Pepper Jelly September 24, 2011

Ever heard of Pepper Jelly?  A friend recently brought this recipe to my attention and I couldn’t wait to try it.  I’m always looking for new appetizer ideas to bring places or just have in the house for unexpected guests.  This is perfect.  As long as you have package of cream cheese and crackers in the house along with a jar of this Pepper Jelly, you’re good to go!

How does it taste?  I was a bit hesitant as I was stirring, stirring, stirring the jelly until it came to a rolling boil.  I’m not a spice girl (neither part of the group nor one who likes real spicy foods).  After trying salsas/chilies around family members, my mouth can only handle a little spice.  And like I said, as I was stirring, and the cuts on my hands were starting to burn (NOTE:  do use gloves when cutting/de-seeding jalapenos…I learned the hard way!!!)  I was starting to think…what if this ends up to be too spicy for me…should I have used less jalapenos?  Well, there was only one way to find out, which was to finish stirring, stirring, stirring can the jelly and then give it a try!  So I finished it up, threw some in the fridge overnight and had a taste the next day.  SO glad I made this stuff!

I’ve noticed a very common use for Pepper Jelly (as mentioned above) is to pour it on a block of cream cheese (nuke the block if desired) and serve with crackers.  The coolness of the cream cheese complimented the jelly perfectly!  Not to spicy but had a touch of heat and of course had a nice sweetness to it also.  After all, it is considered a jelly and what is jelly without sugar.

Here are some other people’s comments on this Pepper Jelly Appetizer which I found off of Allrecipes.com:

“This was sooooooooooooo awesome. Hubby went crazy over it. We have served this with summer sausage as well, and the combination is outstanding. Definitely on my rotation list for appetizers.”

“A little unsure of combination but it turned out to be the HIT of the party. Many requested the simple recipe and will serve it again.”

“One of the easiest and tastiest appetizers. The sweet and spicy along with the cool and creamy cream cheese. Could eat and eat and eat!!! AMAZING!”

Does that convince you to give it a try?  If you’re wondering what else you could use some Pepper Jelly for, check some out here.  And let me know if you try any of the suggestions!  Would love to hear about it.

As for the pepper Jelly recipe, it originally came from Kraft Foods and, like I said, was brought to my attention from a friend who got introduced by it from her sister-in-law.  Isn’t it funny how great recipes are passed on from one person to another so easily!  I love it!  Anyway, enough of my blabbering.  Here is the recipe!

Pepper Jelly

2 medium red peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

2 medium  green peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

10 large jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup  cider vinegar

1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

1/2 tsp.  butter or margarine (optional)

5 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (See tip below.)

Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

Place peppers in 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Add vinegar. Stir in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Recipe from Kraft Foods

ENJOY!

What have I been up to… September 20, 2011

This past week or so I’ve been in the kitchen quite a bit.  The weather has been changing from hot 80-90 degree days into cooler fall-like weather.  I am sad to see summer leaving us so soon, as it does every year.  Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy fall a lot, leaving the grill covered more often (not my husbands preference but he deals with it) and making dinner inside more frequently, but I am just not ready for the snowy, icy weather.  I know, I’m sure that is months and months away yet, but still, fall is a sign of it approaching!  So, with celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of fall, I bring you:

Raspberry Margaritas

Super tasty and sweet.  Love it with strawberries or raspberries!

6 oz Tequila (I used a bit less)

2 oz Triple Sec

8 oz frozen raspberries, partly thawed

4 oz frozen lime aid concentrate

4-5 cups ice

sugar, to taste depending on the sweetness of the fruit.  I usually add 2-3 T.

Balsamic Chicken Sandwiches

I found this recipe in the Parade.  It is Jerry Seinfeld’s fav sandwich.  You can find the recipe here.  This one is good to, a nice change-up of recipes.

Homemade Pizza

Check out how I do it here.  I also threw some of my basil pesto on part of it.  My daughter loved that part as much as I did!

Pepper Jelly

You will have to visit again to get that recipe!

Homegrown Salsa

Tomatoes came fresh from my garden…the other ingredients…we’ll I’m going to keep those to myself because I make it the easy way, to my husband’s liking.

Crocheting…

You’ve probably noticed the random picture in my collage…that’s been in the making most of the summer, finally got it finished!  Never made a granny-square blanket until my sis-in-law brought this pattern to me so she could make it for her son who was actually born this past weekend!  She got her’s done the week before he came and I got mine done the day after.

