Jalapeno Jelly

 The growing season starts early here in Texas (I planted in February) so everything is really setting on.  We have one jalapeno plant which is very ambitious.  Sent the kids out yesterday and there were 20 peppers ready to be picked!  So I decided to make some jalapeno jelly.  My husband likes to dip his jalapeno poppers in it. I like it when you thaw a brick of cream cheese and smother in the jelly, then eat with crackers.

 First de-seed and de-vein about 12 jalapenos.  Please wear gloves and don't touch your face. Ouch! My method is to cut the top of, cut in half and use my thumb to just push the seeds out.

 Throw the peppers in a food processor or blender with 1 cup of cider vinegar.  Give it a whirl and make a puree.

At this point, I washed all the jars and lids in the sink and then put them in the canner (with the burner on, covered in hot water) to keep warm until they were used.

Pour the puree into a deep stainless steel pot (it will grow at least double in volume) and add another cup of cider vinegar and 6 cups of sugar.  Get this to a rolling boil and boil 10 minutes.  Add 2 packages of pectin and boil another minute.

Take off heat and add food coloring (optional). Skim foam off top.

Ladle jelly into hot jars.  I love my funnel that came with my set of canning accessories.  If fits perfect! Make sure to leave a little room at the top of the jar (unlike the jar in the front of the picture below).  I had to take a little out of that one.

The jars are ready for lids now.  Place lids and rings.  Put in canner.  Cover completely in water and process 10 minutes.

Tada! Jalapeno jelly

Recipe:

Jalapeno Jelly

12 oz. jalapenos (about 12 medium)

2 cups cider vinegar (divided)

6 cups sugar

2 packages pectin

jars, lids, etc.

My favorite canning book

My Favorite Snack with ak-mak Crackers

Photo by Madeline L.

This snack has been a favorite of mine since I discovered these crackers. They are not rich or flavorful cracker by any means, but they do posses a wholesom and hearty feeling. In addition to being 100% organic, they claim to use the "whole" grain of wheat which beings you a high-protein wheat,all of which rests on their reputation for sustainability and overall nutritional value. This original Armenian cracker bread has a history dating back thousands of years and was brought to the United States in 1893. Honeslty, it just satifies me and provides a nutrious snack as well.

ak-mak Snack-

Ingredients:
4 ak-mak crackers
2 wedges of Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Cheese (light)
1/2 of Sweet Bell Pepper and or Tomatoes

Directions:
Spread about a half of wedge on each cracker and top with slices of pepper and/or tomatoes. Enjoy!

To learn more about ak-mak products, visit their website

 http://www.akmakbakeries.com/

Pollo Asado Pasta

This is a re-do of my original Pasta de la Salsa con Pollo that I created back in 2009. I thought my original dish needed a little flair and flavor with out using as many herbs and seasonings. The transition to Pollo Asado brought out the full potential of all the ingredients by simply changing the order and preparation of the ingredients and taking out all but one seasoning. Along with roasted chicken breast, this dish has roasted peppers, tomatillos, onions, and grape tomatoes; served over cilantro and green chile infused pasta.

Ingredients:
2 Large Chicken Breasts (I prefer them the with ribs still in them)
2 Bell Peppers (red, green, yellow, or orange)
4 Tomatillos, husks removed
1 Small package of Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 to 1 Whole red onion
Garlic Salt (as per directions)
Grape seed or Canola oil (as per directions)
Lime juice (as per directions)

Directions: Roast chicken in broiler until done. Cut up Tomatillos, onions, and peppers. Spread all of them out on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Spray or toss with approximately 1/4 cup of Grape seed oil. Sprinkle liberally with garlic salt. Roast in the Broiler for 10-15 minutes or until blackened.

Ingredients for Infused Pasta:

For 4 cups of cooked Pasta-

1 Bunch of fresh Cilantro

1 (4oz) can of Green chiles (with the juice)

2 Teaspoons of lime juice

4 Tablespoons of Butter or Olive oil

1 Tablespoon of Chicken Bullion (equivalent to 1 cube)

Directions: Puree Cilantro, green chiles, and lime juice. Cook pasta and drain water. Melt butter over pasta. Stir in chicken bullion. Add Puree and mix until incorporated. 

Serve with roasted chicken and veggies and top with Parmesan or Jack Cheese.

Suggestions and Substitutions:

1-You can use real garlic cloves and roast them along with the veggies. Mince after roasted and add back to veggies.
2- You can substitute regular or canned diced tomatoes for the grape tomatoes.

3- If you don't have garlic salt, you can use garlic powder and a little salt.

4- You can use olive oil, it is just doesn't hold up as well when heated at high temperatures.

4- A few additions I have added in the past. Black beans and tortilla strips.
5- For a gluten-free version, substitute cooked rice or mashed potatoes for pasta.
6- With leftovers, I will use roasted chicken and veggies for a quesadilla, omelet, or for fajitas.   

