jalapeno

Cranberry Jalapeno Holiday Dip

/ Jodi / 36 Comments

Cranberry Jalapeno Holiday Dip.

When I was asked to bring an appetizer to my new Daughter-in-Law, Liz’s family Thanksgiving, I knew I had to make this after being told by my BFF, Jill that everyone was “jonesing it” when she made it for a party.

First I had to laugh at our 50+ year old selves using urban slang, then I had to make it and see if it was so!

Well – Yep!  It was a hit! One sister asked if the recipe was on the blog, because she wanted it (here it is Laura!), and another said she normally doesn’t like salsas, but she really liked it.

It is sweet, and it is spicy. It is crunchy, and it is creamy. All of this in a bite!

Thumbs up from all, except for hubby, who said it was… meh… He preferred the other appetizer I made – Pumpkin Pecan Baked Brie – which was pretty amazing too!

But will you make this and let me know and prove him wrong? <wink>

So secret revealed here.  I did not take pictures of the batch I made for Thanksgiving, so I made it again this past week just to get pictures <whistles and rolls eyes… not owning up to the fact that I ate a quarter of it for lunch one day…..>

And guess what else I did with it this week?  I made a leftover cold turkey sandwich and slathered some of this on the Smart Bun first.  YUM!  Who knew it would make a great turkey sandwich spread too??!!

This will be a hit at any holiday gathering, and it is so easy and pretty!  Here is the recipe as I slightly tweaked from a recipe I found through Pinterest:

Cranberry Jalapeno Holiday Dip

Ingredients:1 12oz. bag fresh cranberries

  • 1/3 cup sliced green onions
  • 1/4 cup sliced jalapeno pepper slices in a jar (or 1-2 fresh if you like it HOT!)
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
  • Juice of 1 fresh lemon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 16 oz. cream cheese, softened

Directions:

Chop cranberries (I used the Pampered Chef Food Chopper, and it worked wonderfully, but you can also chop by hand.  Do not put in a food processor as they will become too mushy), and place in a medium bowl.  Add chopped green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and sugar, and stir gently, but well.

Cover, and let refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, strain or squeeze liquid from cranberry relish.

Spread cream cheese in bottom of a pie plate or serving dish.  Top with cranberry relish mixture.

Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, pita chips, celery sticks, or your favorite “dipper.”

Enjoy, and let me know if you and your friends are jonesing it too!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Dilly Beans & Spicy Pickled Peppers

/ Jodi / 13 Comments

dilly beans

I’m on a little bit of a canning kick…

jalepeno peppers

Last weekend, I gathered all the banana peppers and jalapeno peppers I could harvest from my tiny little garden, sliced them up, and pickled them.

peppers

This weekend, I tried some Dilly Beans.   (As I type, the jars are cooling and “popping.”  Pure joy to anyone who has ever canned – right?)

dilly beans

If you are looking for something to do with all of those peppers or beans, here are a couple very easy recipes to try.  How yummy they will taste in the middle of winter to remind us of summer!

Dilly Bean Recipe (compliments of “Oh Rob” & Joyce Brugnoli)

2 pounds of green beans
1/2 cup of canning or Kosher salt
2 1/2 cups of vinegar
2 1/2 cups of water
4 cloves of garlic divided
4 heads of dill divided

Trim the ends of green beans,  Combine salt, vinegar, and water in a large sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Pack beans lengthwise into hot jars. Add one clove of garlic and one head of dill to each pint.  Ladle hot liquid over the beans. Add lids, and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Yields approximately 4 pints.

 

Banana Pepper Rings (as found on The Virtuous Wife’s Blog)

15-20 banana peppers
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 clove of garlic (per pint jar)
1 tsp canning/pickling or Kosher salt (per pint jar)
1 tsp vegetable oil (per pint jar)
3-4 pint jars and lids, sterilized and prepared for canning

Wash the peppers. Slice, remove seeds, discard stem ends.  In each sterilized jar, add one garlic clove. Pack jars with pepper slices.  In each jar of packed peppers, add 1 tsp canning/pickling salt and 1 tsp vegetable oil.  In a sauce pan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and ground turmeric. Bring to a boil.  Ladle hot pickling liquid into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Remove any air bubbles and add more liquid as needed.  Apply lids and bands, screw down to fingertip tight. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Cool and store.

It is recommended to let both “cure” for approximately 2 weeks before eating. I’ll have to let you know how they turn out!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi