Struggle with getting dinner on the table? Grab our 5 easy family meal recipes!

Hey friends! Happy Wednesday!

How’s your week going? On Monday, I met with a few clients and then went to my first neighborhood book club. We read the tear jerker, The Art of Racing in the Rain (affiliate link). And then last night, I hosted a cooking class at our clinic and we focused on meatless recipes. I featured a tofu dish and I think it went over well!

Speaking of food, I’ve got a fun little recipe to share today that will be perfect for your football get togethers.

I can’t believe football season is coming to an end. To be honest, I haven’t been the best football fan this year. But, the playoffs are always so exciting! I think I’m 100% correct in assuming that we all relate football to food. You need tasty food to watch a football game!

For me, football and parties are all about the food and appetizers. I correlate football with small plates. I need lots of small plates to choose from, preferably colorful and variable. A big belly-filled meal just doesn’t do it for me. Let me eat (and drink) constantly throughout this three hour party.

Also, cheese. Cheesy apps get a VIP to the party. Like these chickpea pepper cheese poppers.

These pepper poppers are simple really. They are similar to the idea of a stuffed pepper, but small and handheld for individual poppers. They’ve got some protein with the chickpeas (which you could bake and make them crunchy!) and some coziness with cream cheese and shredded cheese.

YES.

These Chickpea Pepper Poppers Are…

Perfect for groups

Small enough to snack on

Colorful and football friendly

The cream cheese stuffing is my favorite, though. It’s creamy, herby and comforting. If cream cheese isn’t your thing, you could also dip them in hummus or guacamole! To be honest, though, it’s the mixtures of cheeses and italian seasoning…and these guys are like mini pizzas. That’s the first thing that I thought when tasting them.

When you’re making these, try to pick the bigger mini peppers. They are much easier for stuffing. I tried stuffing some little guys, it’s just a little more challenging.

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Yield: 4-5 servings

Chickpea Pepper Poppers

Print

These colorful chickpea pepper poppers are a great side or appetizer for groups. With melted cheese and spices, it's hard to put these down!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 15-16 sweet mini peppers
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• ¾ tsp Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• 4 oz plain cream cheese
• ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut mini peppers into halves, remove seeds, and sprinkle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 5-10 minutes while you cook chickpeas and prepare your filling.
3. Rinse and cook chickpeas.
4. For the filling, mix salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning, bread crumbs and cream cheese in bowl until reaches your desired taste preference. I used a hand blender to soften it up. Taste it and add more spices, if desired.
5. Stuff cheese blend and chickpeas into pepper halves, then top with shredded cheese.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

5

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 615Total Fat: 55gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 39gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 535mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 11g

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What foods do you associate with football?