Once again, I’ll say that often it’s the simplest things that are the best, or, in the case of Texas Pepper Jelly, the tastiest.

For breakfast this morning, we’re having scrambled eggs and bagels with pepper jelly.

That’s all. That’s enough. None of us can seem to get enough of those bagels with pepper jelly. I set out several different flavors, and when the bagels pop up from the toaster all hot and, well, toasty, and the pepper jelly is spread over them to melt and run all down the plate and then the hand and chin of the lucky bagel-owner, who could ask for anything more?

Maybe something to drink, that’s all. One of us had coffee, two of us had orange juice, and one of us had Diet Coke.

The Diet Coke drinker was me. True confessions.

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?

My mother and mother-in-law are both very fond of salmon cakes, or, as they call them, salmon patties.

This recipe for Spicy Salmon Cakes is especially delicious.

Ingredients:

Two 6-ounce cans boneless, skinless pink salmon, well-drained and finely flaked
1 cup dried bread crumbs, divided into two parts
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup corn kernels (if you use frozen, be sure it’s thawed)
1/2 cup Texas Rib Candy, any flavor, with or without peppers
1 large egg
1 tablespoon oil

What to do:

In a large bowl, combine the salmon, half the bread crumbs, cheese, corn, Texas Rib Candy, and egg; mix well.

Shape the mixture into 8 patties and coat with the rest of the bread crumbs.

Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties until they are golden brown – about five minutes. Add the remaining oil to the pan, flip the patties, and cook an additional 4-5 minutes.

Remove the cooked patties onto thick paper toweling and drain well.

We like to put more Rib Candy on the spicy patties as we devour them.

“We owe our big brains to cooking,” and grilling is one of the tastiest ways to prepare our food. Here at Texas Pepper Jelly, we are all passionate about grilling, and found the video at the bottom of this post absolutely awesome!

There are all kinds of rumors and old wives’ tales about carcinogens in grilled meat, and while it is possible to create carcinogens if you char and overcook your meat, grilling done properly has no such dangers involved.

Have you ever wondered how different kinds of woods, charcoal, etc, affect the flavor of the meat? Do you know why meats change color when they’re heated?

We’ve all heard that all meats have dangerous bacteria in them, and that unless we eat our meat “well done,” we could be in trouble. Is that really true? Do the bacteria live ON the meat, or IN the meat? Is it true that hamburger is more risky than a steak, rack of ribs, or slab of tuna?

The answers to these and other questions, along with a ton of fascinating information, can be found in the following video: “Is BBQ Good For You?”

Take notes. It’s awesome.

player.php?videoRef=LS_100629_BBQ-Meat-Safe

Remember, cooking is science. Lab science. Never forget that.

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.

I keep reminding y’all that often the simplest things are the best of all.  Well, here’s another reminder/hint along those lines.

Any time you’re serving mashed potatoes and think you’d like to kick ‘em up a notch, just whip some Texas Pepper Jelly into them.

I’ve done this with almost every kind of pepper jelly, and it turns plain old bland mashed potatoes into a zesty addition to any mean.

You can do this with mashed potatoes from a box, or from scratch.  Just add the pepper jelly during the “whipping” process.

Or, you can use the pepper jelly in place of gravy.

Either way, pepper jelly will turn a very ordinary side dish into something absolutely EXTRAordinary.

There are many variations of this Cool & Spicy Summer Salad, and each one is as delicious and easy as the one before.

This is one of those salads that’s even better the next day.

Ingredients:

1 package bow-tie pasta, cooked and cooled

1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup Raspberry Habanero pepper jelly

What to do:

Mix all the ingredients into the pasta.  Sprinkle a few raspberries on top, cover securely and put in the refrigerator.  It’s delicious now and will be even better in a few hours!

We consider this to be a main dish on those stiflingly hot summer nights.  It’s also a great snack, a super side dish, and a really, really excellent supper for guests.

More variations to come.

Also to come?  Texas Rib Candy news.  There’s a reason it’s called Rib CANDY.

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.

Oh my gosh, look what we’re having for supper tomorrow night!  My family is going to LOVE this!

Our newest product, Texas Rib Candy, is the star of Texas Rib Candy Tacos, naturally.  Rib Candy is well-named, too; it’s so awesomely good, you might find yourself spilling a little on purpose just so you can spoon it up, plain!

This particular recipe uses Apple Cherry Habanero Rib Candy, and these tacos are so fantastic they’re almost dessert!  These are also the perfect summer taco, because they’re best served cold.

Main Ingredients:

juice of one medium lemon

1 teaspon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt (do not leave out!)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken, dark or light (your preference rules here)

6 tortillas or taco shells, soft or hard

1 large apple, diced

1/2 cup cherries, pitted and diced

Apple/cherry salad, see recipe below

2/3 cup Texas Apple Cherry Rib Candy

cilantro leaves (leave this step out if your family doesn’t like cilantro)

Ingredients for apple/cherry salad:

1 medium apple, diced

1/2 cup cherries, pitted and diced

juice of 1/2 lemon

dash garlic

1 cup shredded lettuce

What to do:

Mix all of the main ingredients (except the shells) together and let them “set.”

Make a small buffet out of Texas Rib Candy Tacos by putting the main ingredients on a nice platter, and set the salad on another.  Don’t waste your time putting the rest of the Texas Rib Candy in the refrigerator; people will want more than they’ll get in the recipe itself.  In fact, I wouldn’t count on having any Texas Rib Candy left over at all.  Next time you order some, you’d better order several.  Seriously. It’s that awesome.

You might wonder, looking over this recipe before you begin, why there is so much apple and cherry in it.  After your crew tears into it, though, you won’t wonder any more.  You’ll know.

P.S.  Use fresh cherries.  DO NOT used maraschino cherries!

P.P.S.  Some people keep the shredded lettuce separate from the rest of the ingredients.  Do this however you wish; Texas Rib Candy Tacos are yummy good no matter what your method of serving preference might be!

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!