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As far as recipes go, it’s been too hot to cook today, so we’ve been snacking on cream cheese and Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly pretty much all day. The kids are here, and the four of us have, over the course of an entire day, gone through two boxes of Ritz crackers, an entire stalk of celery, and all the carrots that were in the vegetable bin. And we’re all smiling.

This is Texas Pepper Jelly’s newest product, Texas Rib Candy, and it’s so good it’s almost impossible to describe.

It goes with almost everything. Anything and everything. Brush it on chicken or ribs, right before you take them up on a platter and serve them, or at any time during the grilling process. Use it with stir-fry. Use it as a dip. Use it in your crockpot.

It’s excellent as a salad dressing, too.

Texas Rib Candy comes in three flavors: Apple Habanero, Apple Cherry Habanero and Mango Habanero. The possibilities are endless!

The only problem I’ve ever had with Texas Rib Candy is that my husband doesn’t want to share it with anyone. I always have to search for it behind something else in the refrigerator.

Seriously, Texas Rib Candy is like an addictive drug. Once you try it, you can’t ever get enough of it.

P.S. As I write this post, my husband is sitting at the table dipping raw vegetables in Texas Rib Candy. He says it’s awesome.

I can’t take his word for it, though. I MUST try it for myself.

Mmmmmmm. . . . . he’s right.

Spicy Squash Rings is a fantastic side dish, but it’s also a great appetizer if you’ve got company.  It’s also easy as can be to make, and attractive to look at as well.

Ingredients:

2 acorn squashes

1 cup Texas Pepper Jelly, any variety

What to do:

Cut the squash crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices.  Discard the seeds.  Arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking pan.  Sprinkle lightly with salt if you wish.  Cover and bake in a 350 oven for about 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour pepper jelly over the squash rings. Return to oven for another 15 minutes or until squash is completely tender.

Acorn squash is also delicious with Texas Rib Candy instead of the pepper jelly.  Depending on which condiment you choose, you’ve got a completely different dish!

My grown daughter came down to visit me tonight, which was lovely!  Her visit was unannounced, though; usually, we know when she’s stopping by.

She walked casually into my kitchen and casually opened the pantry door.  Still being casual, she moved the various cans and bottles around until I finally asked her what in the world she was looking for!

“I was hoping you’d have some pepper jelly I could borrow,” was her sheepish answer.

Apparently, she’s having people over on Thursday night and wanted to serve our family’s favorite pepper jelly/cream cheese dip. along with some awesome dippin’ shrimp.

I didn’t have any Texas Rib Candy to give her, but in a few days I will!  That stuff is truly well-named.  Mmmm, so good.

Fortunately for Sara, I did have some.  I hid the last Pineapple Habanero jar behind the peanut butter, and let her take the others.  Not that we don’t love all the flavors; it’s just that if my husband opened that pantry and found his Pineapple Habanero gone, he’d have had something to say about it.

I offered to give her the brick of cream cheese I found in the back of the bottom drawer of the refrigerator, but seeing as how it expired in June of 2009, she politely declined.

“I’ll stop at the store on my way home,” she said.

Bon appetite, lucky guests of my beautiful daughter.

Now I need to order more pepper jelly.  I’d planned some serious stir-fry for the coming weeks and I can’t make stir-fry without pepper jelly now that we’ve discovered it.

“Plucking Bread” is sometimes called “Monkey Bread,” and they are much the same thing. Both are easy, nutritious, attractive to look at, and very, very versatile.  You can turn your “plucking bread” into dessert, snack, or full meal, all depending on what you add to it.

Here is the recipe for Spicy Plucking Bread.

Ingredients:

3 cans refrigerated dinner rolls

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar (do not substitute Splenda for this recipe)

1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

3/4 cup pepper jelly (any flavor) (I like to add the matching fresh fruit, but you don’t have to.)

What to do:

Get out your largest angel food cake pan or bundt pan and grease thoroughly.  Be sure to include the middle.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave, and add the sugar, cinnamon, nuts, and pepper jelly.

Cut each of the rolls in two and cover the bottom of the pan with them.  Spread the pepper jelly mixture over the top.  Add another layer of rolls, and another layer of pepper jelly mixture, and repeat until all ingredients are gone.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.  (Keep checking to make sure the middle isn’t still goopy.)

When you remove the pan from the oven, immediately invert the pan onto a plate.

My kids like to spread more pepper jelly on the piping hot bread before they tear into it.

And when I say “tear into it,” that’s exactly what I mean.  Because plucking bread is made up of separate pieces of dough, it bakes into balls of bread that can be “plucked” off and eaten.

