Texas Pepper Jelly Blog

Texas Buffalo Dip

Craig Sharry | January 28, 2015

SuperBowl food, football food, buffalo dip

Football fans like their football food as much as they like their football teams, so let’s plan for some awesome football food!

Easy-to-eat foods are best for those couch quarterbacks, and what’s easier to prepare and to eat than a good dip? Texas Pepper Jelly’s Texas Buffalo Dip is one of the best ones we’ve tried! This dip is great with any kind of crackers, breadsticks, or raw vegetables. If you can think of anything else than can be dipped, that’ll be good with our Texas Buffalo Dip, too!

Ingredients:

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, or Neufchatel cheese
2 10 oz cans chunk white chicken, thoroughly drained
3/4 cup Ranch Dressing
1 cup Apple Habanero Rib Candy
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I use half sharp, half medium)

What to do:

Put the Rib Candy and chicken in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until heated through. Stir in the cream cheese and ranch dressing and blend until warm. Mix in half the cheese and pour into your crockpot.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the mixture, put the lid on your slow cooker, turn it to “low,” and let it simmer for about four hours or until hot and bubbly and the cheese is completely melted.

I serve Texas Buffalo Dip right out of the crockpot, but if you’re fancier than I am, you can pour it into a pretty dish and serve it like that.

Just remember: these are hungry enthusiastic football people you’re serving, not the ladies of Downton Abbey, so I’d be careful about using the pretty dishes if I were you.

Of course, you might get a completely different sort of football crowd than I get. Your call.

Oh, and set out all different kinds of crackers, breads, breadsticks, and veggies. This dip is good on everything.

Category: Football food | Tags: Apple Habanero Rib Candy, buffalo dip, football food, football recipes, Rib Candy, sports recipes, Texas Buffalo Dip, Texas dip, Texas Pepper Jelly

Texas Style Football Food!

Craig Sharry | January 16, 2015

No comments

It’s football time, and when there’s a football game on TV, there has to be plenty of awesome football food with arm’s reach!

Texas Pepper Jelly has so many recipes for awesome sports food – easy-to-make recipes for wonderful, delicious snacks, main dishes, sides, sandwiches, and anything you can name.

Just click on the pictures – you’ll be taken to the page where the recipe lives!

Texas Pepper Jelly’s famous pulled pork!

Our famous pulled pork is a football fan’s favorite; it’s so easy to make and serve, and you’ll never have to worry about leftovers because there won’t be any.

The famous Texas Pepper Jelly crockpot meatballs!

Our hot and spicy meatballs are another slow cooker meal. Just set out a pile of toothpicks; your family and friends will go nuts over these! They’re absolutely delicious.

Football sliders – Texas Style!

What could be easier to fix and more fun to chow down than a big platter of sliders? Notice that I said “big” platter – a small platter won’t work with these because your friends and family will want way more than you could fit on a regular plate. In fact, you might even consider borrowing a few platters because you will need them. These sliders are, yes, THAT GOOD.

Hot crockpot spinach dip!

Football watchers like dips. No, not that kind – THIS kind! Texas Pepper Jelly’s fantastic spinach dip is the perfect dip to serve your couch quarterbacks!

The ingredients for our black bean dip!

One dip is never enough, of course. Why not whip up some black bean dip, too? It’s delish.

We have more good football recipes, too. Just head over to our blog and type in “football food!” And whoever you are rooting for, it’s the food your crowd will remember long after the game is over.

Category: Football food | Tags: crockpot football foods, football dips, football food, spicy football foods, Texas Pepper Jelly, Texas style, Texas Style football food

Add A Little Spice To That Cold Winter Meal!

Craig Sharry | January 10, 2015

No comments

January is always cold, but this January seems even colder; our winter meals need something spicy to help warm us up!

Whatever kind of meat you have planned for any winter meal, a little (or a lot) of Texas Pepper Jelly will turn it into a gourmet delight that will warm your family from head to toe. I use my crockpot a LOT, winter or summer, and a meal made in the crockpot is a natural for some pepper jelly added to make it even more delicious.

