Jalapeno Wonton Poppers

Two weeks ago, my beloved yet disastrous New York Rangers were still in the playoffs, and our hopes were very much alive that they might actually manage to beat the #1 ranked Washington Capitals. Alas, it was not to be. Despite that letdown, we still had lots of yummy food to nosh on while we watched the game! I made a really yummy cold Asian noodle salad that I forgot to take pictures of, grilled chicken wings with my favorite marinade, and these jalapeno poppers as an appetizer.

Jalapeno Wonton Poppers (adapted from here)

What You Need

• 1 8 oz. package fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
• 1 package wonton or egg roll wrappers
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil

What To Do

Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature until it is soft and no longer cold to the touch. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the green chilies and the cream cheese. Preheat the oven to 475F.

My local grocery store didn’t have wonton wrappers, so I bought egg roll wrappers and cut the entire package into quarters.

First, have a small bowl of lukewarm water handy to dip your fingers into. Next, place 1 tbsp of filling onto the center of each wrapper.

Moisten your fingers in the water, then dampen two edges of the wrapper. Fold the wonton into a triangle, then press and pinch the edges together. You can then fold them into a uniform, pretty pattern, or you can just randomly mush them together like I did.

Instead of forming these into “wontons,” they turned into little jalapeno purses. The original recipe said to deep fry these, but a) I don’t have a deep fryer, and b) I don’t tend to eat a lot of fried foods. Instead, I brushed the purses lightly with olive oil, then baked them for 5 minutes.

A few of my poppers…popped. Otherwise, these came out bubbling hot and lightly crunchy. Overall, this recipe made about 50 poppers, which was way more than 4 people could eat in one evening. Even after reheating these in the microwave, they were still crunchy and very tasty! You can eat these plain, or dip them into sweet chili sauce for a little extra kick.  It took me about a half hour to put these together, but it was very easy to do and would be a great way to involve your kids/spouse in preparing part of your meal. This has definitely entered my party menu rotation and I look forward to having an excuse to make and eat them again soon!