Cooking from the books....jalapeno poppers

The thing about New Years Resolutions, at least for me because I keep making the same ones over and over, is that one day I'll succeed.

Take for instance me, wanting to make at least one recipe out of each of my 218 cookbooks...if I don't buy anymore cookbooks, or get anymore cookbooks for presents, I'll have accomplished my goal in a few years!

(I also have great hopes/resolutions for sending everyone a birthday card.  We have big families and extended close friends, whom I want to wish a happy year, every year.  The first quarter of the year--they ALL get a birthday card.  The 2nd and 3rd quarters?  It's hit and miss.  Oct, Nov and Dec?  I haven't sent birthday cards to anyone in years.)

But my mom.... my mom sent me this cookbook for Christmas, (sigh), so now I have 219 books to cook from.

The upside? It's a great cookbook and I would have bought it myself, but I was holding out hoping and praying that I would get it as a gift this Christmas.

It's the Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. I need no further description, do I?

While my pictures leave something to be desired, these "Bacon Wrapped BBQ Jalapeno Poppers" do not.

I made them for a New Year's Eve get together and I think they were a hit. Everyone but my friend Shelly tried at least one ( a bit spicy/hot for April's palette), and out of the 36 I made, there were only 4 left at the end of the night. (7 people eating them, April had only 1, so you do the math. ha ha ha...I'm no good at it)

They were really good, everything Ree said they would be. I will be making these again...

For a more detailed and entertaining version of the recipe please buy Ree's book, or find the recipe on her blog. For now, you'll just have to put up with me.  (not being quite as witty as the Pioneer Woman)

BBQ Jalapeno Poppers

First you need:

18 fresh jalapenos

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 green onion, sliced thin

18 slices of bacon, cut into half

bottled bbq sauce

toothpicks

rubber gloves (or plastic bags) for working with jalapenos.

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees

2. Begin by cutting the jalapenos in half lengthwise.

Try to keep the stems intact, they look prettier that way.

3. With a spoon, scrape out the seeds and light colored membranes. Remember the heat comes from the seeds and membranes, so if you can handle the sizzle, leave some of them intact.

4. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and green onion. Mix gently, but thoroughly.

5. Stuff each hollowed jalapeno half with the cream cheese mixture.

6. Wrap bacon slices around each half, covering as much of the surface as you can.

7. Brush the surface of the bacon with your favorite bbq sauce.

8. secure the jalapenos with toothpicks (try not to use colored party pics like I did--they left little dots of blue and red and green on the bacon) and pop them in the oven for 1 hour, or until bacon is sizzling.

9. Serve hot or at room temp.

Other dishes we enjoyed that New Years Eve...

oh....it's Emerson and Eli Stone.  Just wishing their Grammaw (that's me)  a Happy New Year!

(then they were quickly wisked off to bed....at 6:00pm where they will not awaken for a good 12 hours.  They're such good little babies.  And so dang cute...not that I am partial or anything )

Okay....here are the other dishes we enjoyed that night:

a refreshing and tasty lime slush--with lime vodka-- by Mitzi.

(it was good...I had to stop at 3) 

(meaning 3 drinks, not 3a.m.)

Mitzi also made a nice Oyster Stew.

Look at this!  Yummy.

(of course Oyster Stew is not for everyone...but it was really good)

Larry made some "pulled pork" for sandwiches,

we had crackers and cheese balls and olives and salami and dips.

Shrimp and cream cheese dip by Shelly (who didn't eat a jalapeno popper if you remember)

Salami and cheese by April  (who tried, really tried to like a spicy popper)

And yummy smog bars to round off the evening.

And then we played a dice game called "Farkle"  (we used to call it Spuntz  until it went commercial on us and became Farkle where it now makes millions of dollars for Milton-Bradley or Parker Brothers. )

(does anyone remember playing "Uno" with just a deck of playing cards?)

Farkle....and this leads me to a whole other New Year's Resolution, which I will tell you about tomorrow.

For now, I'll just cross another cookbook off my list.