Just a reminder that you can now follow Texas Pepper Jelly and Texas Rib Candy on Twitter and Facebook. Yes, we’re there every evening, and we’d be honored if you would follow us; we’ll follow you back, too!

We like to offer special deals to our Twitter and Facebook friends sometimes; we are also big fans and supporters of #DadsTalking, a fellowship of parents – mostly dads – who share their parenting experiences with each other. It’s a thing well worth supporting. Oh, and remember that the family that barbecues together, stays together happily!

Texas Pepper Jelly and Texas Rib Candy are new to this social media thing, but already we’ve become aware of what a wondrous thing it is, to be able to converse and share with our friends and customers. In fact, if you come to this blog from Twitter or Facebook, please let us know in the comments.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there is a slice of yellow cake with Pineapple Habanero pepper jelly icing, calling my name. Yes, our products are not only absolutely delicious; they’re versatile, too!

We’re having grilled chicken tonight, and we’re using the rest of our bottle of Texas Rib Candy on it. This won’t be the first time we’ve used Rib Candy on chicken, either. So far, we’ve used Rib Candy on several kinds of meat, but my family seems to like it best on pork ribs and chicken.

It was after reading the review of Texas Rib Candy on Shylah’s blog that inspired me to grill some chicken again tonight. The pictures and descriptions on Shylah’s blog made me so hungry for grilled Rib Candy chicken again! She wrote that she almost licked the stuff off the basting brush. I confess that I actually did, although I did manage to wait until after I was finished basting the chicken. Germs? I was past caring.

The chicken is thawing as I write, and tonight after work we’ll fire up the grill and put the chicken on. I hid what’s left of our last bottle of Rib Candy behind some leftovers in the refrigerator so the kids wouldn’t find it and use it on lunch meat – shut up; it’s awesome on lunch meat! – and I just finished making Spicy Potato Salad to go with the grilled chicken.

Oh, and how will I cut up the chicken before slapping it on the grill? With my awesome Messermeister poultry shears, that’s how.

Come on over; we’ve got enough chicken and potato salad for a crowd. Isn’t that how the best cookouts are?

Texas Pepper Jelly’s Spicy Subs are the PERFECT SUPERBOWL MEAL!  Make ‘em up ahead of time and pile them on a tray!

Truthfully, you can put whatever you want on these scrumptious spicy subs, but this is how my husband likes his:

Ingredients:

extra-big submarine buns (hot dog buns for the little kids)

Texas pepper jelly of your choice – I use several kinds for his pile o’ subs

sliced deli meats, or a variety of lunch meat

sliced cheese, all kinds

lettuce

pickles – whatever kind your family prefers

olives

peppers

onions

etc.

What to do:

There’s a knack to sandwich-building, you know.  Everybody builds a sandwich differently, but the one universal rule is: put the condiment sauces on first.  In this case, spread the pepper jelly on both sides of the buns (inside, of course) before starting to build.  The bun is the foundation, and the pepper jelly is both perfection-maker and the “glue” that helps your sandwich’s innards stay put. 

After that step, start piling.  Then, start eating.

All you need is a few dozen bags of chips to go with Texas Pepper Jelly’s Spicy Subs.  The sandwich itself is a work of art AND a delicious, nutritious, fantastic meal.

I’ve been told many times that our Texas Pepper Jelly stir-fry recipes are among our most popular and most- requested recipes, and I have no trouble at all believing that.  Texas Pepper Jelly stir-fry recipes are simple, delicious, nutritious, and just “different” enough that people remember them.  I make a spicy stir-fry at least once a week for my family.

Texas Pork and Sweet Potato Stir Fry is a new one for me, but as of Sunday dinner today, it’s now one of my husband’s favorites.  Give it a stir; I bet your family will like it, too!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup finely diced green onions (diced regular onions will work, too.)

1 large or two smaller sweet potatoes

1 medium tart aple (I used Granny Smith) cored, quartered, and sliced thin

12 ounces lean boneless pork strips (I used pork tenderloin strips)

1/3 cup Texas Apple Habanero (or jalepeno if you want to kick it up a notch!) pepper jelly

1 tbs. oil

1/3 cup apple juice

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

What to do:

Prepare rice; stir half of the onions into the cooked rice; set aside and keep warm

Peel the sweet potato and cut into thin slices.  Place the slices in a microwave-safe pie plate or shallow dish, cover with plastic wrap (poke a vent in the plastic!) and microwave on high for 3 minutes.

In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and stir in the pork; stir it around for about 3 minutes until pork is no longer pink.  Stir in the sweet potato, pepper jelly,  and apple juice and bring to boil; then reduce heat to simmer.  Continue simmering, uncovered, for a full minute.  Stir constantly.

Serve over the rice/onion mixture.

All you need with it is a green salad.  We use Texas Pepper Jelly for salad dressing, too.

