These crowd-pleasers make a fun and festive Halloween dish.

For those in the crowd who never liked stuffed peppers, stick with me. These are different. First, traditional stuffed peppers tend to be green bell peppers with stuffing and sausage and sometimes tomato sauce. If you like that, hey! Go for it but try using yellow and orange bell peppers. They have a mellower flavor.

The other thing that sets them apart, I like to use basically anything you would find in a burrito. Refried beans, Spanish or yellow rice, ground meat, cheese, salsa, and any other combo you like. These can be vegetarian or vegan as well. Just use what you like.

As the peppers soften and the fillings heat up, the fillings tend to ooze out in a comically creepy manner.

Steps:

1. Set Oven to 350 degrees (F)
2. Prepare whatever fillings you’ll be using. Cut the top off of the peppers. Seed and core the peppers.
3. Use a small sharp knife such as a paring knife) to cut faces on your peppers the way you would a jack-o’-lantern.
4. Place peppers in a baking dish, using foil to hold them up if necessary
5. Fill peppers with prepared filing in layers.
6. Bake for 25-35 minutes, checking for the peppers to be softened and the filling hot, and oozing out the jack-o-lantern faces.
7. Carefully transfer them to plates and serve with whatever sides you like, hot sauce, corn chips, sour cream, and whatever garnishes you prefer.

Serve hot!

And now for something truly terrifying: A photo of my mom with me in the 80s. I believe she was working on her “Orange Crush Bottle” costume, and I had been at my elementary school carnival (thus the face paint). If this was a poster for a horror movie, I would absolutely want to see it. The 1970s and 80s never fail to perplex me. Happy Halloween everyone!