Jalapeño Poppers in a Bundt Pan

Like many of you, I enjoy trolling through Pinterest from time to time. I most focus on quilting designs and patterns and recipes. There are thousands of beautiful pictures for inspiration and I have happily found a bunch of very cool recipes to try. When I find something that looks interesting, I pin it so I can come back to later and make it. I typically will follow the recipe the first time I make it. Sometimes, I will make it with whatever I have on hand.

I also love my bundt pan collection and many of you have seen my bundt pan creations over the last couple of years. It's even kore fun to find recipes for bundt pans that aren't desserts. So you can imagine my excitement when I came across Bundt Pan poppers. I couldn't wait to try them.

To make this you will need
A bundt pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray. (Pictures shown below in a 6 cup smaller size pan)
Fresh jalapeño peppers 24-30 count
8 ounce block cream cheese
1/2 cup low fat mayo
8-10 slices uncooked bacon of your choice (I used turkey bacon)
1 TSP dehydrated onion flakes
1.5 TSP garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP of your favorite mixed dry spice mix (I used Caribbean Getaway spice blend)
6 OZ grated cheddar cheese
6 slices of cheddar cheese
6 slices of pepper jack or provolone cheese

Wash, trim the tops off and core the peppers, being careful to remove the seeds and inner veins of the peppers. I found a grapefruit knife is very handy to core and seed the peppers. Rinse under cold water and place dry cut side down on dish towel. make sure you are very careful to wash your hands thoroughly after handling the pepper cores and seeds While the peppers are drying off, in a medium sized bowl mix together the following ingredients: cream cheese sorted to room temperature, mayo, onion, garlic and other seasonings.
Cook the bacon slices in the microwave between paper towels for between two and 3 minutes, depending upon the level of crispness you desire. I chose turkey bacon because I prefer it ver other types, but you can use whatever is your preference for this recipe. Allow to cool for a few minutes, crumble into pieces and add to the filling mix. Also add the shredded cheddar cheese at this time. Blend the filling well.

Pack the cleaned peppers upright into the pan. A large bundt pan will hold 45-50 peppers, so I used my smaller bundt for the ones I had on hand. 24-25. If they don't fill the pan, simply crumple up some foil to fill in the empty space to they all stand upright. Remove them one at a time, stuff with the filling and place back into the pan. Continue until all of the peppers have been stuffed.

If making ahead, you can cover with foil until ready to bake. They will last 2-3 days unbaked if covered tightly. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then place th pan on the middle shelf of the hot oven and baked uncovered for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven, increase the temp to 400 degrees. Cover the peppers with the cheese slices in two layers. I put the white cheese on first and topped with the yellow cheese slices as the final layer. Pop it back in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes more at 400 degrees until the sliced heeses have melted and covered the peppers in gooey goodness and the tops start to bubble and brown.

Remove and serve immediately with toothpicks or small forks. A large spoon works well to scoop them out of the pan as they can be a wee slippery after baking.

If you are hosting a party and some of your guest do not eat hot peppers, you can easily include some of the small sweet red, yellow and orange peppers From your grocery store for some of the jalapeño peppers. I did this and those were a big hit with my friends that avoid spicy foods. it also makes for a little more color variety in the dish. Next time I will probably make a pan of each type because they were so good and they literally disappeared within minutes of setting them out.

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