(makes 12; estimated cost: $12, or $1 per serving)
Ingredients
12 jalapeño peppers
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup cream cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
2 ounces jack cheese, cut into 2 1/2-inch long pieces
Steps
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Prepare the jalapeños for stuffing: **Wear gloves while touching jalapenos. You can either slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise or slice off the top one-third (lengthwise) of each jalapeño to make a boat shape out of each pepper. The halved jalapeños will go further (twice as many stuffed peppers), but you can put more filling into the boat-shaped peppers. If you choose to make the boats, you can mince the tops and add them to the filling if you want some extra heat, or save them for another recipe. In either case, scrape out all the seeds and ribs from each jalapeño with a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works great).
Mix: Mix all the filling ingredients except the jack cheese batons.
Stuff the jalapeños: Pack the filling into the peppers and nestle a baton of jack cheese onto the filling of each one.
Arrange the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, and the peppers are cooked.
Cool for 5 minutes before serving.