Try jalapeno. The productivity is hard to keep up with!!! I find with jalapenos I am spending more time harvesting then taking care of them!!! :)

Peppadew's are nice peppers that are a bit sweet with good heat.

I grow a serrano every year solely for the heat. The taste (while not at all bad) isn't very remarkable beyond it's heat even when ripe red.

They're thin-width, fleshy/thick, 2-3" peppers that can be used in cooking according to taste with other peppers as a compliment that won't mask the other pepper's flavors.

The plants tend to be ridiculously productive if you choose one of the larger varieties (many open pollinated varieties to choose from). I don't worry too much about cutting one up only to use half of it.

They also freeze well for later use in hot-cooking and salsa/sauce making. Though they get "soggy" like all frozen peppers they're very easy to work with right out of the freezer with none-to-minimal thawing depending on how you handle a knife. The seeds are extremely small.

I am trying a couple different mildly hot peppers this year (Numex Joe Parker, NuMex Big Jim, something called Cowhorn). I harvested only one ripe red Joe Parker so far. The tip was sweet, rest was mild heat. I though it was good, interesting.

I have started looking at the "http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/"; web site, reading up on what they have developed over the years. I don't grow "real" hot peppers, so I normally don't post here. Good luck in finding the perfect pepper!

SortaOrganic, you have my respect. Anyone that can be successful growing bells will have success with Capsicum - these tough, barely-removed-from-the-wild plants.

I recommend cubanelle, which isn't quite as fleshy as a bell but can otherwise be treated as one (culinarily) with a little heat. Poblanos likewise, which stuffed make chiles rellenos (yum!). And toss in a jalapeno (standard or mammoth) for more heat - and poppers (double yum!).

I recommend the Hungarian Hot wax. Despite it's name, it isn't all that hot. Similar to heat of a Jalapeno. You could also try Pepperoncini. They are quite mild with just a bunch of heat. Then you have the Sweet Banana and they are basically no heat...a direct alternative to bell peppers. All three of those varieties are good producers.

Bruce

I grew Hungarian Hot Wax and also picked them at different stages of maturity. Although i was once told to let them fully ripen red for more kick, in a couple instances I picked them while yellow and they were hotter than the later picked "red" hot Hungarian wax peppers. Taste wise, I love them, one of my favorite peppers and they're not too hot at all.

On another note Im also growing thin cayenne pepper. These have some kick but are the easiest to dry and use for powder which I love.

Lastly, I grow Jalapenos, and obviously from the others commenting, theyre popular, and very tasty, virtually used in everything you can think of!

-Steve

I grew one TAM mild jalapeno this year - I got it at Lowe's. The name says it all - hot if you use the whole fruit, but not as hot as standard jalapeno. It didn't grow very big, but it was reasonably productive. Apparently there's a newer version - it comes out of Texas A&M, thus the name. I'm looking for more mildly hot peppers for next year as well. My poblanos didnt' set fruit for a long time, and I haven't picked one yet. They did have a growth spurt after the July heat wave/drought, though, and now have fruit coming.

Numex Big Jim and Anaheim are two you may want to check into also.
Bruce

I agree with many of the recommendations above. There's a whole world of different flavors and possible uses in that range. You're going to have to try "all the above" at some point. :-)

I would really recommend something like the NuMex Big Jim (any of those Anaheim / Green Chili types, really) and a poblano (ancho if you let it ripen to red, and dry it).

Thanks to everyone for their time and suggestions. Looks like I've got some reading to do! This will definitely be a change for us since we have been growing bells only. We have a new indoor germination plan for next year as well. 72 pepper plants in our bathroom this spring was an adventure!