Pepper Sandwiches with Goat Cheese Pepper Spread ♥

A sandwich 'vegged' up with inexpensive peppers
Today's product tips: Jarred peppers from the grocery and fresh mini peppers from Costco. Today's recipe: A 'vegged up' ham sandwich with an easy goat cheese-red pepper spread.

Pound for edible pound, fresh peppers are increasingly expensive. Here in St. Louis, the everyday supermarket price ranges from $1.50 to $2.00 a pepper -- per pepper! Demand is high, so sale prices are rare. For a few weeks in early fall, locally grown peppers are plump and plentiful (and cheap, say $.25 each) at the farmers market -- even while the grocery stores are charging the same $1.50 to $2.00 for peppers imported from somewhere. (Wouldn't you know it? This week my local supermarket has peppers on sale for $1 apiece. I bought several!)

So I keep my eyes peeled for pepper products -- and have two to recommend.

JARRED PEPPERS - For $2 to $3, I find jars of (slightly pickled) peppers and jars of roasted peppers. Each jar holds six or more whole peppers, so they'll go a long way. But forget the regular supermarkets for the lower prices. Here I find them at an Italian market (for St. Louisans, Viviano's on The Hill) and at an international market (for St. Louisans, Global Foods in Kirkwood) but of course, you'll need to keep your own eyes peeled. They keep - so it's easy to stock up on a jar or two.

MINI PEPPERS - A two-pound bag of these gorgeous mini peppers was $5 at Costco - and to my wallet, worth every cent. They make great snacks, plus it's also easy to chop one or two for an omelet or garnishing a soup -- so there's little waste. Plus, they're just so darn 'cute', yes?

YOUR EXPERIENCE - What's your experience with pepper prices, both fresh and in 'convenience products' like these I recommend? Are they in your budget?



RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ more vegetable convenience products I like ~
~ more sandwich recipes ~
~ from Kitchen Parade, sandwich & cracker spreads, "turn an every-day sandwich into something special" ~

~ one year ago this week, Green Monster Soup, from Simply in Season, a kids cookbook ~
~ two years ago today, Cape Breton Cabbage, cabbage that is "sweet and fresh-tasting" I wrote, just 1 Weight Watchers point ~
~ two years ago today from Kitchen Parade, vegetables with sour cream,
you just know these are good! ~


PEPPER SANDWICHES

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves 1 - as needed

GOAT CHEESE PEPPER SPREAD - per sandwich
1 tablespoon goat cheese
1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
Chopped fresh or jarred red peppers (or sun-dried tomatoes)
Chopped herbs - cilantro or basil or dill, say
Bit of liquid to thin - I used liquid from the pepper jar
Red pepper flakes to taste

SANDWICHES
Good bread - I used a salty foccacia (for St. Louisans, from BreadSmith)
Smoked ham - leftover from Christmas, Note to Vegetarians
1/2 a roasted/pickled pepper - from a jar
Spinach, lettuce, more fresh basil maybe (not used but recommended)




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Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. CostCo has large cans of red peppers which are fabulous. Just get the cans, not the jars in vinegar. The cans are just plain peppers and delicious.

    Peace,
    Liz

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  2. I love red bell peppers and don't even look twice before dropping them in my cart...ouch, your prices were very eye opening. I'll be picking up a bag of those minis at Costco!

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  3. Fareway regularly has a 4 pack of peppers (2 green, 1 red and 1 yellow) for $1.99 a pack. I always pick one up even if I don't use them right away. Peppers starting to spoil? No problem, I just wash them, chop them up and put them in the freezer. I still have packs of peppers in the freezer from last summer's garden. Since green peppers are so cheap (and plentiful) I never grow them anymore. Space is limited so I only grow the reds, yellows, oranges and spicy ones. On the other hand - I can't find jars of UNpickled peppers at Fareway. Or sundried tomatoes either. For those I have to go to the "city" (Ft. Dodge! LOL) and shop at Wal-Mart. Trade-offs - Gotta love 'em!

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  4. I am absolutely drooling at your pepper prices. The red and yellow bells are going for $2.50-$3 a piece right now, while the green are about $1.
    Like Sally I like to pick up a 4 pack. My local walmart has two green and 2 yellow or red for $4.88. I usually stick to just the green, but I'll splurge about once a month on the 4 pack.

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  5. Mmm, I think I am in love with the goat cheese spread.

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  6. I do love those little peppers. They are very cute!

    Sometimes I find them at Trader Joe's but Costco has great prices and actually gives you enough in one package to do something interesting with.

    Somewhere I have a recipe for stuffed mini peppers that you have inspired me to search for. I remember them being really pretty and delicious...

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  7. This sounds great, Alanna!

    We're very lucky and our local vegetable store frequently sells packages of 4 or 5 red, yellow or orange peppers for $1.00. They carefully arrange the peppers to hide the fact that there is something seriously wrong with them in one small spot. But it's a simple matter to cut away the bad bit and proceed as normal - roasting or slicing and sauteeing.

    I really like your spread idea with goat's cheese. I make something similar with cream cheese and green onion to use as a vegetable dip at Christmas. But now I think I will have to substitute goat's cheese for the cream cheese!

    -Elizabeth

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  8. Liz - Thanks for that tip!

    Karen - And the prices keep going up!

    Sally - Great idea re the freezer. And yes, trade-offs indeed.

    Deborah - YIKES.

    Peabody - Yep, me too ;-)

    Lisa ~ I saw them at Trader Joe's this week but like virtually ALL their produce, it was in less than desirable condition. Stuffed mini peppers ... that was my plan with these, it just didn't come together!

    Elizabeth ~ Wow, great prices there in Toronto.

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  9. I read somewhere that jarred roasted peppers (yum!) do not have a very long life so for safety's sake I have been freezing mine in ziplock bags.

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  10. I freeze roasted pepper strips when they are cheap. They vary in price quite a bit during the year. I freeze them in ice cube trays so that I have convenient portions to use for months. Just put the frozen cubes in freezer bags. I do the same thing with pesto.

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna