Game day chow

Todd's favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys, who just so happen to be playing Green Bay tonight in Wisconsin.  Todd may be from Wisconsin, but he is not a Green Bay fan.  I repeat, not a Green Bay fan.

So, tonight's game was kind of a fun one for him.

He hardly gets to watch football because he's usually still working when it's on.  He was pretty happy about being able to watch tonight's game, so I was pretty happy to make him a tasty football snack to watch it with.

Enter The Pioneer Woman's jalapeno poppers.

I can't seem to find the right recipe on her site, so I'll post it below.  Look at her page though, because it gives you the basic idea.

Yes, that is my glass of wine...

More prep...

I have made these once before and there was just...something...missing.  I fiddled around tonight and I'm pretty sure I've nailed it.  To the cream cheese filling I've added 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and a couple tablespoons of pineapple juice.  Then, I pressed a pineapple chunk into the filling before wrapping it with the bacon.  If I do say so...these were all very good modifications...

I think it looks like I'm swaddling a little pineapple baby as I do this...

Nestled snuggly into the pan thatI lined with foil and lightly spritzed with cooking spray...

And here's the pan after baking at a toasty 300 degrees for a while...

And the plate I brought in to a very happy Todd!  He loves these things and totally agreed that my alterations were right on...

Got a sports loving guy in your home or are a sports loving gal?  These are perfect for chowing while cheering!

Jalapeno Poppers from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook


12-15 fresh jalapenos split in half with seeds removed (Depends on their size.  If they're smaller use more.)
One 8-oz. package of light cream cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (her recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I've found it better with double that)
2 green onions thinly sliced (her recipe calls for 1 green onion, but I wanted more taste)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
4 tbsp. or thereabouts of pineapple juice
1 can pineapple chunks (you may have to halve the chunks so they fit better in the peppers)
1 pkg. bacon cut in half
bottled bbq sauce (I have been using Bulls Eye because it is basically the only bbq sauce I can find with ingredients I can read, for the most part, and no high fructose corn syrup.)
toothpicks
rubber gloves (You might want to use these to protect against the oils in the jalapeno.  It can be quite painful if you later rub your eye!)

Wash and cut each pepper in half length-wise.  Scoop out the seeds.

In a large bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid), mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onion, garlic salt and about 4 tbsp. pineapple juice.

Stuff the peppers with a small scoop of the cheese filling.  Gently push 1-2 chunks of pineapple in to the middle of the filling.  Wrap with bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Lay peppers in a pan lightly spritzed with cooking spray.  Brush BBQ sauce over each pepper and cook anywhere between 300-350 degrees (depending on how much time you have before they need to be served!) until the peppers soften and some of the tips slightly "char."  

Enjoy!