Crispy Panko Poppers (Vegetarian Style)

A couple of weeks ago I checked on my garden after neglecting for a few days due to the miserable rain we had. There were so many peppers that even the rabbits gave up:

(Please note the single, tiny tomato in the midst of this giant pepper party.)

But regardless, I had a ton of jalapeno peppers and decided to make poppers. Here is my vegetarian recipe, using panko breadcrumbs:

Ingredients

• 6 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeds removed (makes 12 poppers)
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk, came out delish!)
• 1 cup canola oil

Cheese Mixture

• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese

Flour Mixture

• 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of salt and pepper

Directions: Once you have the jalapenos halved and de-seeded, set up your dipping stations. You will have a bowl for the cheese mixture, a bowl for the milk, a bowl for the flour mixture, and a bowl for the breadcrumbs.

Once your stations are set, you can begin assembling your poppers one half at a time. The process is: stuff with cheese, roll in milk, roll in flour, roll back in milk, roll in panko, set aside.

Once you are finished with all of them, heat the oil in a medium frying pan. When it is hot enough, you can place the poppers in and fry them. They fry quickly, so you only need them in there for about a minute and a half for each side. (Tip: use tongs for easy pepper flippage.)

Once they are done, transfer to a plate with a paper towel on it and allow to cool. Enjoy!