SRC Reveal: Jalapeno Poppers

I have been a part of The Secret Recipe Club for quite a few years now and thoroughly enjoy it. Sometimes I've stretched myself and made sometime a little more difficult, and sometimes I stuck to what was familiar, but regardless, it is always a blast to learn about new people, find new recipes and of course, be secretive in it all!

This month I was assigned the blog Mangia, hosted by Chelsea. I love the name Mangia. In Italian, it means "eat". Chelsea is from an Italian family. My moms side of the family is Italian and so I loved Chelsea's recipes and stories. 

Mangia means “eat” in Italian. Now, you can’t take this word for face value. Mangia means more than eating in the physical sense, but also, eating to enjoy life. Eating is what we do best in an Italian family, it’s what we do to come together, to share stories, and to show one another love through food. Naturally, I want to share this love with you, through my recipes. 

The other thing I loved about her blog is all the gluten free and other "healthier" versions of classic faves. Because, after all, it is a bit difficult to be Italian and not be able to eat all the pastas, breads, etc..Her sister is her inspiration for many of her recipes. 

I had pinned three to try. Her Lemon Cashew Cream Pie, which actually was an SRC recipe that she tweaked for dietary reasons...but my hubby said he's not a fan of lemon so I nixed that one...maybe I'll try it sometime making just a small personal pie. I also pinned her recipe for Mini Vanilla Bean Scones because I LOVE Starbucks vanilla bean scones, and hers are GF. But I have too many things that need to be eaten up so I'll make them this week sometime. So I decided to make her Jalapeno Poppers-Two Ways. We were having a dinner for my hubby's birthday yesterday and I thought I'd make these as the appetizer. I'm so glad I tried them. The fillings sounded so good and so unique to what I've typically had. Jalapenos are interesting because sometimes you get one that's not to hot, and then you get another that kills your mouth...I am sensitive to spice..lol. But I would totally make these again and actually used the leftover spread on some crackers later...YUM!

There are two versions of these. I'll list ingredients for both fillings and then directions (since they're the same), below them. These are great for a football party!  I was worried that the filling using greek yogurt would completely melt and run out, but it held really well.

Ingredients:

Honey-Citrus Goat Cheese Filling:

4 oz. goat cheese, room temperature

1Tbs. Honey (or more...I ended up using more...kept tasting till I liked it)

1/2 small orange, juiced (again, I used more. I wanted to taste all the flavors)

Fig and Yogurt Filling

6 0z. plain Greek Yogurt (I used Fage, it was on sale)

1/2 c. Fig Preserves (Both our Walmart and Safeway had this)

Other ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lbs. bacon. I needed two packages since I was short about 4 slices

8 jalapeno peppers, sliced vertically down middle and de-seeded

Instruction: 

1. In separate bowls, combine ingredients for fillings. 

2. Line a  baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

3. Fill cavity in each pepper with fillings (8 halves for each filling). 

4. Wrap bacon around each pepper, starting at one end. I used an entire piece of bacon. 

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until bacon is nicely browned and filling bubbly. This makes 16 pieces total. 

I loved these. They're just different from the traditional cream cheese filled poppers, but I think they'll be loved by all! Try them at your next football party!

http://www.inlinkz.com/new/view.php?id=653256

An InLinkz Link-up

With Joy Unquenchable,