Recipe Rewind: Jalapeno Poppers!

Original post from June 2012

Here's an easy recipe for your Super Bowl get together.  Not only are they delicious, they're easy and super fun finger foods.  And there are only three ingredients!  Certainly, this is my kind of appetizer.  They can be made ahead of time and warmed up if you're traveling or just serve them up right off the grill or out of the oven!

Ingredients:

8 fresh jalapeno peppers

1 container (8 wedges) Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges (I used Garlic & Herb)

12 slices of bacon (try to use the original cut vs. thick cut…it wraps better, and you save calories)

Preparation:

Preheat your grill to medium heat or oven to 375,

Wash the jalapenos.

Slice the jalapenos lengthwise then de-seed and de-vein them – don’t worry about the stem, if they remain, that’s fine.  They look really cute that way, and they make adorable little handles!

Using a butter knife, fill the jalapeno halves with the cheese wedges.  I found that I could use almostone wedge for two halves.  I think I ended up with one wedge leftover and I just used it to fill any peppers that needed it.

Finally, wrap the bacon around the jalapenos.  Note:  I had thick sliced bacon on-hand and I attempted to use only 1/2 a slice per pepper to keep calories down.  However, I found that when they grilled, the bacon shrunk a little so I had trouble keeping it on.  With regular sliced bacon, you can use a whole slice, it wraps tighter and has better staying power during grilling/baking.  You can also secure the bacon in place with toothpicks (soak in water to keep from burning if you're grilling).

If grilling:

Place the peppers directly onto the grill and cook for about 4 minutes (until the bacon becomes crispy), then flip to finish up on the other side.

If baking:

Place the peppers onto a foil lined or nonstick baking sheet.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is browned.

Remove from the grill/oven and serve immediately, or they can be reheated later and they are just as delicious!

Serves 8 (two halves for each serving)

Nutrition:

Calories 109 / Carbs 2g / Fat 8g / Protein 6g / Fiber 0g / Sodium 500mg