Sweet Banana Peppers stuffed with Peppers, Cheese and Bacon

I've seen recipes for stuffed jalapenos and poblanos, but with the sweet banana peppers growing like crazy in the garden, I thought why not?

Depending on the number of peppers you have, it's easy to double the filling.  I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious these were!

4 sweet banana peppers

14 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

1 Serrano pepper, finely chopped

1 hot cherry pepper, finely chopped

1/4 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. granulated garlic

3 slices bacon, chopped in small pieces and fried until crispy

1/4 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Carefully make a slit in the pepper almost to the end.  Make another small slit around the stem end of the pepper so that you can remove the seed and inner membranes.  Set aside.

Pour diced tomatoes into a greased baking dish.

Fry the bacon pieces until crunchy and drain well.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, Mexican blend cheese, peppers, bacon, cumin and granulated garlic.

Very carefully spoon the cheese mixture into the peppers. 

Bake for 25 minutes until the peppers are cooked and the cheese is softened.  You don't want it running out of the peppers!  During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, remove from oven and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese.  Return to oven until cheese is melted.