Armadillo Eggs

Start by getting all of your ingredients ready. To a small bowl, add the cream cheese, colby jack cheese, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, chopped chipotle peppers, and the adobo sauce. Give this a really good mix to incorporate all of the flavors. Set this aside.

I have this really cool jalapeno pepper corer. This corer came with a purchase I had made in the past, and really proves useful for seeding jalapeno peppers. So once you have the seeds removed, cut them in half, so they are tubular.

Take the cream cheese mixture and stuff it inside of the jalapeno peppers. Repeat until the peppers are filled.

Add the beaten egg to one small bowl, and the panko breadcrumbs to another bowl.

Take the ground pork, enough to flatten in the palm of your hand, and enough that you think would lightly cover the jalapeno pepper. Using your hands, wrap the pork around the pepper, shaping into an egg shape, until it is fully covered. Repeat until all peppers are covered.

Add the pork egg to the egg wash, then over to the panko breadcrumbs.

Preheat your oven to 325ºF. Spray your baking sheet with the cooking spray or lightly coat with some oil. Add the coated armadillo eggs to the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn a very light golden brown.

When the are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes before plating.

Now you can eat these 2 ways. One is with your hands, and the other is with fork and knife. Biting into this yields the wall of pork, then you are hit with the great texture of the pepper. A nice heat level to them is quickly balanced by the smoky cream cheese. Something new for your to try in 2012. You could also deep fry these until a darker golden brown, but regardless of how you do it, you do get a nice crunch from the panko breadcrumbs.

Hope you enjoy!