It's Pinspired Friday! {Sausage Pepper Cups Recipe}

Good morning and Happy Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. Today is Black Friday so if you are venturing out today for some deals please stay safe but have a good time! :)

It's time for...

Today I found inspiration on my personal "Food" board. I pinned this pin "over a year ago" according to Pinterest and have always thought it looked good but never had all of my "ingredient stars" align and I didn't want to go out and purchase these ingredients unless I was going to a party and needed a great appetizer... so there it sat.

"Sausage Stars" from With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart

This is apparently a Hidden Valley Ranch recipe from a while ago. The original recipe calls for black olives (bleck), green peppers (meh... prefer red ones), wonton wrappers, sausage, ranch, and shredded cheese (those last four are a-okay in my book! ;)) Well, I had the wonton wrappers, sausage and ranch but I was running low on shredded cheese... but I did have about 4 oz. of Velveeta cheese left... hmm! And that's where Pinspiration stuck.

To start, let's gather our ingredients:
• Wonton wrappers (I used about 14-15)
• 1lb pork sausage
• 4 oz. Velveeta cheese
• 1 small red pepper. Mine was shaped like a small banana pepper. If you can't find that kind, use just a little bit of a red bell pepper.
• A pinch of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons Ranch Dressing

You'll also want:
• Some spray oil - I use spray canola oil.
• A muffin tin. I used a "normal" sized muffin tin, it would appear that the original pin used a mini size muffin pan. If you want them to stretch farther than a yield of 14, use a mini muffin tin (you'll need more than 14 wonton wrappers then) With the typical sized muffin pan, they'll make cups, but one side might be farther down than the others.
• A non-stick cookie sheet

First, preheat your oven to 350, and then get out your wonton wrappers. Mine had a slightly stiff side... but no worries. If you get your wrappers out and they have any stiff parts, do this:

Get a small microwave safe plate, and run it under water. You just want the plate almost damp, so shake off excess water, then throw your stack on the plate. You might end up with the wonton wrapper that is sitting directly on the plate being too soggy to use, so just throw that one out at the end. Put the stack of wrappers on the plate into the microwave, and microwave for 10-15 seconds. They should come out much more pliable.

Now take your canola spray and spray the muffin tin cups. Place a wonton wrapper in each, and then hit them with a spray of the oil too. This'll help them crisp up.

 Your oven should be preheated to 350, so go ahead and place your wrappers in the oven. Mine took about 7 minutes to get a nice crisp edge. The original recipe calls for 5 minutes, but mine were not there yet at the 5 minute mark. The bottom of the wonton may not be super crispy at this point - that's okay, we're just looking for the edges to be slightly crispy so they'll stand up right now. Leave your oven on, we'll need it again.

Set those aside, and begin browning your sausage. While the sausage is browning, cut up your 4 oz. of Velveeta into smaller, more-easy-to-melt chunks.

Cut up your small red banana pepper. I cut it up right on the same plate as the cheese. Once your meat is pretty much all browned, put the cheese and pepper in. Mix it up to help the cheese melt. Add 1-2 tablespoons of Ranch dressing to the pot.

Yummmm! Mix it all up until the cheese is sufficiently melted. Now, get your cookie sheet out and transfer the cups from the muffin tin to the cookie pan. If you're like me, you're like... why get another pan dirty? Well, when they're not in the cups, the air will circulate better and help the bottom crisp up, and they won't become soggy cups. Otherwise I wouldn't be getting another pan dirty! :)

Take your mix and spoon the mix into the cups. Add just a hint of shredded cheese to the tops.

Bake at 350 for another 5 minutes. Yields about 14-15 cups if using a typical size muffin pan, would yield more in a mini muffin pan. Enjoy!! Makes a great appetizer for a party or a ridiculously yummy dinner too! ;)

Sausage Pepper Cups

Ingredients 
• Wonton wrappers
• 1lb pork sausage
• 4 oz. Velveeta cheese
• 1 small red pepper. Mine was shaped like a small banana pepper. If you can't find that kind, use just a little bit of a red bell pepper.
• A pinch of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons Ranch Dressing

1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Spray your muffin pan with oil spray (I used canola), make sure the cups are sprayed well. Add wonton wrappers to each hole. A regular sized muffin tin and this recipe will yield about 14-15 cups.
3) Lightly spray each wonton wrapper with the oil spray.
4) Bake wonton wrappers for 5-7 minutes until sides are crispy.
5) Brown sausage. As sausage is browning, slice 4 oz. Velveeta cheese into smaller chunks. Chop small red pepper.
6) As sausage nears completion, add cheese, red pepper, and 1-2 tablespoons of Ranch dressing.
7) Remove crispy wonton cups and place on a non-stick cookie sheet.
8) Once cheese is melted, spoon mixture into wonton cups.
9) Sprinkle a little shredded cheddar cheese on top of each cup, and place in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove and enjoy!

Thanks for following along!