HOT PEPPER RELISH

We have been so fortunate to have such a relatively cool several days in a row. So, I took advantage of the cool weather to make some hot pepper jam.

Does this photo make you want to taste some pepper jam too? All you need is a jar of my hot pepper jam, some crackers, and maybe cream cheese if you prefer. Maybe you should come visit me? I have all that here! Or, you can make some for yourself!

TASTING!

The peppers were purchased from The Farm Wife's Table; the conditions haven't been right for my garden to produce peppers.  But Angie has the best produce! 

Bells and jalapenos

After removing all the seeds, I used my food processor for the chopping. Of course, I carefully measured, mixed and followed the cooking directions on the insert in the Sure Jell box. The results were tasty! And of course, as always, I followed the recipe exactly...except I did add some green food coloring.

Chopping

I wore rubber gloves when handling the peppers and making this jam. I always wear rubber gloves when I am canning. It helps prevent burns. But I tossed those gloves in the trash when I was finished because I couldn't wash off the hot pepper!

S'MORES!

My favorite things include the people I love (especially my family members), popcorn, and s’mores - to name just a few things!  If I have an excuse to make something for friends and family, I am all over it! This time, my cousin Martin was coming through town and I got the privilege of bringing dessert (thank you Glenn and Estelle for hosting dinner)!  And, you KNOW how I always follow a recipe exactly – NOT! 

I found this recipe online and you can too!
http://cookiesandcups.com/smores-in-a-jar/
 I loved the photos posted there.

This is the recipe I followed - almost exactly.  I filled a dozen jars, used the large box of instant Jell-O pudding, two (2) 7-ounce containers of marshmallow fluff and I put a large marshmallow on top. Patty you were right, the mini marshmallows would have been better on top.  They would have melted thoroughly inside when toasted under the broiler. Joel thinks I should use CoolWhip instead of marshmallow fluff next time and there will be a next time! 

All the ingredients - before I asked Joel to bring home the second container of marshmallow fluff.

I placed all the filled jars in a 9x13 pan for easy transportation and so I could put them all under the broiler at one time. It only took a couple of minutes to toast the marshmallows and I watched them carefully. I have been known to burn things - like the cheese, right Dayna? When the marshmallows turned a lovely toasty color, I carefully removed them from the oven and then placed one square of a Hershey Chocolate Bar in each. (Since the jars were cold and I placed them under the broiler, I think it is important to point out that I used canning jars which are made to take the heat; not that anything but the marshmallows got warm.)

The marshmallow wasn't quite melted enough to insert the piece of Hershey Bar.
Mini marshmallows would have done the trick!

These are not made for shipping. Let me know when you are coming to visit and I’ll make some for you too! 

(If you are still reading at this point, and you are a member of the Grammar Police, please make any corrections and teach me the errors of my ways!)

Deviled Easter Eggs, an oxymoron?

Who decided to name these tempting treats "deviled" anyway? One of my favorite sayings is "God gave us food, the devil gave recipes!" Maybe they are deviled eggs because they are hard to resist?

At Easter, if you are like me, you will have lots of hard boiled eggs in your house...and I'm talking about the food not the relatives that may be there! 

An easy way to prepare the egg filling is to mix it all in a ziplock bag. Use your favorite recipe or do a search; there are so many variations to choose from on the web!

The amount of mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, pickle relish and other spices you use in your recipe of course depends on how many eggs you have boiled or that have survived the peeling and yolk-scooping process. It's always wise to taste your filling as you go. I can imagine Julia Childs "ohh, that's good" exclamation in this tasting part of the process.  Just keep squishing the bag to mix the ingredients.

When the flavor and consistancy is just right, snip off the corner of the bag and pipe the filling into the eggs. It is so easy to do and then clean up is a snap!

Enjoy!

STIR FRY SHRIMP

Spending time in the kitchen with people I love is one of my favorite things to do!  I am blessed that I often get to spend time with my Dayna Bug since she lives just 5 minutes from here. 

Ever since Magda posted her recipe for Stir Fried Rice I had been craving this meal! This was the first time I'd ever made fried rice, can you believe that? It is so easy and delicious. If you haven't attempted it, here is her recipe:

Thanks for sharing your recipe Magda!

Dayna was eager to help and this was such an easy recipe! Especially since all  I did was cook the rice and took pictures while she did the rest! Easy!

Stirring and frying the shrimp until is it just pink.

First she cleaned and shelled the shrimp. Then she fried and set them aside.

I had a bag of frozen veggies so there was not much prep time involve in chopping.

Notice my iPad propped up on my cookbook stand as she follows the step-by-step directions.

This was a delicious lunch and she is so talented, she even ate with chopsticks! When we are together, you know I'll be cooking this, sans meat, for my vegetarians Joel Jr. and Mary!

I'd love to hear if you try this recipe. Enjoy!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Cheesy chicken enchiladas

Can you say “Yum!”? This is one of those recipes that I cut out of a magazine thinking, "I might be able to serve this someday". Chicken and Tex-Mex makes me happy!  I sometimes prepare chicken too often according to my sweet hubby, but even he never complains when I am ready to serve these for dinner.

