Jalapeño Poppers

Quick, you have time to run by the store and grab some jalapeño peppers!

Make sure when you chop, deseed, and devein those peppers that you wear gloves. Do NOT raw dog it with bare hands and then touch your face, nose, and eyes. Unless you like burning, which I don’t think you do.

Y’all know I love party food, bar food, pub food, football food, finger food, apps, starters, you name it…

That’s why I wrote my new cookbook Eat Happy Cocktail Hour.

I’m about to send out the early-bird pre-order bonuses as soon as I get the Bonus Recipe PDF back from the publisher (today, I hope).

If you haven’t pre-ordered the book and you are sure you’re gonna buy it when it comes out, would you be so kind to do that? Your card will not be charged until the book drops…AND I’ll send you bonuses that will make you happy you did!

Go to this site and click on your preferred bookseller. Pre-order the book. Take a screenshot of your receipt. Upload your receipt back at the site.

I see each and every name come through, and I shriek with joy that you support my work. I will send out the aforementioned bonuses as soon as I have them.

Now let’s make some poppers, kids!

As always, here’s the PDF version of this updated, rewritten recipe, as well as the Substack recipe card, and I’m pasting the text in natively to this post as well.

(Yields 20 poppers)

Note: I now use Eat Happy Kitchen Taco Seasoning to sprinkle atop these at the end for extra flavor. You can make your own from the recipe in the original Eat Happy cookbook or buy your own store bought, just check the label for no sugar, anti-caking agents, powdered seed oils, or grains/fillers added.

• 10 jalapeño peppers, sliced in half, deseeded and deveined

• 2 slices bacon, cooked, cooled, and broken into pieces

• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

• 1/2 cup Colby Jack shredded cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup almond flour or crushed pork rinds

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

• Taco seasoning, sprinkled for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the prepped jalapeño halves on a foil-lined or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, combine the bacon pieces, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and garlic powder until well mixed. Spoon the mixture into the jalapeño halves until all the mixture is distributed evenly.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the topping ingredients: almond flour, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top of the cheese filed jalapeño halves. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then turn up the oven heat to 400 degrees and cook for 20 more minutes, or until the peppers are soft and the topping is golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the taco seasoning lightly on top. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.