Emeril's Sausage Stuffed French Bread

Another recipe from "Emeril's Potluck", and that's exactly what I made it for.

It's hard to get even halfway decent food pics while other people are standing around salivating and wanting to eat so this was the best I could do.

I have to say I adored this with every fiber of my being. Just the perfect combination of cheesy, creamy and sausage-y. And of course, you guessed it...it's easy!

Here's the recipe:

two 15 inch long french baguettes (a used a regular sized loaf so only needed one)

1 lb bulk breakfast sausage

2 tbsp chopped jalapenos

1 cup chopped green bell peppers

1/4 cup chopped green onions

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

8 oz sour cream

8 oz grated sharp cheddar

1 tsp essence of Emeril (I used seasoned salt)

chopped fresh parsley

corn or tortilla chips

Oven at 350

Using serrated knife, trim upper quarter off the length of the top of each loaf. Hollow out center, leaving a 1/2 inch thick shell.

Brown sausage in lg skillet over med hi heat about 5 mins. Add jalapenos, bells, green onions. Cook, stirring until veggies soft 3-4 mins.

Add cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar and stir until competely melted. Add essence and remove from heat.

Fill the hollowed out loaves with equal amts. of mixture and wrap with aluminum foil. Place on baking sheet and bake 1 hr. Remove, unwrap and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with chips for dipping, or cut bread crosswise into 2 inch slices.

It was a potluck/baby shower so I also brought these festive cupcakes.

I have to say I love the little cupcakes stand, but I hate fondant. I doubt I'll ever try to work with it again...blech :P

Speaking of sweet stuff I received this awesome sample of Stevia today.

I was expecting maybe a couple of tiny little sample size packages, but these folks don't mess around! I've been wanting to try this stuff quite some time, but I haven't had the chance yet. Now I guess I've got no excuse.

They have a website you can visit (www.steviaintheraw.com) for recipes.

I'm especially drawn to the almond macaroons and pear tart.