  

The original copy

Velveeta used to be so much cheaper, but even at today’s prices, I always use Velveeta brand vs the store brand of cheese. The Philadelphia cream cheese makes these so creamy and delicious. You can use left-over chicken or you can cut some fresh chicken into cubes and have that cooked up PDQ!

Cooked chicken, spices, cream cheese

As you can see, I mix this up in a skillet on the stove instead of using the microwave. It works great in the microwave if you have left over chicken.

½ cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

¼ cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 oz cream cheese, cubed

6 flour tortilla (6 or 8 inch)

¼ pound Velveeta, cubed

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup chopped tomato, divided (I use my salsa instead) 

Microwave onion, garlic and oil in 2-quart microwave-safe casserole on High 2 – 3 minutes or until tender, stirring after 2 minutes.  Stir in chicken, chilies, broth and seasonings.  Microwave on high 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Add cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is melted.  Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in 8-inch square microwave-safe baking dish.  Microwave Velveeta, and ¼ cup tomato in medium microwave –safe bowl on high 2 to 3 minutes or until Velveeta is melted, stirring after each minute.  Pour sauce over tortillas; top with remaining tomatoes.  Microwave on high 6 to 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning dish after 3 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Stir until the cream cheese is melted. Then fill and roll the tortilla shells.

I usually double this recipe. I love to make this for family and friends! One other thing I have discovered, if you prepare these ahead of time, like I have done in the past, it will take a bit longer to heat these since they have been in the refrigerator. I bake them at 325 until heated thoroughly. Be careful not to overcook them – been there and done that! Don’t burn the cheese! But do use a meat thermometer to make sure they are fully heated before you serve them.

Enjoy! 

You can bake these crescent rolls!

Does your mouth water at the smell of yeast and the sight of soft dough rising in the bowl? Maybe just the thought makes your mouth water?

This is the often requested recipe for my dinner rolls. Maybe you'll make some for your next family feast?

As you can see, this card has been out and used frequently. I use butter instead of margarine, and my KitchenAid mixer for the muscle part. I premix the yeast, one tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 cup of warm water. Then begin blending the rest of the ingredients...butter, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, salt, milk, the pre-mixed yeast and the first three cups of flour. My sweet sister lovingly reminded me that Mom always scalded and then cooled the milk to room temperature. Bringing the eggs and milk to room temperature will guarantee the success of your yeast!

Set the timer and let the mixer beat this up for three full minutes. Then mix in flour one cup at at time; mixing for a full minute after each cup is added. By the fifth cup, I switch to the dough hook. I always use 6 cups of flour. Letting the mixer do the kneading feels a bit like cheating from when I used to make this under my mom's eye, but oh so easy these days! 

At this point, you can cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to rise up.  This is so helpful, because you can mix this the night before or early in the day you want fresh rolls for dinner.  

Or you can continue the process by placing the bowl in a warm spot to double - at least an hour. 

After the dough has risen,  punch it down, divide the dough in half, and roll into a circle about 16" across. Cover with softened butter.

Cut into wedges. I use a pizza cutter and make 16 rolls from each half of the dough.

Place rolls on a baking sheet and let these rise about 30 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 375. (Mom used to bake hers at 400, but I burn my rolls that way!) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Then coat with more butter when you take them from the oven.

Following Mom's recipe, I've never had a failure. The only way to ruin this would be to not have good yeast. That's why I always pre-mix the yeast, water and sugar first to make sure it's working. When you see it is bubbly, you know it's good yeast.

I've made these upon request lots of times, I can ship them too, for a price! Maybe you'll try this recipe? Let me know how it works for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

BUTTERMILK COOKIES

Are you craving a delightful treat for the holidays?  This recipe is one of our family favorites.

Buttermilk cookies

These cookies may become your family favorites too! This recipe makes a ton of cookies, and they are so light and fluffy.

Easy recipe - just allow time for the dough to chill and for baking several batches.  

Good cooks know to set out all the ingredients before you begin to mix so you make sure you have everything you will need.  I use Crisco shortening in this recipe because it always seems to work best. I've tried other brands and the cookies just don't turn out well. I also keep Saco powdered buttermilk on hand because I just don't use up a quart of buttermilk at a time and this recipe only calls for 2 cups.  

Use your mixer to cream the shortening and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the other ingredients mixing well. After the cookie dough has chilled for an hour, preheat the oven to 350. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet.   Bake just until they have a tinge of golden brown.  Remove from the cookie sheet and allow them to cool completely before frosting with a simple powdered sugar icing.  

If you have any left over cookies after the first day,  keep these cookies stored in the refrigerator between layers of wax paper.  

If you need any help baking these yummy cookies, let me know! Or if you ask really nice, I'd even bake and mail some to you if you are reluctant to bake them yourself!

Enjoy!