Of course, if you’re wanting to appear a bit more refined, you can always slice it with a sharp serrated knife.  If you do eat it this way, you’ll notice that the inside of the loaf is absolutely beautiful – criss-crossed and patterned with dark and light and nuts.

P.S.  Don’t forget that soon, VERY soon now, Texas Pepper Jelly will be announcing its newest and most awesome product!

It bears repeating!  Our Texas Pepper Jellies make the best cream cheese appetizers and dips EVER!

Easiest of all?  Just unwrap a package of cream cheese – I use Neufchatel so I can pretend it’s “diet,” – put it on a plate or in a small bowl, cover with the Texas Pepper Jelly flavor of your choice, surround it with assorted crackers, and stand back.

I usually have several small bowls of this, each with a different pepper jelly over it.  Be sure you have PLENTY of crackers; there won’t be any left over.

Yes, there’s nothing to making this at all.  Yes, it’s so easy it’s almost unbelievable.

Once you taste it, and watch your family and guests tear into it, though, and you’ll believe it.

It’s soooo good.  It’s just simply the best and simplest appetizer/dip in the world.

Oh, and by the way?  The combination of cream cheese and pepper jelly will turn your ordinary breakfast bagel into something FANTASTIC!

When my son suggested that I make salsa with our jar of Texas Cherry Jalapeno Pepper Jelly, I wasn’t sure at first that it would work.  However, he insisted that I try, and I’m glad he did because the salsa that’s sitting on our coffee table as I type is absolutely delicious.

Spicy, delicious, nutritious, easy, and just a little bit “different,” our Cherry Jalapeno Salsa has been the hit of Mother’s Day evening here.  Try it yourself.  You’ll think so, too.

Ingredients:

1 16-oz. package of frozen corn, thawed

2 cans (2 1/4 oz each) sliced ripe olives, THOROUGHLY drained)

1 sweet red pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup cherry pie filling, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup Cherry Jalapeno pepper jelly

1/4 cup lemon juice (use fresh, not that bottled stuff)

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt (don’t leave this out!)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Chips  (any kind; we had tortilla chips and Fritos)

What to do:

In a large bowl, combine everything except the chips and mix WELL.  Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.  Serve with the chips.

Unbelievable good.  Seriously.

I only set out four eggplant seedlings in the garden this year.  Last year, we had eight, and were nearly buried alive in eggplant.  Even with only four, we’ll still have eggplant out the wazoo.

My kids weren’t all that interested in eggplant, no matter how it looked when it came to the table, until I discovered this recipe for Texas Style Eggplant.  My husband, who loves eggplant in any form, likes this recipe best, too.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 – inch slices

1/3 cups Texas Habanero Salsa, warmed

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

What to do:

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the oil, garlic powder, and oregano.  Brush over both sides of the eggplant slices.

Grill basted eggplant slices for about two minutes on each side or until tender.  To serve, spoon a small amount of salsa into the center of each slice, and sprinkle with cheese.

I usually double this recipe for my family of big eaters.  After they’ve worked in the yard all afternoon, I triple it.

Corn chips were on sale this week.  I know this because I sent my husband to the store for milk and he came back with six large bags of corn chips.  And milk.

Corn chips don’t last long in this house, and when there’s dip, the corn chips go even faster.  My husband and son can each consume an entire bag of corn chips each when there’s dip.

Their favorite dip is Texas Fire Dip.  After you try it, it will be YOUR family’s favorite dip, too.

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce can refried beans

1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

3 teaspoons Texas Tropical Habanero pepper jelly (You can use any flavor of pepper jelly, but this is how my family likes this dip best)

Corn chips

What to do:

Put everything except the corn chips in a saucepan and cook over low heat until the cheese is melted and the dip is hot.

Put it in a bowl, open a few bags of corn chips, and step back.

Here’s another quick and easy Texas Pepper Jelly tip!

If you need a spicy, healthy snack and you need it FAST, here’s what to do:

Just take a package of nuts – any kind, really, but my family loves mixed nuts best – and mix some Texas Pepper Jelly with them.

Here’s how:  Just put the nuts and pepper jelly in a bowl and mix.  Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet and put it in the oven for a few minutes.

You can also glaze the nuts in a frying pan, but you can’t leave it even for a second; keep stirring until the nuts begin to shine!

Remove from heat, let cool, and stand back.

My son puts these in oatmeal, too, but he’s the only one in the family who goes quite that far.  He says it’s absolutely delicious.

(This works with any flavor of pepper jelly!)