Jalapeno poppers

Hope you all had a great Christmas with your family and friends! Holiday season is the time to remember your loved ones and the blessings that you are thankful for. I am thankful for my husband, my little girl, my family, my home, and all the happiness that surrounds me! I was particularly ecstatic about Christmas this year because it was the first in our new home and I wanted it to be special! We exchanged gifts in the morning with my daughter being super excited about the gifts she got (ofcourse!!)! We sure did have a wonderful Christmas morning!

Since all our close family members are back in India, we had a great gathering with our friends! We had a such an amazing time together with them who generously showered my little girl with gifts. We had a traditional Kerala Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, I should say! But I did try out a few new appetizers which turned out awesome! We finished off our meal with traditional Christmas Fruit Cake and a Berry Black Forest trifle.

Jalapeno Poppers

I found this recipe on youtube for some wonderful jalapeno poppers and I definitely wanted to try them out. Check out the video where the presenter explains the technique beautifully. The jalapenos that I used were a bit thicker than what she used, so I had to bake them a bit longer. Other than that I would say this is a fool-proof recipe which would be well received especially among crowds who would love food with a kick to it!! Since we were entertaining and I was running around with last minute "things-to-do" we couldn't take a lot of pictures.

I made some modifications to the recipe in the amounts used and here is what I did.. You might still have some stuffing left over which I think makes for a good topping for chips!

Recipe (Makes 24 servings):

Jalapenos -12
Cream cheese - 6 oz
Mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup
Mild cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup
Beef lil smokies - 6-8 chopped finely
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped finely
Bacon - 2 strips, cut into small pieces

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cut the jalapenos lengthwise into halves. Remove the seeds and membranes using a knife or a melon baller.

Cook the bacon so that they are nicely brown and crisp, drain on paper towels.

Remove the bacon grease and in the same pan, add some more oil and saute the finely chopped onions.

Once the onions are cooked, add the finely chopped sausage and cook until heated through.

In a bowl, combine the onion-sausage mix, crumbled bacon and cream cheese well.

Add the shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar cheeses and mix well.

Fill each of the jalapeno halves with the cheese-sausage-bacon mix to the height of the pepper half.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or longer until the peppers are cooked through.

Serve the poppers on a platter with some sour cream to cool down the heat, if any!

VERDICT: I just loved loved loved these!!! Once they are cooked through they just have the wonderful flavor of the cheeses, the peppers and the bacon, but I did come across a few raw tips of peppers which gave us (and some guests) a bit of a trouble! Nevertheless, this is a wonderful recipe which will be made again in my house soon!!


NOTES:

1. Check out the video for the actual recipe.
2. If the peppers arent cooked through, they will have some heat, so make sure there aren't any raw ones.

Thanks again for visiting Tasty treats! Have a wonderful week ahead!

Happy Holidays!