Impress friends with easy dishes


My Woman Crush Wednesday goes to the one and only Julia Child because her love for butter was uncanny but utterly amazing in every way.

As college students, we sometimes do not have the luxury of purchasing all of the ingredients that we would like, so we have to make do. I am a fan of savory and spicy food and absolutely love creating these dishes with the fewest ingredients possible. So this week, I am going to share my favorite appetizer recipe that I created recently: mouthwatering jalapeño poppers.

If you are lactose intolerant or do not eat red meat, I apologize in advance for not satisfying your needs — you can eat these vicariously through your friends. I love my friends, I am lucky to have them and they’re lucky to have me because I make food for them all the time — force of habit, I suppose, but I am more than happy to do so.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Christina had her 20th birthday party — parties for me always mean food has to be involved. As a good guest, I asked her what she would like me to bring, and she enthusiastically replied, “Jalapeño poppers!” Per her request, I came through with some hot poppin’ and super cheesy jalapeño poppers. These poppers came to me in a dream, and I am sure glad they did, because they turned out way better than I had anticipated — especially since I only used 5 ingredients, and no recipe.

Alegra’s Jalapeño Poppers

Ingredients:

1 package of thick-cut bacon

Half a block of sharp cheddar cheese (grated)

2 cups of Parmesan cheese (grated)

2 cups of cream cheese

16 jalapeños (seeded)

Warning: If you are not familiar with jalapeños, when de-seeding them, make sure to wear gloves — most of all, make sure that you do not put your hands to your face, or your face will feel like it is on fire anyway.

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While the oven is warming up, you can start cooking the bacon and slicing the jalapeños.

Open the package of thick cut bacon and slice them into one-inch pieces, then place in a frying pan to cook until crispy. When they are cooked, you should throw the extra, fatty grease away. Never put it down the drain — it’ll ruin your pipes.

To cut the jalapeños, start by slicing off the stems, then carefully take out the inside of the pepper and begin de-seeding it with a knife — I usually run them under cold water to keep the smell from making my eyes water.

Now, in order to make the cheesy inside of the jalapeño, strong arms are required. Combine the cream cheese, cheddar and Parmesan cheeses until it looks well-mixed. When the bacon is cooked and the extra oil is drained, add the pieces to the mixture and stir some more.

Take a spoon and fill the jalapeños with the cheese and bacon concoction — be careful not to overfill them. Once all of the peppers are filled, place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on how your oven works, you will want to make sure that they look crispy and that the cheesy filling is melted.

When I made these, I realized that I had some of the cheese mixture left over — no problem. Warm it up in the microwave for two minutes and it turns into a savory dip that you can enjoy with tortilla or pita chips.

My friend Christina had been craving these bad boys since New Year’s Day when she first encountered jalapeño poppers. After I made them for her party, I realized that they were a complete hit, also affirming that anything with bacon makes for a perfect snack, meal, dessert, beverage or appetizer.