Jalapeno Poppers with Bacon

I was watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network with my husband recently when I saw something like a jalapeno popper being made.  It was actually called an armadillo egg.  It's like a jalapeno popper meets the sausage covering of a scotch egg because the outside is coated with sausage meat instead of breading.  My husband said he would love to try one, so I said let me make a jalapeno popper first since I have only eaten them and  never made one before.   I found these huge jalapenos at the grocery store and I thought they would be perfect to fill with the popper filling . I knew the filling was cream cheese and cheddar cheese so I added some cumin, garlic and bacon to make it extra tasty.   Everyone enjoyed the filling, but my batch of jalapenos were spicy.  I bit into one when I took the picture and I saw stars.  I was quickly snapping away my pictures so I could run and get some water.  This is a very easy appetizer to make at home so I will never be tempted to buy them at a restaurant.  My next effort will have to be the armadillo eggs.

Ingredients:
6-12 jalapenos
4-5 slices of bacon diced and fried crispy
8oz brick of cream cheese at room temperature
4-6oz of grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of granulated garlic
salt to taste
breadcrumbs for breading
2 eggs beaten with a Tbs of water
flour for dusting
enough canola oil to fry the poppers

Directions:

Wash and clean out the seeds and membrane from the  jalapenos.  I cut off the stem and made a slit down one side so I could clean them out and stuff them easily.   Mix the cream cheese, grated cheddar cheese, cumin powder, garlic powder and cooked bacon.  Stuff the jalapenos.  Bread the stuff jalapenos by first dipping them in flour, then egg and finally in breadcrumbs. If you want them extra coated, dip in egg and breadcrumbs twice.     Note: Make sure you coat the exposed end of the jalapeno well with flour, egg and breadcrumbs so the popper mixture does not come out during frying.

 Fry for a few minutes in 350-375 degree oil until golden brown and drain on a paper towel.  Sprinkle a little salt on the poppers after frying. Serve hot. Enjoy.

Note:   Now that I know the filling stays put after you flour, egg and bread it, I will cut the jalapenos in half and stuff it and bread it because it was hard to eat a gigantic popper.   

For leftover filling: Try Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese:

Jalapeno Popper Bacon Grilled Cheese

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