The wait is over, it’s pepper time! The once-yearly crop of Hatch chiles (grown near the tiny town of Hatch, New Mexico) is now ready to spice up our summer. When you visit your local H-E-B, you’ll notice that they’re not just celebrating Hatch season, they’re going all out for all things pepper‑licious during Peppermania from August 5 ‑ 18. So take your pick of peppers — colorful bells, spicy habaneros, jalapeños, poblanos, hatch and more.
We rounded up a few seasonal pepper recipes, as well as some really fun kid-tested ideas that add some extra smiles at meal time. Plus, we’re always looking for new recipes that the kids can cook with us. So call ’em into the kitchen for these artistic pepper creations that they’ll enjoy making with you.
Cooking with Kids: Fun with Peppers
— Egg Pepper Ring Funny Faces: Slice a bell pepper lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place the sliced pepper in the bottom of a skillet, and then crack an egg in the middle to cook in a pepper ring. Two egg rings make some very silly eyes. Add a bacon, fruit or other favorite foods to make your own funny face for breakfast.
— Bell Pepper Octopus: We love this idea from Super Healthy Kids. You can click here for step-by-step instructions, but we tried making this with our own kids, and we love how EASY it is. This would definitely be fun party food, too.
— Minion Stuffed Peppers: If your kids are fans of the Minions, they’ll certainly love this creative recipe from the blog Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons. A mixture of ground turkey, rice and cheese fill the peppers in this recipe, but you could try stuffing the peppers with any recipe of your choice. We used this quinoa recipe from H-E-B instead!
— Veggie Train: What a great idea for party food! This snack made of bell pepper train cars is just super cute and a great way to encourage the kids to eat their veggies. Click here to visit the blog Mommy Moment for the instructions on how to put this all together.
photo via Mommy Moment
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Seasonal Pepper Recipes for the Family: Did you know that the H-E-B website has thousands of recipes? We love all of the great ideas for meals that we find. We went searching for some pepper inspiration for our picky family members (read: nothing too spicy) and found these delicious recipes that everyone can enjoy. Click on each for the full recipe.
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Hatch Sausage Kale Frittata Muffins
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For many more ideas and cooking inspiration, you can check out the H-E-B website for a wealth of articles, cooking tips, coupons, and more. You won’t want to miss:
- Pick Your Pepper Guide: Learn more about each variety of pepper, including its spice level.
- Hatch Roastings: Check out where you can get your Hatch peppers freshly roasted at H-E-B stores in Austin.
You can visit your local H-E-B to check out Peppermania through August 18. They will have limited edition Hatch products, must‑try recipes and lots of fresh and roasted peppers for Hatch fans to enjoy. So hatch it while it’s hot!
