Ingredients:

Preheat a grill to medium heat. Wash the peppers and cut off the stems. Using a small spoon or vegetable peeler, scoop out the seeds. Combine the remaining ingredients and stuff them into the peppers. Wrap each pepper in a piece of aluminum foil, taking care to cover the tops tightly. Place the foil packets on the grill so they stand upright, which will keep the filling inside the peppers. Cook with grill lid closed for 10 minutes.

Source: recipes.sparkpeople.com

Cheddar and Jalapeno Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup polenta or fine milled corn meal

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

6 ounces (1 1/2 cups packed) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided (1 1/4 cup and 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons diced fresh jalape?os (more or less to taste)

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream, plus extra for brushing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, salt, sugar, cayenne and baking powder. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the grated cheddar cheese and the diced jalapenos.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the cream into the center of the well and use your (clean) hands to gently bring together the ingredients. If you need to add a bit more cream, then do so a tiny trickle at a time. You just want everything to get wet enough so that the dough will be sticky and clumpy.

Turn the dough out onto a surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough just a few times -- maybe only three or four pushes. You just want it to come together. (Over-kneading will result in firmer, denser biscuits.) Form the dough into a disc about 3/4-inch to an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (or a small juice glass) to cut round biscuit shapes out of the disk. Combine the leftover dough and keep forming small round biscuit shapes until the dough is used up.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, with at least an inch or two between the biscuits. Brush the tops of the biscuits with a little more cream. Top the biscuits with a sprinkle of the remaining cheese. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until golden and the cheese is nicely melted.

Source: simplyrecipes.com

Habanero Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

7 habanero peppers

13 garlic cloves

11 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large carrot, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup yellow mustard

2/3 cup chopped cilantro leaf

2 tablespoons thyme leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Ingredients:

In a small saucepan of boiling water, blanch the chilies for one minute. Drain and let cool. Discard stems.

In a blender or food processor, pulse the chilies with garlic, scallions, carrots, water and broth until finely chopped. Add the vinegar, mustard, cilantro, thyme, and lime juice and pulse just until combined. Transfer to jar and refrigerate. Can be stored in the fridge for up to six months.

Source: food.com