Southern Stuffed Jalapeños

When you spend a lot of time in the south you will find just about any kind of variation of pimento cheese.  We like to stuff and roast jalapeños with a mix of pimento cheese, chili powder topped with panko breadcrumbs.  The are a great appetizer for a casual cocktail party, can be made in advance and just pop them in the oven before serving.

Ingredients 

• Homemade pimento cheese (or one container of Pawly’s jalapeño pimento cheese )
• 1/2 pound of bacon from your butcher, thickly cut and roasted, then chopped
• 14 jalapeños with stems
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs, toasted

Making It

• Take a sauté pan over medium heat and toast the breadcrumbs until they are golden brown then set aside, should take ten minutes and stir constantly throughout the process
• Turn the over to 350 degrees, take the pimento dip, mix in 1 seeded, stemmed and finely chopped jalapeño as well as the bacon and chives
• Cut the remaining jalapeños in half all the way through the stem.  Remove the ribs and seeds and stuff them with the cheese mix and top them with the breadcrumbs, put them on a baking sheet, place in the over on the middle rack for 17-20 minutes, let rest for 5-7 minutes and serve