Cheezy Chick'n &Bac'n Stuffed Jalapeños

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Wow!!! Just wow!! This is the appetizer recipe you NEED for your Super Bowl Party, Next gathering or just because you love spicy, cheezy, smokey, jackfruit stuffed into jalapeños. I impressed myself and probably ate far to many tonight, but I have NO REGRETS! Please, stop reading this blog and go make these for yourself NOW!! Then spread the vegan goodness everywhere!

Looking for more great Jackfruit recipes? Try my Buffalo Jackfruit Quesadillas, or my AMAZING Creamy Jackfruit & Poppyseed Casserole ( Vegan Chick'n Casserole)

Recipe :

2 (17oz ) cans of young green jackfruit
1 dozen jalapeños, steamed, seeded and cut in half
2 Tbsp vegan butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp  onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup unsweetened plant milk
1/4 cup Nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp. Bac-os  (or other vegan bacon bits)

Topping:

1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 tsp parsley
1 Tbsp vegan butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Assembly :

Preheat oven to 400°

Sautée jackfruit over high heat about 8 mins until browned.

Over medium heat, heat butter until melted. Add flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, & paprika. Whisk continously.

Add milk, bacos and nutritional yeast. Whisk continously until smooth and bubbly.

Mix jackfruit and Bac'n cheeze sauce in a mixing bowl.

Stuff jackfruit into jalapeños.

Crush Ritz. Add to a bowl with parsley, salt and pepper & butter.

Microwave Ritz 30 seconds. Mix well.

Top jalapeños with Ritz.

Spray cookie sheet with non stick spray.

Place jalapeños on cookie sheet and cook 20 minutes.

Allow to cool 5 minutes  before serving.

Makes 24 jalapeño poppers!

Creamy Jackfruit Casserole

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My cousin,  Debbie,  makes a chicken casserole that is the talk of our family. Every reunion, party, get together, or potluck, she brings this casserole and it is cleaned out before it hits the table. The casserole is so good, she has named it “marriage proposal casserole”  because she had 2 men propose to her after eating the casserole! Before going vegetarian, and now vegan, I would make this dish to take to my husband’s family or for potlucks and I had the same reaction. It was a real family tradition.

 I find it hard to take dishes that have so much tradition and “veganize” them. The main reason is that I know it will be held to the standard of the original dish, no matter how I try to tell everyone to “taste it for the first time” or try it with an open mind. If it’s not exactly like that dish, it will rejected on the spot. Family dishes are “sacred” and must not be touched unless you know you have got it right.

This was a crazy idea I had floating in my head for a little while now, but I was always afraid to try it… I was even afraid to tell my husband I wanted to try and “veganize” my cousin’s famous recipe. I knew the reaction would be “no”. Yesterday I decided I can figure it out and I would make it work.

My husband called me while I was cooking dinner yesterday and asked “what’s for dinner?”. I just replied “I’m making something with jackfruit and steamed cabbage”. That was the safe answer. I was, in fact, making a jackfruit casserole and steamed cabbage. I wanted to surprise him, but I would make pulled jack fruit sandwiches quick if it turned out to be a disappointment. Luckily, it was a HIT! Everyone loved it last night. I had a completely empty dish and my husband ate 3 helpings!!! I hope this casserole will bring you a proposal, or at least, a happy family!

Looking for more great family meals? Try my Baked Enchiladas, Chili & cornbread Casserole, Baked Spinach & Artichoke Pasta, BBQ Tempeh over cauliflower "rice", Vegan Philly & Cheeze Sandwiches  , & Easy Sunday Dinner

Creamy Jackfruit & Poppy Seed Casserole:

*Jackfruit filling:

4 (17 oz.) cans of jackfruit, drained and shredded

Olive oil

½ cup carrots, diced small

½ cup celery, diced small

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. thyme

½ tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. parsley  

Salt & pepper to taste

*Creamy “chick’n” sauce:

4 Tbsp. vegan butter

4 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

3 cups plant milk

2 chick’n bouillon cubes

¾ cup vegan sour cream

*Buttery Ritz & Poppy Seed Topping:

2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed

½ cup vegan butter, melted

2 tsp. poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Sautee all ingredients for the jackfruit filling in a deep skillet over medium high heat until tender , this will take about 10-12 minutes. ( jackfruit should no longer look “transparent”.)

Add jackfruit to a large mixing bowl and set aside while you prepare the sauce.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to prevent lumps. Cook about 2 minutes, but don’t allow it to “brown”. You want a blonde roux for this sauce.

Add plant milk, salt and bouillon cubes and allow to come to a boil. Boil about 5 minutes, until thickened. Continue to whisk often to prevent lumps.

Add sauce and vegan sour cream to your jackfruit and mix well.

Pour into a greased 11x13 casserole dish.

In another mixing bowl, mix crushed Ritz crackers, melted vegan butter and poppy seeds together.

Pour cracker mixture over jackfruit evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool 5- 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 people.

Easy Pulled Jackfruit

New Year's Day is a big celebration around our house. It is my husband's birthday and, in the South, we have to cook a big traditional meal. That meal ( greens, black eyed peas and pork) is supposed to bring us luck and money in the new year. As a vegan, obviously, we won't be eating pork. What do Vegans eat for New Years? 

This year I decided to try one of the latest vegan food trends - Jackfruit. This is an Asian fruit that shreds like meat when cooked. It has a bland flavor which takes on any sauce you cook it in and is perfect for making pulled jackfruit sandwiches! You will probably have to go to an Asian specialty supermarket to find the cans of green jackfruit. Make sure you get the jackfruit in water or brine & not in syrup...that's a whole other thing. 

So...Happy new year!! Go celebrate and try new things!

Looking for some more southern classics?  Try my Buffalo Tempeh over cheeze grits, fried green tomatoes, Banana Pudding Pie, Applesauce Cornbread Muffins, Vegan "Chicken" (jackfruit) Casserole , & Cheezy Butternut Macaroni

Pulled Jackfruit Sandwiches:

I made 6 sandwiches from this recipe...

4 (17oz.) cans of green jackfruit in water, drained.
1 (16oz.) Jar of vinegar based NC BBQ sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)

1 package of hamburger rolls
Vegan Coleslaw (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. spread your jackfruit out on a greased 11x13 casserole dish.

3. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring after about 10 minutes. Continue to cook until jackfruit begins to brown on the edges and no longer looks transparent.

4. Remove jackfruit from the oven and toss with 2/3 of your BBQ sauce. Place back in the oven about 10 minutes.

5. Remove jackfruit and allow to cool about 10 minutes.

6. Using 2 forks, pull your jackfruit apart. It should resemble shredded meat. Make sure you pull the rougher core pieces, and large seeds apart also for a better texture. 

7. Place jackfruit on your roll and enjoy!

Serve with vegan coleslaw for authentic NC BBQ sandwiches. 

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