Loaded Jalepeno Poppers

Chances are you've had a bacon wrapped jalepeno popper before. Over the years they seem to becoming more and more popular.  I love them because they are super delicious....but also low carb!

They are one of my go to dishes when I'm going to a BBQ or potluck because everybody loves them but they are still in line with my way of eating.  It's very rare to find a "diet" food that's also a crowd pleaser....so when you find it you gotta hold onto it!

The basic recipe for these bacon wrapped jalepeno poppers is just cream cheese stuffed inside half a jalepno and then wrapped in bacon.  While this is definitely delicious and I would never turn it down....I think it can be improved upon.

When I was making them one day I decided to clean out my fridge a little in the process.  I threw in minced cilantro, chopped green onion, and garlic powder in with my softened cream cheese....but basically you could throw in whatever you want.  That's what makes them "loaded"

Some other ingredients I've used in the past is:

Cheddar cheese (or any cheese for that matter)

Diced olives

Fine diced ham

Chorizo

Italian sausage

Green chilies (for a double chile kick)

Roasted bell peppers

....the list could go on forever!

Just mix anything you want with one package of softened cream cheese and stuff it inside a seeded jalepeno half.  I find medium sized peppers work best

Another thing I do different than most recipes I've seen is that I use half a slice of bacon per half popper where as other recipes have you cut your bacon in thirds.  1/3 of a slice just isn't enough bacon for me.  I like to make sure the whole thing is covered.  I only do a 1/3 piece if my peppers happen to be really small.....but that's entirely up to you.  Are you a halfy or a thirdy?

Wrap the bacon around your stuffed pepper half and secure with a toothpick.  Place on a wire rack that is placed over top a baking sheet to catch all the bacon grease.  This way your popper won't be sitting in the grease and it will be able to render and get crisp as well as cook more evenly with the heat going completely around it

Bake at 375 for about 30-35 minutes depending on how crisp you want your bacon.  After 30 minutes of torture you'll get a nice big plate of deliciousness like this

They may not be the prettiest things in the world but who the heck cares when they taste this good

Now go do yourself a favor and go make these suckers.  You'll be killing two birds with one stone....a delicious snack AND cleaning out your fridge in the process.  How's that for productivity??