One of my favorite things to do is to cook. I love buying cook books and trying out recipes, making my family members the guinea pigs. This recipe for Jalapeno poppers is one. It was given to me by a coworker. Once I made them, Carlo just loved them. Unfortunately, They are a greasy,fatty pleasure so, we don’t eat them very often. When we do, we balance them out with some Bruschetta because that’s healthy so, we don’t feel too guilty…. until we reach for the Ice Cream.

Bacon- Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers*

*quantities vary depending on how much cream cheese or bacon you want for each popper.
*baking time will also vary on the quality of bacon you use.

Cut the stems of the Jalapenos, then cut them in half. Take out all of the seeds, wash and pat dry with a paper towel.

Spread desired amount of Cream Cheese onto the halves of Jalapenos, then wrap with half a slice of bacon. For bigger jalapenos, use 1 whole slice of bacon.

Bake for 20-30 minutes @ 400º or until Cream Cheese is golden brown and bacon is crispy. Lay on paper towels to remove excess grease and cool for 2 minutes.

Bruschetta

1 Baguette (best when at least 2 days old)
4 medium sized tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
Italian seasonings
salt (or in my case… garlic salt!)
Olive Oil

Dice tomatoes and place in medium bowl. Season with salt and Italian seasonings to your liking. Place aside.

Thinly slice the entire baguette. (not too thin or they will fall apart when you broil them) Place slices of bread on a cookie sheet and broil until golden brown.

Remove from oven and very carefully (because it will be HOT!) rub each slice of bread with garlic clove. Once all of the slices have been rubbed with garlic, spoon your tomatoes onto each slice.

Place back into oven and broil until bread a little darker. (about 1-2 minutes) Remove from Oven and drizzle with Olive Oil. Hot or cold.. doesn’t matter.. is good either way.