Jalapeno Poppers

I am FINALLY the proud owner of my very own deep fryer!  Gadget queen that I am, I find it utterly remarkable that I waited this long to acquire this fantastical kitchen appliance.  In the few short days I’ve owned said gadget I have made drop donuts, fried bread, fried chicken, and now some jalapeno poppers!

My new fryer hasn’t made if off the counter into a yet-to-be determined storage spot.  I figured what the heck.  I waited this long for this bad boy, I am going to really break it in before storing it away.

So today when I went to the garden and found lots of jalapenos ready for harvest I just didn’t have the heart to make jelly, or dehydrate or pickle them.  It was lunchtime and I was hungry!  So I did what any self respecting deep fryer owner would do: I fried ’em!

As lunches go, I don’t usually put this much effort (or calories for that matter) into it.  But I had a craving and I succumbed.  Even still I think it took me about 45 minutes from the time I cut into the first pepper until I was enjoying the my first (of many) poppers.  It’s a good thing I ran this morning!

Here’s what I collected from the garden.

I sliced off the tops, cut them lengthwise, and used a spoon to deseed and devein them.

I didn’t even bother to measure the stuffing ingredients.  I mean really, how can you go wrong with cream cheese, cheddar and bacon bits?

Just mix it all together…

…and stuff the peppers.  I just pinched off a bit of the cheese mix and stuff the pepper halves.  Pretty easy really.  I ran out of the cheese mix before I finished stuffing all the peppers so I just stuffed the balance of my peppers with plain cream cheese.

Each stuffed pepper was then dipped in milk and rolled in flour.

Next they went back into the milk and then rolled in some Panko bread crumbs.  Regular bread crumbs would have worked just fine, but I am fresh out.

I put the plate of peppers in the freezer while I waited for the deep fryer to heat the oil.  Then I fried them up at 365 degrees for a couple quick minutes.

With my hunger satiated and my craving satisfied, my deep fryer has earned yet another gold star for most beloved kitchen gadgets!  What did I ever do without this thing?

Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon bacon bits

12 ounces jalapeno peppers, seeded and halved

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 quarts oil for frying

Directions:

1.    In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Spoon this mixture into the jalapeno pepper halves.
2.    Put the milk and flour into two separate small bowls. Dip the stuffed jalapenos first into the milk then into the flour, making sure they are well coated with each. Allow the coated jalapenos to dry for about 10 minutes.
3.    Dip the jalapenos in milk again and roll them through the breadcrumbs. Allow them to dry, then repeat to ensure the entire surface of the jalapeno is coated.
4.    In a medium skillet, heat the oil to 365 degrees F ( 180 degrees C). Deep fry the coated jalapenos 2 to 3 minutes each, until golden brown.