Jalapeno Poppers

If you made me list my favorite recipes, this one would be right at the top. It, along with the wonton wrap recipe, are a "must" at our Christmas Eve festivities.

Ingredients:
12 jalapenos
1 pkg cream cheese
1 lb bacon

Obviously, they aren't exactly heart friendly, and to make them even less so, 1/2 fat and fat free cream cheese don't work well in the recipe. They just melt and run out of the popper.

Directions:
Cut the stem off each jalapeno, then slice in half. I would suggest using gloves when handling the jalapenos. In the past, I thought "Heck, I'm tough, I can handle it", and then wondered why my hands burnt all night long. Now I use gloves. My hands thank me.

Next, remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeno. This will remove the "heat" from the pepper. I've found that a a grapefruit spoon works really well. (I never knew what a grapefruit spoon was until I married Ryan. It's a spoon with serrated edges.) But a regular spoon will work as well. A little hint-I try to scrape away from me so that the juice doesn't pop me in the face. See, I've had lots of experience with these things. Wash out the jalapenos if you want to make sure you got all of the seeds. Cover a large cookie sheet (with sides) with tinfoil. Very important for clean up!

Next, cut the cream cheese into 24 pieces. This isn't necessary (at all) but that way I get a fairly even amount of cream cheese in each popper. Again, it's not necessary, a "spoonful" is as good a measurement. Spread the cream cheese inside the jalapeno. It doesn't have to look pretty. Place on the cookie sheet.

Take your pound of bacon and cut in half. I should have taken a picture of this. . .but cut them in half so they aren't as long. Hope that makes sense... Take one piece of bacon and wrap around the jalapeno. I've found that if you start at the bottom of the fat side of the popper, it works better. Wrap the bacon so that it covers as much of the jalapeno as possible. Try to end with the wrap on the bottom as well. That way, it won't flip up when cooked. The bacon will stretch quite nicely. I have seen people secure the bacon with toothpicks. Personally, that is more work than I need. Return to the cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. The bacon should be crisp and the jalapenos should be soft and fully cooked. It's better that they be overcooked than undercooked. Trust me on this one. The cream cheese will kind of squirt out a bit, but that's OK. Remove from the cookie sheet and serve. My mouth is watering just thinking of them. . .