Jalapeno Popper Rolls

Andy, me, Jennifer, & Chris, TCU tailgating 2012

Andy is in four (count them, FOUR- quatro, quatre) NFL fantasy football leagues.  I could barely even manage to remember to make my picks in my college pick 'em last year, so how he manages four teams each fall, I will never know.  One is a work group of friends, one is his dad's buddies, one is college friends, and one is a group of his KA buddies from Midwestern State University.  This year, the KA boys' draft was at our friends, Clay and Michelle's, house.  I wanted to make something easy and bite sized for the draft party, so I turned to my Pinterest boards to see what I could find.


Andy & Me, TCU tailgating 2012

Andy loves to make Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers, but they are messy and were going to be hard to transport to Keller for the party.  Instead, I found a recipe for Jalapeno Popper Rolls, which are basically a self-contained, less messy, less gooey cousin of Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers.  I made them the morning of the draft party, cooked them for 10 minutes at my house, then reheated them at 350 again for 10 minutes once we got to Clay & Michelle's.  All of the attendees brought something different- from alfredo meatballs to Taco Bell tacos, and from McDonald's chicken nuggets to Fuzzy's chips & queso. 

Andy, me, Sara, & Philip: TCU tailgating 2012

The popper rolls were a hit, so I also made them the next weekend.  The next weekend was the first TCU tailgate of the season, and Jalapeno Popper Rolls turned out to be super fast and easy when I prepared them in advance.  Basically I made them and baked them on a Friday, sealed them in a baggie and refridgerated them overnight, and was able to pop them in the oven on Saturday before heading to the tailgate to crisp them up.  I tripled the recipe for the TCU tailgate, and they were gone in about an hour... so it's safe to say they were a hit with NCAA fans as well as the NFL fans.


Andy & me, TCU tailgates 2012

The tailgate was crazy-busy but a ton of fun.  In addition to my Jalapeno Popper Rolls, I took guacamole and Julio's chips.  Chris' mom brought the first Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars that I'd ever tried, and I immediately fell in love with their rich, thick, sweetness- recipe to come soon when DeeDee sends it to me!  TCU made quite an entrance into the Big 12 with a 56-0 win over Grambling State, but I'm pretty sure it was the beer-drinking, snack-munching tailgaters that were the biggest winners that night.

Andy & me, TCU tailgating 2012

Jalapeno Popper Rolls
www.hellohue.com, healthified by Kate Strickland
Servings: 16; Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 1

• 1 can reduced-fat Pillsbury crescent roll dough
• 2 tbsp fat-free cream cheese
• 2 jalapenos, chopped and de-seeded
• 3 strips center-cut bacon, baked and crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Roll out your dough. It's perforated in triangles, but cut each triangle in half using a pizza cutter to make more "bite-sized" poppers.

     3.  Place a dollop of cream cheese on the wide end of the triangle shape

     4.  Sprinkle bacon and jalapenos atop the cream cheese

     5.  Roll the crescent rolls from wide end to skinny end

     6.  Pinch together the two ends so the stuffing doesn't ooze out

7.  Bake 15 mins

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine