Jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich

Dinner last night was a brilliant combination of some of my favorite things- jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwiches from Closet Cooking! Why haven't I thought of this before?  The cream cheese makes the sandwich, well, creamy, and the chips provide an excellent and unexpected crunch.  On the spicy-o-meter, I would rate this a 3 out of 5, so don't let the jalapenos scare you!  Oh, and I grilled ours in the panini maker, which is turning out to be one of the best purchases I've ever made.  We'll be making this sandwich a lot at our house!


JALAPENO POPPER GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
Yield: 2 sandwiches


Ingredients

• 4 jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 4 slices sour dough bread
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup jack and cheddar cheese, shredded
• Generous handful of chips, crumbled (I used jalapeno kettle chips)

Directions

1. Place the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
2. Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blackened, about 8-14 minutes.
3. Place the peppers in a zip-lock bag or other sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove the skins from the peppers. The skins should easily "pinch" off.
5. Butter the outside of each slice of bread and spread the cream cheese on the inside. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on the cream cheese of one slice of bread, top with the jalapenos, crumbled tortilla chips, the remaining shredded cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
6. Grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-3 minutes per side.