Along with these recipes (and blanket), I made some Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies (except my cookies came out MUCH flatter than the ones in the picture if you follow the link, either way, they are tasty!) and some banana bread made with my FAVORITE banana bread recipe – super moist and tasty!  Looking back, I don’t think I ever shared that recipe for you.  I will have to do that soon!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball Cake September 14, 2011

I really don’t think I have to say much about this recipe.  The title pretty much says it all.  It’s a yummy chocolate cake (one that I’d say is going to be my go-to chocolate cake recipe b/c it is a super-moist scratch cake which is hard to find!) with yummy ganache pipped into the cake itself and a layer of sweet peanut butter frosting (almost reminds me of a peanut butter cup) and drizzled with again, the chocolate ganache.

This recipe started out as cupcakes, from a show called Cupcake Wars.  I made it into a 9×13 cake that stayed in the pan when I frosted.  I probably used 1/4 less peanut butter frosting and 1/2 less ganache than the recipe says.

Want the recipe?  Find it here at the Food Network site. Mmmm…you’re going to need a glass a milk to drink with this one.

Hoagie Salad September 8, 2011

Here is a great salad to try next time you need to bring something to a cookout or even just for your own family.  I love the addition of the ham and salami and of course the cheeses.  It’s a pretty simple recipe, you kind of make it to your taste–how much of each ingredient you put in, but below is the recipe and a pretty good idea of what I put in my salad.  Side note:  It  make a large batch I’d say it feeds 14-18 people — my estimates of course.

Thanks to a friend who gave me this recipe!  She said it is a little milder than your normal Italian dressing recipe and she got it from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook called Meals in Minutes.

Hoagie Salad

3/4 c. oil

1/4 – 1/3 c.  vinegar

oregano, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

16 oz. macaroni, cooked

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/2 lb. ham, chopped

1/4 – 1/2 lb. salami, chopped

1/4 lb. provolone cheese, chopped

1/4 – 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, chopped

Combine first two ingredients and spices.  Add the remaining ingredients, toss and chill.

Recipe from Meals in Minutes

French Bread pictures….hopefully September 6, 2011

Sorry for the random post.  It’s not letting me post these pictures in my previous post for French Bread so I figured I would just give them their own post.  After all, in my opinion, they do deserve two posts, that’s how good they were!

French Bread worth baking without the breadmaker! September 1, 2011

I just made THE BEST French bread ever! I want to even say it’s better than your store-bought French bread, but maybe I’m just saying that b/c I made it. Although, my husband agreed with me, he thought it was awesome too.

There’s not a long story behind this one, I had a mostaccioli casserole in my freezer that I pulled out for dinner and I thought some homemade French bread would be a nice addition. I didn’t feel like lugging out my bread maker (not that it’s a big deal since in the end it does ALL the work for you), so I decided the next best thing would be the Kitchen Aid mixer. I pulled out the recipe book that came with mine and sure enough, there was a French bread recipe. It was more involved than putting all the ingredients in the pan and pressing a button, but after eating it, it was MORE than worth it. Time consuming? A bit. Overall it took 3-3 ½ hours. Two of those hours were rising times. Thirty minutes was cooking time. So 30 minutes to 45 minutes of hands on time, depending on your speed. The recipe makes two loafs, but I am halving it here b/c that’s what I did. I should have made two to see if it would freeze well…there’s always next week :)

TRY this recipe if you want to make a real store-like French bread to either spread with butter or dip in oil for a nice side to an Italian dish. Let me know how it goes!

French Bread

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 1/4 cup warm water

1/2 T salt

1/2 T margarine, melted

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T cornmeal

1 egg white

1 T cold water

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl.  Add salt, butter, and flour.  Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer.  Turn to Speed 2 and mix until well blended, about 1 minute.  Knead on Speed 2 about 2 more minutes longer.  Dough will be sticky.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover.  Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down.  Roll in 12×15 inch rectangle.  Roll dough tightly, from longest side pinching dough to seal seem.  Pinch ends and turn under.  (I think the tight rolling and pinching made the bread!)  Place loaves on greased baking sheets that have been dusted with cornmeal.  Cover.  Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.  (I put my loaf on a silipat mat and then transferred the entire mat to the hot baking stone when it was ready to bake.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

With bread knife, make 4 diagonal cuts on top of each loaf.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Beat egg white and water together with a fork.  Brush loaf with egg mixture.  Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer.  Remove from baking sheet immediately and cool on wire racks.

Recipe from Instructions and Recipes for your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer