Baked Jalapeño Poppers

Now it’s football season, and if you happen to follow any of us LadyGirls on Twitter (well, 2 of 3 LadyGirls) you would know that we are pretty damn excited about that! I’m a bad Canadian, because in all honestly, I could care less about hockey. I know that it’s supposed to be our national sport, and I know that we practically invented it (and apparently basketball as well, which I also don’t really care about.) What I do care about is football. Why do I care about football? I care because I understand the scoring, and because football goes hand in hand with beer and snacks. Also with watching as a big gang of people. And gambling! The list goes on. All of these things are fun, and all of them are included in football.

Let’s talk about snack. Now, you likely remember Mummy’s epic Snack Stadium for Superbowl last year. That is an ace up your sleeve for sure. But you need to have other options, because no one is going to assemble one of those every week. Not to mention, what are you going to do if they actually stop selling Twinkies? Variety is the spice of life, and that includes your snacking life too. I love a good bar food recipe, and one of my absolute favourite bar foods are jalapeño poppers. They are SO GOOD. Spicy, full of cheese, which I clearly love, and deep-fried. So that is pretty much the best combination of life.

I really try to ration my deep frying at home though, for two reasons. The main reason is that I attempt to lead a healthy lifestyle in which I consume fewer calories than I burn, or at least some reasonable ratio thereof. So deep-frying is a good way to guarantee the opposite of this. Secondly, I don’t own a deep-fryer, so my method, filling a big pot with oil and hoping for the best, is rife with potential house burning fires. I live dangerously, y’all.

The good news is that there are many people who wish for lighter, healthier versions of delicious bar food, and so therefore there is a market for my recipe of baked jalapeño poppers.

You need:

• Jalapeños
• Bottle of beer and 1 egg mixed together
• Panko or crushed cornflakes mixed with Old Bay or a seasoning of your choice
• Soft cheese blend (I used herbed goat cheese with a little ricotta, but cream cheese is a crowd favourite)

Start by halving and de-seeding your peppers. This is easier said than done. Important rule is not to touch your eyes while you’re doing this. Don’t touch anything delicate, actually. Think this through, my friends. I promise you’ll thank me for that advice.

Try to remove all the seeds and the white parts, because that’s where the majority of the heat is. Now fill your pepper halves with the cheese mixture and dump it into the beer/egg mixture. This makes them sticky and the beer adds flavor. Next, in they go to crumbs. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 375° for about 40-45 minutes. Serve hot with your favourite team scoring in the background!