Poker's Jalapeno Poppers

So, we had our second throw down last night. Russ and Hil were up against Rick and Anne in battle meatloaf. Both were delicious and with the help of Russ's bro-in-law Tom, we deemed Rick and Anne to be the winners. Their meatloaf - their first ever attempt! - was moist, a little spicy, and very light texture wise. Along side some cheesy risotto and garlic mashed potatoes, the combo of the meat loaves made for a great meal.

Brian and I were in charge of apps and agreed early on to make jalapeno poppers. What should have been a simple recipe turned into a blog-worthy sit com... 

I got a call while I was out doing errands: don't ask any questions but please stop and get 8 more jalapenos. When I got home, assuming he just had extra filling left over, Brian proudly showed me a plate of poppers...then pointed out that he had halved them and dredged them in the egg and corn flake mixtures - but had forgotten to fill them with cheese. He was cleaning up and found the bowl of filling that he had made and set aside!  So, he made the 8 new ones as normal, and added cheese to the others then redredged them.

When we left the house, we had a beautiful plate full of 36 poppers ready to be baked, neatly and securely wrapped in plastic wrap. Brian put them on the back seat, I put my jacket over them, and he let Sambucca in the car on his side.

A little bit later, Brian glances back and says "Is Poker sitting ON the poppers?!" Sure enough, Sambucca was lounging on the back seat, squarely on the jacket-covered plate of appetizers. I got him to move over, and peeked under my jacket: what started as a six-inch high plate of goodies was now a flattened mess under plastic wrap. Thankfully, when we arrived at Russ and Hil's, Brian was able to reshape each of them from pancakes to jalapeno halves, and they baked up just fine!

I wish you better luck with your attempt!

Poker's Jalapeno Poppers
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 8-oz. package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 C mayonnaise
15 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise (seeded or not, to your liking*)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 T milk
1 1/2 C crushed corn flake cereal
1/4 C bacon bits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a medium baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cheeses and mayo. Stuff pepper halves with the mixture.
3. Whisk together eggs and milk in a small bowl. Place crushed cereal and bacon bits in a separate small bowl.
4. Dip each jalapeno half in egg and milk mixture, then roll in corn flake mixture to coat.
5. Arrange in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven 30 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and lightly browned.

*We have tried removing all seeds and they were too mild. So yesterday, Brian left all the seeds in - and they were way too hot, even for us. Next time, we'll take half the seeds out and hopefully that will be perfect.