Jalapeno Popper Pizza

Who loves jalapeno poppers?!  I think the better question is.... who doesn't like them?  I just love the crunch of the outside, the spiciness of the jalapeno and of course the creamy center.  Mmmm!  But we all know how I'm not a huge fan of frying and I'm also not a big fan of dumping frozen product on a cookie sheet and throwing things in the oven.  So this pizza was born.....  and let me tell you something....  I'm glad I made a small pizza  because I could have housed the entire thing!  This ain't diet food, people!  The crust is smeared with cream cheese and topped with sharp cheddar and a mixture of fresh and pickled jalapenos.  Then comes the kicker -- a sprinkling of panko bread crumbs for crunch.  Don't skip this step -- everyone who sampled this pizza said the panko made the dish!  

Oh and I couldn't stand the fact that there wasn't any meat on this sucker so I topped it off with bacon.  Oh hell yes.  

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

1 ball of fresh pizza dough
EVOO for drizzling
1 stick of cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 small jalapeno, chopped
2 tbsp pickled jalapeno, chopped
4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 c. panko 

1.  Preheat oven to 475 with pizza stone in oven.  When pizza stone is hot, remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil.  Stretch dough ball to desired size and shape and lay on pizza stone.  Place pizza stone in oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes.  Remove from oven.
2.  Spread cream cheese on crust and top with cheddar cheese, jalapenos and bacon.  Place pizza back in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust begins to brown.  Remove pizza from oven.  Set oven to "Broil".
3.  Sprinkle panko over top of pizza and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, or until panko begins to brown.  Remove from oven, cut and serve!

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So, I haven’t shared this with anyone yet as I didn’t want to jinx my training through hardcore bragging, but this weekend my husband and I are running a half marathon!  I cannot wait for it to be over so I can get back to my love of cooking, eating, and lying around on my couch.  Training takes up a lot of time!  And since my husband is much MUCH faster than me, it hasn’t been one of those training programs where we are running together side-by-side on the beach, chatting away.  It’s him getting his 10 mile run done in about an hour and 15 minutes and me trecking in from the same run an hour after him, then passing out for 3 hours due to exhaustion.  Phew.  I’m tired just thinking about it. 

Anyway, due to an over-abundance of bananas in our house {for making protein shakes}, I decided to go ahead and use them to make some banana cupcakes.  And what goes better with banana cupcakes than cream cheese frosting?  Duh.  These little moist cakes really made my day today.  I needed that treat to get me out the door for my last run before the race on Saturday!  Boom!  Cupcakes to the face.  Ok people, wish us luck -- can’t wait to have more time to dedicate to this blog, which is a huge source of happiness for me!  Enjoy the cakes!

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

from Two Peas and Their Pod

For the banana cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ripe medium bananas, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and continue to beat, adding one egg at a time until thoroughly combined. Add the sour cream and bananas and mix until combined.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Well I had a lovely Christmas holiday with my family up North but MY GOD was it cold!!!!!!!!  It’s true what they say about your blood thinning out when you move South because I swear I couldn’t tolerate the temperature.  This girl was always out sledding, skiing, snowboarding, romping in the snow and now I had to bundle up in every piece of clothing I brought with me just to run to my car and drive to the grocery store!  Not to mention the hour and a half drive from my husband’s family to my house that turned into  a 4 hour drive due to rapid snowfall.  Sooo, yeah, I miss my family like crazy already, but I’m glad to be back in the South -- where todays’ low temperature was 44 degrees.  That’s pretty balmy compared to what we just endured.  

So, tonight is New Year’s Eve -- many of us are “partied out” from the dozens of holiday parties, family gatherings, office parties we’ve been pigging out at for the past month.  I am included in this collection of people.  Enough of the parties already...I need some sleep and some kind of green smoothie.  But, yeah, it’s New Year’s Eve and we might as well go out and have one too many glasses of champagne and hoot it up before we start those resolutions we will break by January 5th. :)

Ok here’s where the food comes in -- the last hurrah before you trade in your delish snacks for carrot sticks -- bacon + cheese + jalapeno peppers = party in your mouth.  These are so painfully easy to make so get started.  One word of advice.  Please...PLEASE wear gloves when slicing and seeding the jalapenos.  Like, seriously.  I always scoffed at this when I read it in a recipe....but I was usually only chopping one jalapeno.  This time I handled a dozen peppers....cut to me sitting on the couch during a party with my hands in a glass of milk.  Honestly.  They were on fire and that fire lasted until the middle of the next day.  Trust me on this!  Otherwise, enjoy! :)

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

12 fresh jalapenos, 2 to 3 inches in size

1 stick 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

12 thin slices bacon, cut in half

1. Cut each jalapeno pepper in half, length-wise.  (This is the part with the gloves!!!!!!) Remove the seeds and the white membrane with a spoon or paring knife.  
2. Combine cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a small bowl and smear cream cheese mixture into each jalapeno half.  
3. Wrap each jalapeno with halved bacon slice and place on a cookie sheet or glass baking dish.
4. Bake jalapenos in a 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  If after 20 minutes the bacon doesn’t look done, switch on the broiler and broil until done.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.