skinny twist on traditional jalapeno poppers by ditching the deep fryer for the oven, without forfeiting all the favor! We had these as an appetizer to watch the Packers beat the Bears and they were a fabulous was to spicy up the first half!
WW My Way Smart Points: 3 Green, 2 Blue, 2 Purple
Preparing the Jalapenos
So to start with I put on a pair of gloves since I was working with so many jalapenos. I washed them all off and then carefully cut them in equal halves. Once they were all cute in half, I then got to scooping out the insides. If you and your friends/family like things spicy, you can leave the membrane, or a seed of two in the shell to give it extra heat, however I tried my best to scrap everything out.
After every one was cleaned out to my liking, the then sprayed a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and placed the jalapeño shells onto the sheet and set them aside.
Making the Cheesy Goodness
Now that I have the jalapenos prepared, I moved on to making the cheese stuffing for inside. First off, I took my soften cream cheese off the counter and placed it in a small bowl. I then stirred it up a bit to make for easier mixing. I added in the garlic powder, onion powder, cheddar cheese, chives, and salt into the cream cheese and mixed it up until it was evenly combined.I just used a normal spatula to do my mixing, but if you have a hand held mixer it might make for easier and quicker mixing. Once it was all mixed together evenly, I then grabbed a butter knife and used that to stuff the poppers. I tried it with a spoon but I was riding the struggle bus with that, and I found the knife was much much easier. I would grab a jalapeno from the tray and a scoop of the cream cheese mixture and fill the jalapeno until the cream cheese was flush against the edges. After all the jalapenos were filled, I then took the bread crumbs and sprinkled them over each one. At this point they are ready for cooking, or cover and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve. I made these about 3 hours ahead of time.
To Top It Off
After everything was ready, I threw the bacon into the microwave for 4-5 minutes, checking on it periodically, and then took it out and laid it on a fresh paper towel to cool. I made sure the bacon was crispy, as this made it easier to crumble up. Since I was not serving this until later, I placed the cool bacon in a plastic bag, crumpled it up, and set in the fridge to use later.
When it was time to eat, I threw the poppers in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes, took them out, and served with the bacon. I left the bacon on the side so everyone could choose the amount they wanted on their slices. The more bacon the more points!
They came out nice and golden and crispy, and they were a hit at the packer party! These are a perfect game time treat!
recipe