Jalapeno Popper Dip

It is football season! I am a huge fan of football food, the game, not as much. The food, though- it's portable, it's a bit on the indulgent side and it's fun! Now, I hear most of you wondering how I can justify football food while preaching real, homemade food. That's easy-I make real, homemade football food. When you make it yourself, you can modify the ingredients that you don't like, add ingredients that you love and swap out ingredients that are less than healthy. Understand, I'm not claiming that my football recipes are health food. That's part of the allure of football food-it's general unhealthiness-but, mine is better than what you find in your freezer section or at the local sports bar.

I threw this together as a munchy for my little guy's first birthday party. I made it up as I went, but it turned out great. This recipe is incredibly simple (so much easier than making poppers), healthier than deep fried poppers, and so yummy! Try it for your next party and see what you think. I bet you'll be happy with the results.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Ingredients

•  5-6 jalapenos (or serranos or cubanelles or...)
• 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream (add as much or as little as you want to acheive your desired consistency)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp and shredded it fine)

Instructions

• Roast peppers in a 450° oven for about 20 minutes. When the peppers are soft and the skins are dark, they're ready. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
• Remove skins and seeds from cool peppers and chop the flesh finely.
• Stir together chopped peppers and all other ingredients.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors come together. Serve at room temperature for easy dipping.

Tips

• Place peppers in a paper bag as they cool to make peeling the skins off even easier.
• Serve with tortilla chips or baked flour tortilla chips.
• Adjust heat by adjusting the number or type of peppers you use.
• No fresh peppers or short on time? Substitute canned green chiles.
• For an interesting twist: add some crispy, crumbled bacon.