Stuffed, Wrapped JalepeñO for Ovarian Cancer Awareness

***see end of post for special, cheesy announcement!***
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When I saw this post by Cathy of The Dutch Baker's Daughter, I was very inspired to get involved and show my support for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, as well. I do not know anybody who has directly suffered from Ovarian Cancer, but I know that it can affect myself or someone I know and love in the blink of an eye. Knowledge is power.

A while back I saw these tempting Jalapeños cooked up by someone, somewhat popular. I know that you know that that was tongue-in-cheek. Everybody knows The Pioneer Woman.

Stuffed & Wrapped JalapeñO ('s)
Jalapeño Peppers- halved lengthwise, remove seeds & ribs...leave a few for heat, if you wish
Cream Cheese- HOMEMADE or store bought
Bacon- cut into 3rds (2 pcs. for every 3 jalapeños)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and slide a rack on top.
Line up your ingredients and begin by packing some cream cheese into each jalapeño half. Next, wrap each stuffed half with a piece of the bacon. You can secure with a toothpick if you'd like.

O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.

There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:

ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

PRIZES for recipe posts:

?1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
?2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
?3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
OR
TWO: If you?re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

Awareness posts PRIZE:

?One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
???

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

?Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman?s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
?The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
?There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
?In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
?When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.
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a new blog dedicated to adventures & progressions in home cheesemaking

Forge (~verb) , forg?ing. 1. to move ahead slowly; progress steadily: to forge through dense underbrush.
2. to move ahead with increased speed and effectiveness (usually followed by ahead): to forge ahead and finish the work in a burst of energy.
3. To make something from scratch.

Fromage (~noun, French.) Cheese.

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