Low-Carb Pizza Poppers, A Healthful Snack or Party App from Cleo Coyle #Keto #LowCarb #Glutenfree

Pop the taste of pizza in your mouth 

with far less carbs and calories!

These delicious Pizza Poppers, using sweet mini peppers, make a pretty presentation for parties. They're packed with nutrition, and they make a tasty solution for low-carb (keto) and gluten-free snacking. They're kid-friendly, too, easy to cook and fun to eat.

We're sharing them today to celebrate the release of our 17th Coffeehouse Mystery, Shot in the Dark, in it's new paperback reprint edition. For those of you who collect us in this mass market format, we are happy to announce it is finally out...

Happy Book Birthday!

Starred Review!
"A gripping and entertaining mystery" 
--Library Journal (A Mystery Pick of the Month)

To learn more, click here. 

To download the free
recipe guide, click here.

A Note from Cleo

The inspiration for our "Pizza Poppers" came from an Italian company that invented 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 learned about pizza served like an ice cream cone, our jaws dropped. Once we got over the horrified shock, however, we began to have fun thinking up ways to write it into one of our Coffeehouse Mysteries. 

This recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy the taste of pizza without the carbs. It's a versatile technique, too. Once you see how we stuff and cook them, you can create your own mini pepper poppers, using your favorite toppings, be they pepperoni, chopped mushrooms, olives, or anchovies. You can easily make the poppers vegetarian. Or create a Tex-Mex version. Today, we're sharing our favorite flavor combo. May you eat with joy! ~ Cleo

Mini pepper poppers stuffed with Italian sausage and mozzarella, and served with a little dish of warm marinara dipping sauce.    

👇
To download this recipe in a free
PDF doc, click the image below...

To download our free
recipe PDF, click here.

Cleo's Low-Carb 
Pizza Poppers

Ingredients: 

(1) Sweet Mini Peppers - Costco carries them and so do most supermarket produce sections.

(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, use

3 ounces of meat &

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. 

NOTE: Because the melting cheese topping the peppers may spill a bit inside your oven, place an old baking sheet on the rack below the muffin pan. (Do not put the flat pan directly under the muffin pan, or the heat will not circulate properly around the pan.)

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.)

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. But see my note below...

NOTE: On a flat sheet, you will have to use a spoon to scoop the cheese back into each pepper (see photo above). 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 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

 

To download a free PDF
of this recipe, click here.

☕

Eat (and read) with joy! 

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author
of The Coffeehouse Mysteries &
Haunted Bookshop Mysteries

Alice and Marc in Central Park. 
Together we write as Cleo Coyle. 

Learn more about us here.
Friend us on facebook here.
Follow us on twitter here.
Visit our online coffeehouse here. 

☕

Now in paperback!

Amazon * B&N

IndieBound * BAM

A Library Journal
Mystery Pick of the Month

"A gripping and entertaining mystery"

--Library Journal ★ Starred Review

*

"Penetrating insights" --Kirkus Reviews 

*

"Sure to delight" --Publishers Weekly

A "Best Book of 2018!" 

~ Suspense Magazine

"A magnificent cold case 

mystery." ~ Fresh Fiction 

Amazon * B&N

IndieBound * BAM

*

"He is hardboiled in the tradition
of Philip Marlowe, and she is a genteel
Miss Marple; yet the two opposites
make an explosive combination..."

—Midwest Book Review

To learn more, visit our
online Haunted Bookshop
by clicking here.

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