Jalapeno Poppers

Need a quick and easy holiday party appetizer? Even if you’re not a huge fan of spicy foods like me, there are great uses for having some jalapenos growing right outside in the garden (we froze ours since we have so many). I planted 2 rows of peppers, and put in 6 jalapeno plants at the end. The peppers started pretty slowly for the first few months of growing. I had faith and kept them watered and happy.

We put the plants in a bit late in mid June so weren’t expecting a harvest till fall, and we were rewarded in late September. Since the jalapenos are a little smaller it snuck up on us how many were growing. The day before our Farm to Table party we noticed that we had a lot of jalepenos! Now to decide what to do with them.

I’ve made jalapeno poppers before, so we decided to make some as a nice appetizer for the party. This was my one contribution to the menu outside of cutting carrots. This is an easy enough recipe where even a novice like myself can make a presentable appetizer.

Morning of the event we picked 23 fresh jalapenos, picked up some cream cheese, and took some dill for flavor and made a simple recipe. We stuck with an all vegetable menu, but if you’re ambitious there are some great recipes with jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon you may want to try. The base is the same.

Notes From the Chef:

I love easy recipes like this. They look impressive and are easy, definitely a crowd-pleaser. I’m all about saving time during parties, these you can make ahead and stick in the oven right before the party, Happy app making!

Ingredients:

15-20 jalepenos, halved the long way

8 oz cream cheese

1 tablespoon dill

Directions:

Depending on the size of your jalepenos, guage how much cream cheese filling you want to put in. Soften the cream cheese out of the refrigerator while you prepare. Heat the oven to 375°F. Cover a baking sheet in foil.

Cut jalepenos

Harvest and wash your jalepenos, and cut them in half the long way. Using a small spoon or a butter knife cut out the seeds and hollow out the insides. Remember the white flesh on the inside provides the heat. If you like them hot leave a little more of the white flesh. If you like them mild cut out as much as you can to still get a bit of heat but not too much. If they’re hot you can also include more cream cheese to help with the spice.

Hollowed and seeds removed

Using a fork soften the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and add the dill until evenly mixed. Depending on the size of your jalepenos, guage how much cream cheese filling you want to put in. Using a butter knife fill the jalepenos with the cream cheese mixture and place on the cookie sheet. (If you’re wrapping in bacon, this is the time to do it, and stick with a tooth pick for easy picking)

Bake in the over for 20-25 minutes. Serve the jalepeno poppers hot with a nice garnish.