As I do every Thursday morning on Sonrise Morning Show/Sacred Heart Radio, I chatted with Matt Swaim about Halloween. Now for us Christians, Halloween has this meaning (along with the fun dressing up and ” begging” for treats):

Halloween refers to the Feast of All Saints. The word itself is taken an older English term, “hallows,” meaning “holy”; and “e’en”, a truncation of the word evening, in reference to the Vigil of the feast. “So really, Halloween is the feast of the celebration of the feast of All Hallows”.

All Saints’ Day (November 1) honors all the saints who have entered heaven, while All Souls’ Day (November 2) is dedicated to praying for the souls of all the faithful departed, particularly those believed to be in purgatory.The main difference is the focus: All Saints’ Day celebrates those in heaven, while All Souls Day is for praying for and remembering all those who have died and who may be in purgatory. 

So anyway, here’s a couple of appropriate “hot” recipes that are easy and yummy. Thanks to a listener for the sausage stuffed jalapeño recipe. The sliced jalapeños are from my garden. I got a bumper crop this year. And remember, WEAR GLOVES – the membranes are actually hotter than the seeds!

OK so maybe the “hot” flavor of the poppers is just right for this topic!

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients

1 pound jalapenos, halved and seeded (wear gloves!)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

6 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled

Bread crumb coating:

Mix together: 

1/2 teaspoon each salt and garlic powder

1 cup or so bread crumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix cheeses and bacon together. Stuff into jalapeno halves. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 20-35 minutes.

Sausage Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork sausage

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 pound large fresh jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Cook sausage. 
Mix sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese together in a large bowl. 
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of sausage mixture into each jalapeño half; arrange stuffed halves in baking dishes. 
Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve with ranch dressing.