Can you tell I’m obsessed with jalapeños lol!? I pinned this recipe from www.baconbuttercheesegarlic.com and can’t get enough of them! It’s a low-carb, yet indulgent way of eating jalapeño poppers and quite easy to make. It only takes a few ingredients and shrimp cooks up in a jiffy. It’s now a favorite delicious bite I like to serve at summer BBQs!

 -Mel

Health tips: Cheat meal, low carb

Ingredients (5-10 servings)

• 20 jumbo shrimp, peeled (tail on), deveined, butterflied (Tip: I love to buy the frozen jumbo shrimp. They are the freshest, great quality and are already deveined for you. Just remember to defrost ahead of time.)
• 10 slices thin bacon, cut in halves lengthwise
• 7 fresh jalapeños
• Salt and pepper
• 8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Put the jalapeños and bacon on separate foil-lined sheet pans. Bake the bacon until it’s halfway done, so that it’s still pliable and not yet crisp, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a paper towel to soak up grease. (Tip: Watch very carefully!!! It’s important the bacon is not crisp on the edges or they’ll break when wrapping around the bacon. I made that mistake in my first batch as you can see from the pics, lol.) Continue roasting the jalapeños, about 20 minutes total, turning occasionally, until they are soft and charred. Remove from the oven and cool.
2. When the jalapeños are cool enough to handle, remove stems and seeds.  Cut each jalapeno into three strips lengthwise. Switch the oven to the broiler on high.
3. Meanwhile, add a large pinch of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon) and some pepper to the shrimp and toss. Take a strip of jalapeño and lay it in the butterflied groove of the shrimp. Wrap the shrimp with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.
4. Place the shrimp on a sheet pan, about 4 inches from heat, and broil until the shrimp is pink and opaque, and bacon is crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Watch very carefully!!!
5. Remove shrimp from the broiler, sprinkle cheese on each, and place them back under the broiler for a bit, about 15 seconds, until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!