Jalapeno Poppers

I made these Baked Jalapeno Poppers last year.  They were so good that I planted jalapenos this year just so I could make them again!  (Yes, I know I can buy jalapenos in the store, but I know these are so much better!)

My garden has been pretty pitiful this year, but the jalapenos produced quite well.  I picked a bunch of them today, along with a few sweet peppers, one decent-sized tomato as well as some really little ones, and a small cucumber.  I cut some chard, too, though it's not pictured here.

Then, I got busy making Poppers.  First I mixed cream cheese and Mozzarella with cumin and cayenne.  Then I made bread crumbs by putting a couple slices of bread in the Ninja and then mixed the resulting crumbs with the seasonings in a pie plate.  Then I mixed up the eggs and milk in a small bowl and mixed the seasonings and flour in another pie plate.  And then I cut up some of the peppers.

The original recipe said 12 jalapenos, but I noted that I used more last year, so I started with 18.  Then I started putting the cheese mixture into the jalapeno halves.

After I'd filled all the jalapeno halves, I still had cheese left, so I cut up a few more peppers, for a total of 22.  And I put cheese into those, too.  Then it was time to roll the filled jalapeno halves in the egg mixture, flour, and bread crumbs - first the egg mixture, then the flour, then egg mixture again, then bread crumbs - one hand for wet and one hand for dry.  Even doing it that way, it was messy!

I put the finished poppers on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper.

Then all of the finished jalapeno poppers - except for the three I baked and ate for lunch - went into the freezer.  Once they're frozen, I'll put them all into a container (or containers) and they'll be ready any time I want some yummy Jalapeno Poppers.  Just pull them out of the freezer and bake them for a delicious treat!

That's what I love about these - they're baked, not fried!  Here's the recipe, as I made them today.

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients

• 22 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise, stems, seeds and membranes removed
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or less, to taste
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 6 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 3 cups breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a bowl, cream together the cream cheese, Mozarella cheese, cumin, and cayenne.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and 2 teaspoons of the Essence. In a shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs with 2 teaspoons of Essence. In a third dish, combine the flour and 2 teaspoons of Essence. 
3. Spread cheese mixture into the middle of each jalapeno half. One at a time, dip into the egg mixture, dredge in the flour, dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the bread crumbs, pressing to coat. Place the coated peppers, cut side up, on lightly greased a baking sheet and bake at 350° F until the filling is runny and the crust is golden, about 30 minutes.  (or place them on a waxed-paper lined cookie sheet and freeze.  Once frozen, layer them in a container with waxed paper between layers.  When ready to use them, remove from freezer and follow directions for baking.)
4. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with cold beer.  (or milk)

*Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

I made the Essence seasoning last year when I made these.  I still had plenty to use this year.  The recipe makes way more than you'll need just for the poppers.

I only used about half the jalapenos I picked today, and there are more, smaller ones still on the plants, so I'll probably be making at least one more batch of these - once I get the cookie sheets cleaned off so I have somewhere to put them.  That ought to give us enough jalapeno poppers to get us through for a month or two!