I have a jalapeno popper dip recipe that I really enjoy but as usual I am never quite satisfied when it comes to new meal ideas. Instead of buying those frozen, full of fat ingredients and things I can’t pronounce, I was thinking that making actual jalapeno poppers was the way to go. Only I was going to TRY to make it a bit healthier. Let’s face it, fried food will never top the list of healthy choices, but one cannot go through life NEVER indulging in it.

In theory jalapeno poppers sound pretty easy; just stuff some jalapenos with cheese, bread them and fry them and presto! I have had jalapeno poppers before where the jalapenos were still crispy and barely even cooked and I wanted mine to be soft and fully cooked so I decided to roast them up a bit first. (this was one of my better ideas by the way). After roasting the jalapenos I removed the loose skin to ensure that it did not interfere with the texture of the poppers. The soft roasted jalapenos were much more difficult to work with but it was well worth the extra effort. You can skip the skinning part if you want to. Do YOU baby!

The jalapeno poppers turned out great! They were nice and crispy and golden brown on the outside and soft and warm and gooey on the inside with just the right amount of chili heat. I used a combination of cream cheese and cheddar cheese stuffing in the jalapeno poppers and the cheese melted nicely when the poppers were fried. Roasting the jalapeno peppers was the way to go as it added a ton of flavour to the poppers. The only problem was that the poppers disappeared much too quickly and now I need to make some more.

Jalepeno Poppers

Ingredients:

• 12 jalapeno Poppers

• 4 ounces low fat cream cheese (room temperature)

• 2 ounces low fat cheddar cheese (grated)

• 1/4 cup healthy flour

• 1 egg (lightly beaten)

• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

• oil for frying, I use grapeseed or Crisco, olive oil smokes too easy

Instructions:

1. Roast the jalapeno peppers in a preheated 450F/230C oven until browned on all sides.

2. Place in a bowl sealed with plastic wrap and let cool.

3. Squeeze the skins off of the peppers.

4. Slice a slit down one side of the pepper and scoop out the seeds.

5. Mix the cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a bowl.

6. Stuff the pepper with the cheese.

7. Dredge the pepper in the flour, dip them in the egg and dredge them in the bread crumbs.

8. Fry in oil until golden brown

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