Tuesday Recipe: Roasted Jalapeno Poppers

(Before Roasting)

The church where we attend teamed up with Second Harvest Foods to host a Mobile Food Pantry for those who are needing just a little help during a financially difficult time. It was a great day where almost 70 families received the equivalent of about $200 worth of groceries...for FREE! God is so good! Not only did I get a good body workout lifting boxes, my soul got a workout, too.

Because our site had more jalapeños than we could distribute, I was blessed to take home a sack! I'm not into deep fried food and found this quick and easy recipe online to mess around with!

Roasted Jalapeño Poppers

6-8 large Jalapeño Peppers
8 oz block Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sharp Cheddar or the Monterey Jack & Colby Fiesta Blend, grated
Fresh Cilantro, rough chopped with stems
S&P

(A portion of the heat is in the membrane and seeds)

• Slice jalapeños in half. Stem is optional. Careful not to rub your eyes during this process! EEK! 
• Remove seeds and membrane of peppers. Set prepared peppers aside.
• In bowl, mix up the softened cream cheese, grated cheese, cilantro and salt & pepper and fill the cavities of the jalapeños.
• Place on a lined cookie sheet. (I lined mine with my Silpat, but parchment or foil will work to keep you from scraping any burned cheese, later.)
• Bake at 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes OR until the cheese is bubbly and the peppers are slightly softened.
• Let cool enough to handle and pop into your mouth!

This recipe serves as a great base to begin playing with the ingredients. You may want to add chopped bacon or onions and garlic to the cheese mixture or wrap the popper with bacon before roasting. Have fun and go Play with Your Food!