Jalapeño Poppers

Poppin’ jalapeños

Serves 9 (2 peppers per person)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 9 wide Jalapeño peppers, sliced in half, cored
• 9 strips of bacon, sliced in half
• 1 tub (7.5 ounces) cream cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F

2. On a cutting board, cut the stem from each of the 9 jalapeño peppers off, then slice in half in order to reveal the inside of the pepper.

3. Use a spoon to scrape the seeds from the inside of the 18 jalapeno pepper halves. It may be useful to use a small waste bowl to collect the seeds as to not make a mess. An optional step is to leave some of the seeds in the pepper for additional heat.

4. On a separate cutting board, slice 9 pieces of bacon in half vertically. Place pieces on a plate, the pieces will be used after filling the Jalapeños with cream cheese.

5. With a spoon, fill the 18-jalapeño pepper halve with approximately a tablespoon of cream cheese each. The amount of cream cheese used depends on the size and width of the pepper. It may be helpful to use the spoon and gently squish the cream cheese into the pepper making it more compact.

6. Tightly Wrap the 18 bacon strips around each of the cream cheese filled jalapeño peppers, and pierce from the bottom of the pepper to the top with a toothpick to ensure that the bacon stays wrapped.

7. Place the 18 jalapeño poppers on a parchment paper covered, 9 x 13 inch cookie sheet. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until bacon browns and peppers begin to shrivel.

8. Let cool for 10 minutes, best served right after cooking on a large sized plate.

9. Store in air-tight container in fridge, best if consumed within 4 days.