Yesterday was a very busy Father's Day that ended with a backyard BBQ of burgers, hot dogs, ribs, coleslaw, and some good probiotic sauerkraut. I wanted to make a little something special for the great dads in my life! Jalapeño popper's for the papa's seemed like a cute idea! 

Note: Wear gloves when handling jalapeños so you don't make the mistake of rubbing your eyes after handling these spicy treats!

Par-cooking the bacon is an important part of these Papa's Poppers!

Ingredients:
2 jalapeños
4 oz cream cheese
4 slices par cooked bacon
Shredded cheddar
Salt
Pepper
Onion powder (just a sprinkle)
Garlic Powder (just a sprinkle)

For the bacon: Par cook in the oven at 375* for 20 minutes. You want the bacon to stay pliable. 

For the cream cheese filling: Soften 4oz of cream cheese. Mix in a little salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. 

Slice the jalapeños long ways. Scrape the seeds and ribs from the pepper. This is where the heat of the pepper lives. Be careful when doing this jalapeños tend to “spray” a bit when you’re scraping the ribs.  
Fill each jalapeño half with the cream cheese mixture. Top each half with a sprinkle of cheddar. Wrap each pepper half with a slice of bacon. Wrap each individual popper in foil to keep it together. 

Throw on the grill for 30 minutes away from the flame until the pepper is soft. Open the foil to allow the bacon to crisp up. 

If cooking in the oven cook on 375* on a cookie sheet until the bacon is cooked, and the pepper is soft (around 30 minutes).