Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp & Roasted Jalapeño with Cheese Dipping Sauce

Happy birthday to my little munchkin who turned ONE yesterday! This week is both an exciting one and a very busy one for me.  My little baby is no longer a baby! Oh, where does the time go? 

I had every intention to make cupcakes from scratch but that is not going to happen at this point.  I baked cupcakes and made a frog cupcake cake for my son's birthday yesterday and need to bake and decorate another round of cupcakes and a small "smash cake”.  I also want to make frog-shaped Rice Krispie cereal treats. Did I mention I also have a mid-term for my class this week? 

Since my theme of this week is parties, a tasty appetizer comes to mind. Claire Robinson’s “Bacon Prawns with Cheese Dip" are wonderful!   Although it is not appropriate for a one year old birthday party, these will definitely make a debut at the next party I host. 

I was excited when I saw this recipe on Claire’s show “5 Ingredient Fix” because it reminded me of the most amazing bacon-wrapped shrimp I once had at a party a couple years ago.  Claire’s shrimp were just as succulent! Even though, Claire wrapped a Jalapeño in her shrimp, it was not too spicy, at least not for me.  I am not too crazy about spicy food in general but I figured the roasted Jalapeño wasn’t going to be too bad, which it wasn’t.  I recommend washing your hands right after working with the Jalapeño!  

I made some minor changes to the original recipe based on my experiences.  I also included directions on how I roasted the Jalapeños. 

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp & Roasted Jalapeño

You will need for 16 servings:

• 16 thick slices of bacon
• 8 roasted Jalapeños, split in half and seeded
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper 
• 16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese 
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Hardware:

• Non-stick baking sheet
• Toothpicks
• Paper towel
• Glass bowl
• Small pot (optional, you will need this if you are melting the cheese on the stove top.)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

• Place the bacon on a baking sheet. Bake until they are half cooked, about 5 minutes or more depending on the cut of the bacon. Drain on a paper towel and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Now, roast the Jalapeños:

• Turn the oven temperature up to 425 degrees.

• Cut the tops off of the Jalapeños. Next, cut them into half and remove the seeds.

• Place the Jalapeño halves on the baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the Jalapeños and season with salt and a little pepper.

• Roast the Jalapeños for about 10-12 minutes. Allow them to cool.

Putting all the ingredients together:

• Assuming the shrimp have been peeled and deveined, place the roasted Jalapeños around the shrimp and wrap a strip of bacon around the shrimp.  

• Secure with a toothpick and place them down on a non-stick baking sheet.

• Bake until the shrimp are cooked, about 10 minutes.  They will turn white.

The cheese sauce:

• Combine the cheese and heavy cream and microwave it for a minute or two just long enough for it to be fully melted. Stir it to fully blend the cheese and cream. You can also put the bowl over a pot of simmering water, as Claire suggests.  Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.  Slowly stir the cheese until it is melted and blended with the cream. 
• Serve the cheese dip along side of the shrimp and enjoy.