Tonight, for example, the crock pot was filled with a lovely pork roast and apples. I put the pork roast in the slow cooker before I left for work this morning, around 7:30 a.m., on low, and when I got home at 4:30 p.m., I drained it, added a full cup of Apple Habanero Pepper Jelly, and let it stay in the crockpot, still on low, until my family arrived home. I put potatoes in the oven to bake, at 5, along with a pan of baked beans, and we ate at six. There are no leftovers.

A little added spicy something can turn a winter meal on a freezing cold night into a warm, delightful experience, and with Texas Pepper Jelly, that’s an easy thing to do.

Category: crockpot meals, Spicy main dishes, Texas Pepper Jelly | Tags: apples, cold winter nights, crockpot, slow cooker, spicy winter meal, spicy winter supper, Texas Pepper Jelly, warm winter meal

Happy New Year 2015

Craig Sharry | January 1, 2015

No comments

Category: Happy New Year, Texas Pepper Jelly | Tags: Happy New Year, Texas Pepper Jelly

Texas Pepper Jelly: Good Food!

Craig Sharry | December 27, 2014

No comments

We here at Texas Pepper Jelly know exactly what author Kurt Vonnegut was talking about. We know good food. We know how to buy it and we know how to cook it.

We want YOU to know how, too!

That’s why we share our recipes with you – so you can feed your family good, nutritious foods that are delicious, inexpensive, and easy to put together.

And if you want to talk about food, please comment on our blog. You can also find us on Facebook, and on Twitter!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TexasPepperJelly

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TexasRibCandy

Category: Texas Cookin' Tips, Texas Pepper Jelly | Tags: comment about food, delicious food, easy recipes, Facebook food, good food, nutritious food, pepper jelly, simple food, spicy food, talking about food, Texas Pepper Jellyi, Tweet about food

Texas Holiday Treats: Spicy Cranberry Salad

Craig Sharry | December 19, 2014

No comments

Nothing says holidays like a bowl of glowing red cranberry salad, and Texas Pepper Jelly’s recipe will make the best cranberry salad you’ve ever experienced, hands-down.

Sometimes, on my Christmas table, I put this cranberry salad in a crystal bowl with a red or white candle in the middle; just remember to blow out the candle before you start spooning up the salad! Tonight, I put the salad in my red snowflake Christmas bowl!

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries (frozen cranberries will work, but my families likes the fresh better)
1/4 cup Texas Pepper Jelly’s Cranberry Apple Rib Candy
1 tart apple, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup pecan pieces
3/4 cup sugar (I use Truvia)
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange/lemon peel (either or both; I use both)
1/2 pure maple syrup
1/4 cup finely shredded pineapple

What to do:

Put all ingredients except the pecans into a medium saucepan and mix thoroughly. Stir together (don’t leave them!) until the mixture comes to a rolling boil, then turn the heat down and continue stirring for about ten more minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken. The cranberries will have begun to soften and many of them will be “popping.” That’s good; you want them to pop!

Remove from heat and add the pecans. Pour into a pretty bowl, cover, and refrigerate until time to set the table.

This cranberry salad is beautiful as well as delicious.

Some people prefer their cranberries to be chopped up fine; go ahead and throw them in your blender if you want, but we like ours mostly whole and round with about half of them “popped in two.”

Delicious. Absolutely delicious. You might want to consider doubling this recipe so you’ll have some for the next day, but don’t count on that. However much you make, they’ll eat up on day one.

Some people hide a little. I suppose that’s awful, but there’s such a thing as self preservation. And I like cranberry salad even better the next day, and if I don’t hide a little, there won’t BE a next day for it.

We do what we gotta do.

Category: Christmas in Texas, New Texas Pepper Jelly product, Spicy salads, Uncategorized | Tags: candle, Christmas recipe, cranberry apple rib candy, double recipe, holiday recipes, holiday table, holiday treat, pecans, Texas holiday treat, Texas Pepper Jelly

Holiday Treats: Texas Pepper Jelly Oatmeal Bars

Craig Sharry | December 17, 2014

No comments

This is the time of year when we spend a lot of time in the kitchen making holiday treats, and Texas Pepper Jelly’s Pepper Jelly Oatmeal Bars are one of our favorites – we’re pretty sure your family will think so, too!

