Bacon-Wrapped Poppers

You're looking for a new, tasty appetizer to take to a Christmas or New Year's party. Look no further, you found it! Bacon, Cream Cheese, Spices, and Fresh Peppers. MMMM. These are good if you serve them hot out of the oven or if they cool to room temperature. They travel well, too. Enjoy!

BACON-WRAPPED POPPERS

1 pound small sweet peppers (use a variety of colors)

1 pound bacon

1 pound cream cheese

2 tsp ground cayenne

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried basil

Cook the bacon on a wire rack in a 300º oven until it's about half cooked. It MUST remain pliable so don't overcook it! While the bacon is cooking prepare the peppers by cutting about 1/4 of the side off of each pepper so you have room to remove the seeds and veins from the inside. Save the "lid" that you cut off. When the peppers are ready, in a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients and the "lids" that have been chopped finely.

Fill the peppers generously with the cream cheese mixture. If you over-stuffing some and run out of filling for some of the peppers, that is better than having too little filling in all of the peppers. When they are stuffed, wrap each stuffed pepper in 1/2 a strip of 1/2 cooked bacon and secure the bacon with a wooden pick. Bake the wrapped poppers on a wire rack at 300º for about 30 minutes, then increase the temperature to 450º to crisp the bacon and finish the baking. Carefully remove them from the rack and arrange on a serving plate and allow them to cool slightly. Eating them directly from the oven will result in blisters on the roof of your mouth!