Jalapeno Poppers

 Jalapeno Poppers are always a favorite with friends and family around here and sometimes I make them for the crew. Their eyes always light up when I do, but this is a new crew so I wasn't sure if they'd like these or not. I made them anyway. For years, I made them the traditional way, wrapping the bacon around the cream cheese filled jalapeno, but then I stumbled upon this version HERE and I've been making them like this ever since. I like that the bacon is already cooked and incorporated into the filling because sometimes the crew would come in before the bacon was cooked thoroughly and sometimes they would come in late and the bacon would be overcooked. This version eliminates that issue. These also take less time to cook. You probably get more of the bacon taste the other way, but I pack more bacon in the mix than it calls for.

I made 40 on Wednesday for the branding crew and thought I'd share the recipe here. One of these days. I'd love to put together a family cookbook for the kids and I thought it's be easier if I had a record here.

Jalapeno Poppers

12 jalapenos

8 oz cream cheese

1 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 Tbsp green onion

1 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated

6 oz bacon, cooked and diced

*Preheat oven to 350. Half and clean out jalapenos. Combine cream cheese (softened to room temperature), garlic, salt, pepper. green onion, grated cheese, and bacon. Fill jalapeno halves and bake for 25-30 minutes.

*We don't care for the premade bacon bits or pre-shredded cheese so I just cook the bacon and grate cheese ahead of time, but I'm sure if you used them, these would still be a hit.