Confession: I had to crop the picture of that pepper jelly oatmeal bar up there because while I was out of the room for just a moment, “somebody” who lives here saw it on the saucer and sneaked a nibble. Sigh. I almost left it like that to show that the bars were irresistible, but my husband was kind of embarrassed about it so I tried to fix it. Not that I’m telling you who did it, mind. . . .

Here’s how to make our delicious (and nutritious!) pepper jelly oatmeal bars. It’s time. Christmas Time!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups oatmeal (quick oats or regular)
1 cup flour (I’ve used rice flour and regular flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar (don’t use fake)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (don’t leave it out)
1 1/2 sticks butter (don’t use margarine)
1 cup pepper jelly, any flavor.

What to do:

In a large mixing bowl, put all the ingredients except the butter and jam. Melt the butter and add to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Press half the mixture into a medium baking pan. You can butter the pan or use parchment paper. Don’t line the pan with foil. Spread the pepper jelly over the pressed mixture; feel free to use more than a cup if you think you need more. Crumble the rest of the buttery oat mixture over the jam.

Bake in a 350 oven for about a half hour (30 minutes) or until the top is browned to your liking. After twenty minutes, watch your oven carefully.

Let the bars cool, and cut into squares.

This recipe is easily double or even tripled. Just do the math.

Category: Christmas in Texas, Spicy desserts, Super Easy Party Recipes | Tags: Christmas treats, holiday treats, oatmeal bars, pepper jelly oatmeal bars, Texas Christmas, Texas Pepper Jelly

Christmas Is Coming – Get Those Cheese Balls Ready!

Craig Sharry | December 9, 2014

No comments

Christmas is coming, y’all. It’s time to start getting ready for it!

One way to start is to get your cheese balls ready, because you can wrap them up tightly and store them in your freezer! Then when you need them, just get them OUT of the freezer and let them sit on the kitchen counter a few hours before you serve them. Easy peasy.

Texas Pepper Jelly’s Pineapple Habanero Pecan Cheese Ball is my personal favorite. I’ve got four of them in my freezer as we speak. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 2oz jar Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly
1/4 cup finely shredded pineapple
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup crisp bacon, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

What to do:

In a large bowl, put all the ingredients except the butter and pecans.

With your hands (WASH THEM FIRST!) mix all those ingredients as thoroughly as possible. Your hands are going to be all stick and cheesy and you’ll have to scrape your fingers with a butter knife. It’s wonderful.

Oh, you can use your stand mixer. Sissy.

Once you’ve got everything completely blended, shape into balls. This recipe makes one standard cheese ball or several little balls. It’s your party; you decide.

While the balls are “setting,” get out a pie pan and melt the butter in it. Put the pecan pieces in the pan of melted butter and spread ’em out evenly.

Pick up your cheese ball, or one of your cheese balls, and roll it around in the buttered pecans until the ball is coated. Place the ball (or balls) on a saucer (or saucers) and refrigerate overnight. If you plan to serve the balls within a day or two, just keep it (or them) in the fridge. If, like me, you are planning ahead, put the cheese balls in freezer bags and place in your freezer until it’s time.

Cheese balls are fun to make and even more fun to eat. Serve with crackers. We like those snowflake-shaped Ritz crackers and Wheat Thins, but as you well know, any kind of cracker works with a cheese ball.

As do raw veggies, and the more the merrier.

I plan to have about six cheese balls in a row on my huge holiday platter, surrounded by a variety of veggies and crackers.

Category: Christmas in Texas, Super Easy Party Recipes, Texas Christmas, Texas Holiday Recipes, Texas Pepper Jelly | Tags: cheese, cheese ball, Christmas cheese ball, Christmas foods, Christmas recipes, freezer-friendly holiday foods, holiday cheese ball, holiday foods, pecans, Pineapple Habanero, Texas Pepper Jelly

Texas Thanksgiving: Getting Ready!

