bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos. 'nuff said.

sundays are family days in mia famiglia. usually always based around too much food, plenty of drinks, card games and lots of laughing, we start the party early in the afternoon and end up crashing and burning on the couch in our sweatpants by 7:00pm. 

rule #1: do yourself a favour and wear pants with an elastic waist, otherwise they will end up undone.

this past sunday we got together at my brother matty and his girlfriend christina's house. my dad caught wind that we were coming, and told me we weren't invited unless we made stuffed jalapeno poppers. i can't blame him, these poppers are probably the best on the planet: they're wrapped in friggen' bacon. i figured that with the super bowl happening this weekend, i would share the recipe that is so good, 
it's the main reason i get invited to my family functions. those assholes. (for the record, i found the recipe on pinterest. surprise, surprise)

rule #2: don't let the old man know you are attending sunday dinner, unless willing to make poppers.

how we do: bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos

{makes: 20 poppers}

prep time: 20 minutes 

cook time: 20 minutes 

eating time: 30 seconds

you will need:

10 jalapenos

2 hot italian sausages

10 strips of bacon

4 cups of cheddar cheese

toothpicks

sour cream for dipping

heat your oven to 400°. start by washing your jalas, cutting them in half and removing the insides. 

i like to make paulie do this job, even though he always touches his eyes after. this time, he wore latex gloves, the pussy. 

we also like to leave a few seeds behind, the hotter the better. 

once your jalas are good to go, you can start working on your stuffing. remove the casings from your sausages (or saseech, as nonna calls them) and empty the pork into a bowl. i chose not to photograph this step as it always makes me puke in my mouth a little bit. grate your cheese with the finest choice on your grater, and add it to your saseech. mix it up real good. if you wanted to make a vegetarian version, you could use black beans instead of sausage, and skip the bacon. but that would be silly.

now you can start stuffin'. take a pinch of your saseech and cheese mix, and fill the jalas. we like to stuff the shit out of them 

so they're good and full. slice your bacon strips in half and wrap each jala, securing it with a toothpick.

even raw, your jalas in a blanket are drool worthy. place them on an ungreased baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 20 minutes, until the saseech is cooked, the cheese is melty and the bacon has crisped up. you may want to drain off any grease about five minutes before they are ready, this prevents them from getting soggy.

i promise you the finished product will have you invited back to sunday dinner. every sunday.

rule #3: eat quickly, even if they're scorching hot, otherwise you ain't gettin' nothin'. you snooze, you lose.