Dear Friends, we are back with another recipe to whet your fresh-food palettes. This recipe is easy and will certainly be a family favorite. This one does take a little planning (to soak the cashews for the filling), but it is nothing our culinary heroes can’t handle! (That means you. Yes, YOU!) For those of you who like hearty health food and creamy textures combined with a satisfying crunch, this recipe is for you.

So let’s get started. Here’s what you’ve gotta do:

Go to your local grocery store and grab yourself a bag of mini peppers. I like to use a variety of colors, which if you buy the assorted bag at Walmart of Costco, you will get a nice assortment of yellow, orange, and red-they offer slightly different flavors and make the presentation really eye-catching. Peppers come in all shapes and sizes-some of them easier to cut or fill than others-just do your best. Slice those puppies in half and scoop out the insides. I like to use a strawberry topper for clean, efficient dissecting. Whatever instrument you use, don’t press down too hard. You don’t want to break the skin or the insides will spill and dirty your beautiful cutting board.

See how cute? Little pepper boats. (Why does everything seem automatically cuter in miniature? Peppers, puppies, people? And I mean, have you been on the Storybook Land ride at Disneyland?)

Next comes that filling. This is going to look awesome as you fill your boats. The filling is easy, but it does take a little forethought and planning. So don’t try to pull this one together twenty minutes before the party begins because the cashews have to soak for six hours.

Combine the chives, bacon bits, and cashew-garlic mixture together. Make sure it incorporates well and that you get enough chives and bacon in there to add flavor and diversify the texture.

When everything is mixed, we are ready to go. Take a scooper of your choice and fill the peppers. Make sure you stuff them well. Like stuffing in a teddy bear or the amount of money you wish was in your wallet.

And then here is the feature that our families love and that makes this dish really unique: HONEY.

Don’t you just love honey? The “sweet” in “sweet and savory.” Thank you, honey bees. We owe you for the hard work you do flying around gathering and transporting pollen that magically turns into a sweet and delectable treat that soothes our souls and gives us essential nutrients. (I am aware there is a technical, beautiful, scientific process that explains it all, but I don’t know how it works, and I choose to believe in the magic of it. Don’t @ me 🙂 … or maybe do. I’ve always wanted to know how that works.)

Just a light drizzle will do.

Additional bacon bits and chives can go on the top for a little extra pizzazz. Arrange them all on a cheese board and you have yourself a fresh, healthy, beautiful appetizer that will impress even your mother-in-law (she likes you more than you think she does), your friends, or your ex-boyfriend (why you invited him again is beyond me, but I love you, and I will be here to support you.)

That’s all folks! As always, please leave a comment and tell us how your bites turned out. And if you have variations to the recipe that you’d like to share, we love hearing from you!