BBQ Weekend

Phil and I went to a fabulous BBQ a couple weeks ago with some friends.  We found it humorous that even though it was a BBQ, the only person outside was the grill master lol.  Considering how hot it has been in Houston this year (setting a new record for number of days in a row with temperatures in the triple digits- not including the heat index! Yuck!) everyone stayed in the wonderful A/C!  Praise the Lord for air conditioning!!!

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)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line the inside of a broiler pan with aluminum foil (You’ll thank yourself for this later).
2. 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.
3. Mix cream cheese, cheddar, & onions, and scoop filling into jalapenos.
4. Cut bacon strips in half and wrap each jalapeno with a half strip of bacon, and stick a toothpick through to hold in place.
5. Put jalapenos on broiler pan with the toothpicks in the broiler pan cracks.  This will prevent the jalapenos from falling over.
6. 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!