Things are probably getting pretty hectic around your house right now; it’s Monday of Christmas Week!  Why not whip together a really simple snack food and set it on the table for your family to dive into while you take care of last-minute details?

Just take a jar of Texas Pepper Jelly’s fantastic Habanero Salsa, a package of shredded sharp cheese, and a dab of sour cream, mix them together in a  bowl, and put the bowl in the microwave for about a minute, or just until the cheese melts.

Remove bowl from the microwave and give it a stir.  Then set it on the table along with all the crackers in the house, and stand back.

This is also a great dip to serve guests!

Easy, easy, easy. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for this week?

The upcoming holidays mean that many of us will soon be fixing meals for a lot of people!

Your crockpot is your best friend when you’ve got a crowd, you know.  Texas Pepper Jelly’s Crockpot Ribs or Chicken is a timesaver, a labor saver, a lifesaver, and darn delicious!

Ingredients:

4 pounds – approx. – of any chicken parts your family prefers – skinned – OR, 4 pounds of pork ribs

1 bottle of Texas Pepper Jelly’s Apple cherry habanero Grilling Sauce

2 tart apples, peeled and quartered

Ten or so tart cherries, seeded and stemmed

1 cup thinly sliced onions

1/4 cup water

What to do:

Cover the bottom of the crockpot with the sliced onions.  On top of them, put everything else.  You can even use pork and chicken together if you wish!  Turn the crockpot dial to “low.”

Then go about your business for about 8 hours.

All throughout the day you’ll smell something fantastic; everyone who enters your home will be anticipating dinner with great delight.

You’ll have a genuine Feast of Friday when you open the crockpot lid.

Mmmm, crockpot meals.  So good-smelling IN the cooker, and so good-tasting in your plates.

Oh, this hot dip is FANTASTIC!

Ingredients:

5 cups coarsely chopped Vidalia onions

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup Miracle Whip or mayo  (My family prefers Miracle Whip)

2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 cup Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly

1 teaspoon Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce

What to do:

Saute the onions in the butter.  In a medium bowl, stir together all of the other ingredients.  Let the onions cool a little bit, and add them to the bowl with everything else.  Mix thoroughly.  Pour into a buttered baking dish, and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly.  Serve with pita bread, bagel chips, crackers, or pretty much anything “dippable.”

It’s awesome.  Don’t count on there being any leftovers.

It’s Wednesday, and we’ve got another yummy crockpot meal for you!  This one is reeeealy simple, too.

Two ingredients – that’s it!

Ingredients:

2 pounds country style pork ribs

1 jar Texas Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly (5 oz)

What to do:

Put the ribs in your crockpot.  Pour the pepper jelly over them. Set the crockpot on “low.”

Put the lid on the crockpot.

Go to work.

6-8 hours later, turn off the crockpot.

Serve with our Pineapple Habanero Potato Salad and some corn on the cob.  This will become one of your family’s all-time favorite meals.  My family would eat it every night if it were up to them!

If you are looking for a party appetizer or simply a healthy snack, there’s nothing like Texas Pepper Jelly’s Spicy Spirals!

Spicy Spirals can be made well ahead of time, too, saving you a LOT of hassle when you’ve got PEOPLE coming over, or just when you want something the kids can help themselves to during those hot summer days.  I keep them in the refrigerator all the time!

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

4 ounces of softened cream cheese (I use Neufchatel because we’re dieting)

1/2 cup diced green chiles

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped ripe olives

4 soft 8-inch flour tortillas (You can also use biscuit dough or dinner roll dough)

1 jar Texas Habanero Salsa

What to do:

In a medium-size bowl, combine the cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, chiles, onions, and olives.

Spread about 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture on each tortilla.  Roll up, and wrap each roll in plastic wrap.  Put in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour – overnight works best for me.

Remove the plastic wrap and slice each roll into about six 3/4-inch pieces.  Serve with Texas Habanero Salsa for dipping.

For variety, you can use red bell peppers or whole chiles, or almost anything from your garden that your family likes.  Sometimes I add sausage.

Unless your children are very young, you can even stick a toothpick in each spiral to save having to wash more silverware!

You’ll discover that you can never make too many Spicy Spirals; they’ll disappear like magic, and your family – or your guests – will always ask for more!

Texas Pepper Jelly is proud to announce USPS Flat Rate shipping is now available.  Depending on the size of the order and the location this feature can save you money when you order any of our products.

When checking out be sure to look at all the available shipping options and if USPS Flat Rate is cheaper all you have to do is click the button beside the shipping rate to save even more on your shipping charges.

Remember USPS Flat Rate is also Priority shipping.  This means you will get your order within 2 – 3 days from the date the order is shipped.  If you have any questions about shipping or our products feel free to send us an email at sales@texaspepperjelly.com so we can make your shopping experience with Texas Pepper Jelly as painless as possible.