Cleo Coyle Recipes.com: No-Guilt Pizza Poppers: My Taste of Pizza Without the Carbs from Cleo Coyle

No-Guilt Pizza Poppers: My Taste of Pizza Without the Carbs from Cleo Coyle

We've all heard of jalapeno poppers, but the inspiration for this Pizza Poppers idea came from another source, namely an Italian company that came up with the idea of on-the-go pizza served in a cone.

Yes, a cone! (To see it, click here.)

Honestly, when my husband, Marc, and I first learned about this, our jaws dropped. Once we got over the shock, however, we began to have fun thinking up ways to write it into one of our Coffeehouse Mysteries.

Click for Free Recipe PDF.

To find out how we wrote the pizza cone idea into one of our murder mysteries, click here or on the Read More link below. You'll also see big, colorful photos of our Pizza Poppers recipe.

OR

To download our Pizza Poppers recipe now in a free PDF, click here, and with low-carb joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

It was in our 9th culinary mystery, Roast Mortem, that we sent our amateur sleuth (Clare Cosi) to Brooklyn in order to question a murder suspect after a series of deadly fires in the New York area point to arson.

This suspected killer is about to launch his own Cone Pizza franchise in America, starting with a flagship store in Brooklyn, but what Clare discovers during her investigation upsets her far more than the atrocity of pizza served like an ice cream cone.

Click the cover to
learn more about
Roast Mortem.

Today's recipe is simply our way of doing "cone pizza" without the cone.

Hey, there's not much flavor in a cone, anyway, and when it comes to toppings, I'm a sausage-and-peppers girl, and so...ta-da: sweet pepper poppers stuffed with Italian sausage and mozzarella, and served with a little dish of warm marinara dipping sauce.

BY THE WAY, THESE ARE FANTASTIC!

So let's get our poppers on!

~ Cleo

Cleo Coyle's

No Crust Pizza Poppers

How to pop the taste of pizza

in your mouth with

far less carbs and calories...

Ingredients:

(1) Sweet Mini Peppers - I buy mine at Costco but lately I've noticed my local grocery's produce section is stocking them, as well.

(2) Shredded Cheese - I use mozzarella

(3) Raw Ground Meat, well-seasoned - I use Italian sweet sausage.
It's already seasoned and I love the taste, but you can use
any ground beef, chicken, pork, or turkey, just be sure to season
it up or the results may be bland. See my seasoning suggestions
at the end of the recipe.

How much? Use this basic ratio:

For every 5 peppers

you’ll need about 3 ounces of meat

and 1 ounce of cheese.

Directions: Cut the tops off your mini peppers and scrape out the seeds to create a clean, hollow interior. Fill with layers of sausage (or seasoned ground beef, turkey, pork, or chicken) and shredded cheese, finishing with the cheese. Bake them in a 350 degree F. oven. Here's how...

BEST CHOICE - MUFFIN PANS: Stack filled mini peppers in an upright position, inside foil-lined muffin cups. Bake for approximately 35 to 50 minutes. The time will depend on your oven and how cooked you’d like your peppers.

When is it done cooking? The sausage should no longer be pink and an instant read thermometer should register a reading of at least 160° Fahrenheit when stuck deep into the sausage filling. (Ground chicken and turkey should be cooked to 165° Fahrenheit.)

WARNING: The melting cheese topping the peppers may spill a bit inside your oven, so place an old baking sheet on the rack below the muffin pan. (You can certainly put the flat pan directly under the muffin pan, but the heat will circulate much better if you put it on the rack directly below it.)

Another option - Sheet Pan: On a flat, foil-covered pan, cook for (40 minutes total) 20 minutes on one side, then turn and cook another 20. NOTE: On a flat sheet, you will have to use a spoon to scoop the cheese back into each pepper. When is it done cooking? The sausage should no longer be pink and an instant read thermometer should register a reading of at least 160° Fahrenheit when stuck deep into the sausage filling. (Ground chicken and turkey should be cooked to 165° Fahrenheit.)

SERVE: These poppers are great as is, but to complete the pizza taste, you can certainly serve with a dipping sauce of warm marinara or your favorite tomato sauce.

SEASONING YOUR MEAT: To cut the calories even more on this snack, you can use raw ground chicken or turkey instead of Italian sausage, just be sure to season up your meat or the final peppers may taste bland. Using clean hands, blend the raw ground meat in a bowl with a mix of Italian seasonings, including: oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stuff the peppers and bake as directed in the recipe.

F o o d i e
P h o t o s