Grilled Mice (Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos Wrapped in Bacon)

Mmmmmmm, When I think about bacon, I think about a treat, my family calls "Grilled Mice". In this instructable I am going to show you guys and gals how to make this awesome appetizer.

Step 1: Ingredents

Ingredents:

Cream Cheese
Thick Sliced Bacon
Medium Jalapenos

Step 2: Cutting Tops

Preparation requires a few steps and can take a while depending on how many "Grilled Mice" you plan on making.

Safety first:
Protect your hands with non-latex gloves. Cutting and deseeding peppers can irritate your hands and burn your eyes if you don't protect them. I learned the hard way, lol.

First of all make sure you rinse off your jalapenos, you never know who has already touched them. Next, take a pairing knife and cut the tops of the jalapenos and discard the tops.

Step 3: Deseeding

There are 2 options on this step.

Option 1;
I have a special tool for the next step. Its a potato peeler with an apple corer on it. Nothing fancy but makes the next step easier and faster.

Insert your apple corer in the top of the jalapeno and move it in a circular motion around the edges to remove the seeds and veins from the walls of the jalapeno.

Option 2;
Cut each one of the jalapenos length ways in half, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and veins from the walls of the jalapeno.

If you want "Hot Grilled Mice" mix the veins and seeds into the cream cheese, or for a mild to medium spiced "Grilled Mice" discard the veins and seeds.

Step 4: Stuffing the Jalapeno

Option 1;
Cut a small slit in the bottom of the jalapeno, and take some cream cheese and push it into the opening of the deseeded jalapeno. The air should escape from the bottom as you stuff it. Put enough cream cheese to fill the jalapeno completely full. Then cut the jalapeno in half length ways.

Option 2:
Take a knife and spread the cream cheese, level with the walls, in the cleaned area of the deseeded half of the jalapeno.

Step 5: MMMMMMM Bacon Time

Cut the bacon in half, and wrap each piece of lovely goodness around the stuffed jalapeno, and secure with a toothpick.

Step 6: Grill Em or Bake Em

I personally like to grill these bad boys on my gas grill, but sometimes during the winter my wife will cook them in the oven.

Option 1: Grill em
When cooking on the grill you have to watch them closely so you don't burn them when the grease from the bacon falls on the grease guard. I turn my burners on on high and cook them between the grease guards and turn them over occasionally to keep them from burning on any one side. It takes about 15 minutes for the jalapenos to soften and the bacon to get crispy.

Option 2: Bake em
Preheat your oven to 450. Place the mice on a cookie sheet evenly spaced and bake them for 15 mins or untill the bacon is crispy. You can place a rack on the cookie sheet to keep the mice from cooking in the bacon grease if you want, totally optional.