Jalapeño Popper Cheesy Bread with Bacon

Instructions

1. First bake your bacon. Lay 4 strips of bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet and follow the instructions for baking on this post. You can also fry it in a pan if you like, but you have to turn the oven on to broil the bread anyway, so you make as well bake it and save your face from getting splattered with grease. 
2. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan and discard the foil. Line the pan with a new sheet of foil. Crumble the bacon into pieces.
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth.
4. Chop the jalapeños. See photo. Make sure you get rid of all the seeds and membranes.
5. Add jalapeños, smoked paprika, garlic, cheddar cheese, salt, and garlic powder to the cream cheese. Mix it together.
6. Split the French bread in half horizontally. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on each half of the bread. Top with more cheese if you like. Sprinkle with bacon.
7. Preheat the broiler and line a baking sheet with foil.
8. Place the bread halves on the foil and broil for 6-9 minutes, until it is as melty as you like. Keep an eye on it and always set a timer! Food goes from browned to burned very fast under a broiler.
9. Slice and serve warm!