Craig Sharry | November 23, 2014

No comments

It’s important, the getting ready for Thanksgiving. It’s important to gather together everything you’ll need to prepare that big meal. I keep my pantry pretty well stocked, but I always make sure I’ve bought two very important things well ahead of time, before the stores run out.

Those two very important things? A strong, sturdy, disposable baking pan, and a box of turkey-size baking bags.

I couldn’t do Thanksgiving without these two things!

With an oven bag, I never have to worry about constantly basting the turkey; it stays moist and the original basting lasts until the turkey is done!

And what do I baste my turkey with? Excellent question. Ever since my family and I discovered Texas Pepper Jelly’s pepper jellies, my kids and my husband won’t hear of my basting the turkey with anything but a Texas Pepper Jelly product! The past two years, I’ve used Pineapple Habanero, but this year, I’m using Apple Habanero and adding a full cup of finely diced apples to the dressing. I predict a successful outcome.

Oh, about that turkey? I always buy a frozen, medium-priced turkey (88 cents/pound!) and let it thaw in the refrigerator for a full week. It takes up most of the space in the top shelf but it’ll be worth it on Thursday.

That’s our turkey on the refrigerator shelf, well wrapped in several plastic bags, taking up most of the room on the top shelf!

We’re all looking forward to Thursday, and we hope you are, too. Thanksgiving is so often overlooked, these days, in favor of all the Christmas trappings that seem to be everywhere even before Halloween, but Thanksgiving is a holiday that deserves all the personal attention we can give to it.

I’ll be talking to you again before Thursday, but in the meantime, keep that turkey refrigerated and be sure you have enough Texas Pepper Jelly products to use in your recipes, on your turkey, and on your table.

Category: Spicy main dishes, Texas Pepper Jelly, Texas Thanksgiving, Uncategorized | Tags: basting, disposable turkey pan, oven bags, Texas Pepper Jelly, Texas Thanksgiving

Texas Thanksgiving: Spicy Green Bean Casserole

Craig Sharry | November 22, 2014

No comments

Texas-style green bean casserole

Green bean casserole is a Thanksgiving regular for many families, and most of those families use the same recipe each year.

Here at Texas Pepper Jelly, we like green bean casserole, too, but we make it just a little differently.

Ingredients:

1 10 3/4 oz can Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk or cream (I like to use cream)
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
4 slices crisp bacon
1/4 cup Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly
1/4 cup shredded pineapple (canned is fine)
1 tsp. soy sauce
dash black pepper
dash salt
4 cups cooked cut green beans (fresh, frozen, or canned; just be sure they’re cooked and well-drained!)
1 1/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions

What to do:

Put everything except the french fried onions into a large buttered casserole dish and mix thoroughly. Bake for about a half hour at 350. Watch the casserole carefully; when it begins to bubble, open the oven and stir thoroughly. Bake for another ten minutes. Remove from oven, and sprinkle the remaining french fried onions over the top. Return to oven for about five more minutes, or until the onions are golden brown.

Serve hot or cold. I prefer my green bean casserole to be hot, but my family likes it cold.

If you use fresh green beans, you’ll need to cook them thoroughly before using them in your casserole. I usually just use canned; it’s easier and faster and my kids don’t notice the difference.

My husband likes to put sour cream on his portion. I don’t. You do what you want!

Category: Texas Thanksgiving | Tags: Spicy Green Bean Casserole, Texas Pepper Jelly, Texas Thanksgiving

« Older Entries Recent Entries »

Texas Buffalo Dip

Texas Style Football Food!

Add A Little Spice To That Cold Winter Meal!

Happy New Year 2015

Texas Pepper Jelly: Good Food!

Texas Holiday Treats: Spicy Cranberry Salad

Holiday Treats: Texas Pepper Jelly Oatmeal Bars

Christmas Is Coming – Get Those Cheese Balls Ready!

Texas Thanksgiving: Getting Ready!

Texas Thanksgiving: Spicy Green Bean Casserole

Join Us on Facebook

Categories

Archives