This is a very flexible recipe. You can make adjustments for the heat, but I would not recommend cutting back too much. You would be surprised how so many peppers can mellow out so nicely.
But, if you are so inclined, you can crank this up a bit by substituting the following ingredients marked in red.
Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef or pork
- 2 chipotle peppers, chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 16oz can refried beens with chorizo
- 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
- 1 jalapeno pepper (2 jalapeno peppers)
- 2 tabasco peppers
- 4 thai ornimental peppers (2 habanero peppers)
- 2 mild hot peppers (such as a banana pepper)
- 1/2 jar hot salsa
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 7oz pkg mexican cheese
- 1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
Directions:
- Begin by chopping all of the peppers so that they will be ready for use throughout the process.
- Brown the ground beef slowly, adding the chipotle peppers, 2 of the thai peppers (or 1 of the habanero peppers), paprika, chili powder, cumin, & garlic powder. By browning slowly, this gives the peppers time to incorporate.
- If you get the chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, add some of the sauce to the beef mixture.
- Once the beef is done browning, set aside to cool.
- Assemble in a 9x6 pan in the following order:
- Spread the beens on the bottom of the pan
- Spread the cream cheese next
- Add the ground beef mixture
- Add the remaining peppers: jalapeno pepper(s), tabasco, thai ornimental (or 1 of the habanero peppers) & mild hot peppers
- Spread 1/2 jar of salsa covering lightly
- Sprinkle 1/2 of the green onions
- Cover with the package of mexican cheese
- Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Before serving, sprinkle the remaining green onions and the chopped cilantro.
This can all be assembled a day ahead of time and put into a fridge. Pull out and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.