Jalapeno Poppers with Cream Cheese & Bacon

I found this basic recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website, Tasty Kitchen, and have modified it just a bit for caloric reasons. I did lift some of her preparation instructions from her website - check it out for step by step photos!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 24 poppers

Ingredients:

1 box (8oz) of Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Neufchatel Cream Cheese
12 jalepeno peppers (2-3” long)
12 slices of thin sliced bacon

Preparation:
1) If you have them, slip on some latex gloves for the pepper prep… Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT).
2) Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/2 slice).
3) Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle. (At this point, you can freeze them, uncooked, in a Ziploc bag for later use).
4) Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to the squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn’t look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of bite to it.

Serve immediately, or they’re also great at room temperature.

                       Calories - 0% Carbs - 50% Fat - 50% Protein
Per Popper:        42              0                  3g                3g