Chile Rellenos

We had 5 food challenges planned for this month and it seems that we are behind on 3 of them. One of them was the Mexican food challenge in celebration for Cinco de Mayo (I know we are way past that). Either way, we wanted to recognize this great holiday by challenging everyone to make a favorite Mexican dish. Chile Rellenos are a favorite in my house and I wanted to share this delicious dish. They really aren't as hard as some make it sound. They just take a little time and attention. I will say they aren't the prettiest type of food I've ever made but, don't let that fool you. For those of you that enjoy these, you understand what I mean. They are full of flavor!   

 You can use Poblano peppers or I use Pasilla Peppers. Try to pick ones with out so many dimples and have a prominent stem. I make 9 peppers at a time.

Step # 1 Wash Peppers and brush with Cooking Oil.
I use Olive oil and it works great.

Step # 2- Burn Peppers. What that means is to actually place each pepper on the open burner of your gas stove and burn the skin until it become black and blistered all over. You can use the stem to turn them.  

Step #3-Sweat Peppers
After each pepper is burned place them on a place covered by a plastic bag. Just keep adding the burned ones and cover the bag up each time. Leave all the burned peppers in the covered plate for 15-30 min. It is ok if they are left longer.

Step #4- Peel skin off peppers
The sweating will allow you to easily peel off the skin. Rinse under cool water to wash off completely.  

Step #5- De-seed and De-stump Peppers

Try to find a natural slit in the pepper of slit it open with your finger. The easiest way to de-seed the peppers is to run cool water inside them and all the seed will fall out. A very important part of de-seeding the pepper is to make sure you clip the inner stump and pull it out. When you pull it out, the top strips of the membranes will follow (those raised lines inside the pepper). This will help your peppers to not be so spicy. Otherwise, they will be extremely spicy. 

* The picture on the left shows the pepper with the inner stump and the picture on the right shows it cut off.

I use kitchen scissors to cut mine.  

 

Step # 6- Stuff the Peppers

Try to maintain the shape of the pepper and leave the stems on (There will be more natural slits in the peppers). Cut your cheese (I use Monterrey Jack) in an angle like it is shown below. The wedge should be as long as the inside of the pepper. Wrap the sides of the pepper around the cheese. Secure with 1-2 toothpicks. (sorry no picture of that)

Step #7- Make Meringue

Beat 6 egg whites with 2 ounces of water until it resembles stiff peaks. Add yokes back into the meringue and mix until blended ( like 20-30 seconds). Use Immediately.

Step #8- Dip and Cook Peppers

Dip each secured pepper into the meringue and fry in a shallow pan of hot cooking oil (I use Canola). Cook until meringue is completely like to dark brown. Lay on a plate with a paper towel.  

 Step #9 - Take out toothpicks and cover with red sauce

Click here for Tomato Onion Sauce recipe

Step #10- Serve with rice, beans, homemade tortillas and enjoy! 

Potato Lovers

Sorry for the little delay in the challenges this month. What was supposed to be introduced earlier this week will be intriduced at the end I guess. It is Potaoto Lovers month guys and I can't tell you how much this means to me (and not because I am from Idaho either). I love potatoes! Any way you cook them, I know I would eat them.

There are so many varieties of potatoes out there and so, our challenge to you this month is to try to cook with a different potato than you are already used to or cook your usual potatos in a new way. I have a post to follow this one but, I wanted to get started on the challenge. I made a different kind of loaded potato (only I used a sweet potato). It turned out so delicious that I didn't even notioce that I didn't have butter, sourcream, bacon, cheddar cheese and all that other suff. Here's how I did it:

Madeline's Loaded Potato

Saute in Olive Oil:

Asparagus

Red and green peppers

Onions

Zucchini

Fresh or dried Rosemary

Garlic

Dill

Salt and Pepper

Throw in some Grilled Chicken

Baked yam or potato (wrapped in or out of tin-foil) in a pre-heated oven set at 400 for 30-40 minutes.

Top with sauted veggies and some Parmesan Cheese.

How Do You Take Your Potatoes?

Veggie Skewers

National Something on a Stick Day had me going with what would be fun to do. My fist thought I had to admit was homemade dipped corn dogs. I don't what it is but, they take me back and I know that I enjoyed them a lot as a kid. But, as I grew older and realized the meaning of real food and junk food, I thought that I should cut back a bit and experiment with a more healthier alternative. So, I decided to talk about our families favorite thing to put on a stick. Yes, it is veggies. We basically put largely cut peppers, red onions, yellow squash, and zucchini squash and red potatoes. But, we have gone as far as using egg plant, carrots, and celery. They are all great ideas. The seasonings can be anything from a mixture of Salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, basil, garlic salt, dill weed, onion powder, and oregano.

Another way to get a good seasoning mix of veggies on the grill is to mix a little olive oil, water, your seasonings, and veggies in a bag and marinate them for about 15 minutes or so. The results are great.


But, if time is not there for you to do so, just season them raw before and a little during the grilling process.

The results will still be fantastic!


Sometimes, I feel the need to boil some of my veggies for a minute or two to speed up the process (especially with the potatoes) and if I think I need a softer veggie instead of so crunchy. However, I prefer just grilled as is will most of the veggies.


What are some veggies you have enjoyed grilling?