In Virginia, where I grew up, BBQ is generally pork; however, this is not the case in Texas. Beef is the staple BBQ ingredient. I don’t enjoy the beef BBQ as much, so I was thrilled that the main course was pork BBQ! Labor day is one of the last BBQ weekends before the fall kicks off, so I wanted to share the 2 dishes I brought to the BBQ with you before this weekend.
For an appetizer I brought Jalapeno Poppers. This was a new dish for me when I moved to Houston, but I quickly developed a taste for them. I first mentioned them when we were teaching a singles bible study, but since then I have really worked out my recipe.
Ingredients:
- 18 ripe jalapenos
- 2 packs cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 2 packs bacon
- toothpicks
- barbeque sauce (I use honey BBQ)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the inside of a broiler pan with aluminum foil (You’ll thank yourself for this later).
- Slice jalapenos in half and scrape out the seeds and membranes (I strongly recommend wearing gloves for this step). Soak jalapenos in a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes, then soak again for another 15 minutes with fresh cold water. This will help the jalapenos cool off a little bit.
- Mix cream cheese, cheddar, & onions, and scoop filling into jalapenos.
- Cut bacon strips in half and wrap each jalapeno with a half strip of bacon, and stick a toothpick through to hold in place.
- Put jalapenos on broiler pan with the toothpicks in the broiler pan cracks. This will prevent the jalapenos from falling over.
- Brush about a teaspoon of barbeque sauce on each popper and “pop” them into the oven. Cook until the bacon looks done, about 30-45 minutes.
My friend Danie suggested this macaroni and cheese recipe by the Neely’s (who are super cute), and it was fabulous. I definitely recommend it.
Looking back at both of these recipes, I realize the pork-overload at this picnic! haha thank goodness we don’t eat like this everyday!
Happy Labor Day weekend!
