Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Bites

Wash jalapenos. Slice in half, leave on stem if possible. Remove seeds and middle membrane (wear gloves as they can be irritating to skin and don't touch eyes). Rinse under water and lay out to dry for about an hour.

If using stir together shredded cheddar and bacon bits with cream cheese and refrigerate while jalapenos are drying.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take a package of bacon and cut the slices in half width-wise. For each jalapeno, use a butter knife or small spoon to fill the center with the cream cheese mixture; do not overfill, just level with the jalapeno skin. Take a 1/2 slice piece of bacon, stretch it a bit, but do not tear it, and begin wrapping it from the top down all around til the end. Secure with toothpick through sides of peppers. Continue the same with the rest of the peppers.

Place on rack on baking sheet with sides; you may have to do this in several batches, depending on oven size and baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven to broil low/medium, and broil for another 5 minutes, checking periodically. Remove from oven to paper towel for about 10 minutes.

These are great served at room temperature - you never have to worry about them getting cold. THEY DON'T LAST LONG. Enjoy.

*I find that soaking the toothpicks for at least 30 minutes works great and creates less flare up under the broiler.