Creamy Jalapeño Poppers with Sausage + Win $1 million in Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest!

#Sponsored by Mom Central Consulting #MC

Football tailgating parties are over, but March Madness has just begun!  I love my game day recipes and snacks, and today's dish is a definite crowd pleaser!  But before we get to the jalapeño poppers, I have a super exciting opportunity for all of you.  Remember all of those commercials last year with Eva Longoria and Michael Symon about Lay's potato chips picking a new flavor of chips?  Well, I'm not sure if you remember this, but the winning chip flavor won $1 million!!!  They are having another contest this year, so if you want the chance to submit your flavor and win big, visit the Do Us A Flavor page.  I will have more details after the recipe too, so stay tuned!

For my flavor, I went with one of my favorite pre-game recipes!  Basically, it's a jalapeño popper (or sweet pepper in my pictures) stuffed with cream cheese and turkey sausage.  It is so delicious!  It is one of my favorite recipes to make and eat because it is always exciting when someone bites into it for the first time and finds all of the different spicy, creamy, and tangy flavors.  Yum!  Hopefully, it can turn into an awesome chip flavor, and this is just what it would look like if I won.  Nice!

Creamy Jalapeño Poppers with Sausage
A Vintage Zest Original




Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/2 small onion, diced finely
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound ground turkey sausage (or sweet italian sausage), casings removed
• 20 jalapeño peppers OR mini bell peppers (I used mini bell peppers for these photos!)
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional, for spice)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1.  Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat.
2.  Cook the onions until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
3.  Add the turkey sausage to the pan, breaking it up with the back of the spoon and cooking until no longer pink.
4.  Set aside to cool.

5.  Prep your bell peppers by cutting off the stem, then removing the seeds and ribs.  Alternatively, you can slice in half to make canoe shapes!
6.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

7.  In a large bowl, mix the cooled sausage mixture with the goat cheese, 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs, parsley, red pepper (if using), salt, and pepper.
8.  Gently fill each pepper with the sausage mixture and place in your jalapeño popper gadget or a foil-lined baking sheet.  Don't be afraid to overfill because the mixture will actually "shrink" a little.
9.  Top each pepper with a sprinkle of the remaining 2 Tbsp. of seasoned bread crumbs

10.  Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden on top.

Yum!

So back to the awesome contest!  Here are some more details and click here for the official rules...

"The Lay’s “Do Us A Flavor” contest invites fans nationwide to submit their ideas for the next great Lay’s potato chip flavor for the chance to win a $1 million grand prize.  A judging panel made up of chefs, foodies and flavor experts will narrow down the contest submissions to four finalist flavors.  The four finalist flavors will then be fully developed by Frito-Lay’s culinary experts and unveiled in summer 2014 and sold nationwide.  From there, it will be up to fans to vote for the finalist flavor they want to see stay on store shelves, and the finalist behind the winning flavor will take home the million dollar grand prize."

That means in a few short months, you could be a millionaire if you have the winning idea!  Also, this year there is a new option for you to choose between the three chip types: Lay's Original, Lay's Kettle Cooked and/or Lay's Wavy for your flavor idea.  So many options!

What flavor are you submitting?  Good luck!