BBQ Jalapeno Poppers

My brother had an abundance of jalapenos from his garden, so he gave me some of them.  I also had some cream cheese in the refrigerator that needed to be used.  So I took the opportunity to try out these BBQ Jalapeno Poppers.  I got the recipe from Ree Drummond's cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  It is a great cookbook!

Here is what you need to make them:

18 Jalapenos

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

.5 C  Cheddar Cheese

18 strips of bacon, cut in half

BBQ Sauce

Here is how you make them:

1.  Wash the jalapenos.  Then slice in half lengthwise.  Remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeno.  (Ree Drummond suggest seeding the pepper using a spoon.  I found it to be the easiest way to do it, especially if you haven't done it before, as it is quick and removes any risk of cutting yourself or cutting through the pepper while trying to remove the seeds.  Here is a link to a video if you would like to see how to seed a pepper with a spoon.  How To Seed a Pepper with a Spoon )

2.  Combine cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a bowl.

3.  Stuff peppers with cheese mixture.

4.  Wrap raw bacon around peppers, trying to cover as much of the pepper as possible.  Be sure not to wrap the bacon too tightly, since it shrinks as it cooks.  (Many recipes suggest securing the bacon with toothpicks.  I have found this to be unnecessary, but you are welcome to do it if it makes you feel better.  Just start the one end of the piece of bacon on the back of the pepper and wrap it so that the other end of the piece of bacon ends on the back of the pepper.  Then you lay the pepper on the baking sheet with its back down, thus holding the bacon in place.)

5.  Brush pepper with BBQ Sauce.

6.  Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour, or until the bacon is crispy.  (I cooked mine on a broiler pan, but any baking sheet should do just fine.)

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You can prepare these up to 24 hours in advance and then cook them.  You can also fully cook them and then freeze them for later use.  Simply thaw and reheat them.

Let me just say, these were INSANELY delicious.  Ree Drummond says in her cookbook that you should make 2-3 times as many as you think you will need because they have a way of disappearing.  I thought she was just trying to make a point about how delicious they were.  But she was not kidding.  I made a half batch thinking we would eat a few of them and then I would freeze the rest.  But somehow, before I knew it, every last one of them was gone.  They were that good.

She also suggests using them as a hamburger topper, and I cannot wait to try that!

Hope you enjoy.

Sincerely,

Jenni Miller