Tonight is New Year’s Eve,  and I’m really too busy to prepare something complicated for the snack table at the party we’re going to.  What to do, what to do, what to do. . . .

Oh yes.

I think I’ll just bring a tray of crackers, a couple of blocks of cream cheese, and some Texas Pepper Jelly.  People go crazy over it, and it’s easy as can be to make.  This picture is from a party we had a few weeks ago, but I’m going to use this tray and my new display will look just like this, playing cards and all.

Hah, there really isn’t even any “making” necessary; just dump the crackers on a pretty tray, unwrap the cream cheese, and pour Texas Pepper Jelly over it.  After that, you’d better stand back, because the crowds will knock you over if you don’t move out of the way pretty fast.

I’ve got the crackers.  I’ve got the cream cheese.  I’ve got two jars of Texas Pepper Jelly left: Pineapple Habanero and Berry Medley Jalapeno.  Hey, I think I’m all set, and I don’t even have to make a trip to the grocery store!

Whatta you wanna bet I won’t have to lug anything back home after midnight, either.

With Texas Pepper Jelly, any party is a successful party.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Texas Pepper Jelly Blog Giveaway!  You’ve got until January 1st to get your free eCookbook, and link to us for the free Messermeister knife!

The holidays aren’t over yet, you know.  I’m having dinner guests tonight, in fact, and naturally I will be using Texas Pepper Jelly for both the appetizers and the main dish.

I’ll be putting out a tray of crackers and Pineapple Habanero-covered cream cheese, of course.  We’re to the point, in my house, that we can’t go more than a day or two without it.  Having guests is merely an excuse now.

The main dish?  Chicken breasts, slow-cooked in Peach Habanero pepper jelly.  It’s so good, it’s barely describeable.

Peach Habanero is my daughter’s favorite; the Pineapple Habanero is my son’s favorite.  My husband likes everything Texas Pepper Jelly makes, so far, but he especially loves the Strawberry jalapeno.  This morning, he was spreading it on toast.  He says that with Texas Pepper Jelly, there’s no need for butter; the pepper jelly is enough!

This year’s holiday season has been lovely, every single day of it so far.  Delicious foods have helped us celebrate, and few foods are more delicious than Texas Pepper Jelly.  I know tonight’s guests will love it, too.

We have become such Texas Pepper Jelly fanatics here, that we’re even eating it for breakfast now!

And let me tell you:  those pancakes were DELICIOUS!  No syrup necessary with Texas Pepper Jelly on your pancakes.

P.S.  Don’t forget about our fantastic Texas Pepper Jelly giveaway!  You’ve got until New Year’s Day to sign up for our eCookbook, a $9.99 value, absolutely FREE!  Plus, if you link to our giveaway on your own blog, and tell us so in our comments, we’ll send you a free Messermeister knife!

Whatta deal.

Now, plan on making pancakes tomorrow morning, and open a jar of Texas Pepper Jelly to put on them.  Mmmmm, it’s AWESOME.

I was really worried, because I’ve been out of Texas Pepper Jelly since Saturday. We’re so addicted to it now, we really can’t deal with not having any!

Today’s mail solved that problem, though. I had considered giving some of my new batch of pepper jelly as Christmas gifts, but after I opened the box and actually SAW my four new jars of pepper jelly, I decided against it.

Unless you call giving them to myself, giving them as a Christmas gift.  I did.

It’s amazing, you know.  A year ago, I had never even heard of pepper jelly.  Now, hardly a day passes that my husband and I don’t dive into the Texas Pepper Jelly in one way or another.

When the kids come home, they pretty much clean us out of pepper jelly.  I hid one of the jars of Pineapple Habanero this time, though.

It’s going into the crockpot with the extra-thick porck chops we’re having for dinner tonight.

Mmmm, crockpot pork chops, slow-cooked in Pineapple Habanero pepper jelly and apple slices. . . .

You know, sometimes the best recipes really ARE the easiest recipes.  There’s certainly nothing to this one, and it’s absolutely delicious.

We had guests for dinner tonight, and they ate all my Texas Pepper Jelly!

Oh, well, it was time to order some more anyway.

Six guests devoured six 1.5 ounce jars of assorted pepper jelly flavors.  Most of them just dipped the knife in the jar and spread it directly on crackers or slices of cheese, but some of them spread cream cheese on their cracker first and then spread some pepper jelly.  There were no rules; it was every man for himself with the Texas Pepper Jelly.

Five minutes after I snapped this picture, every cracker in the plate was gone, and there was not a drop of pepper jelly left.

This, after turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and homemade yeast rolls.  Oh, and pecan pie.  We do holiday company dinners up right in southern Indiana.

Some people spread pepper jelly on the yeast rolls, by the way.  It was delicious.

Now, I’m off the the Texas Pepper Jelly page to order some more pepper jelly.  It doesn’t last very long in my house.

Apple Jalapeno pepper jelly is soooo good, and there are too many ways it can be eaten to list in one post!  Therefore, I’ll give you one specific way, and just HINT about all the other ways.

Coughcoughcoughcoughicecreamcoughcoughcoughcough. . . .

But first, you have to eat your main dish; nobody will argue that one, once they find out what it is.

When it’s Glazed Apple-Chicken Stir Fry, don’t count on there being any leftovers.

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp. curry powder – any strength (suit yourself!)

garlic to taste

2 c. shredded cabbage (you can use cole slaw mix if you want.)

1 c. splintered carrots

1 large apple, peeled, cored, coarsely chopped

1/2 c. Apple Jalapena pepper jelly

1/4 c. golden raisins

3 c. cooked chicken, julienned

3 cups cooked rice, any kind

Heat the oil and curry in a large skillet over high heat; add garlic to taste.  Toss in the shredded cabbage, carrots, and apple; stir and cook for five minutes.  Then add pepper jelly and cook until the vegetables and apples are tender-crisp – just under ten minutes.  Add more pepper jelly to taste.

Add the raisins and chicken and mix thoroughly.  Add the rice and stir-fry for about five minutes, or until the cooked chicken is hot.

Garnish with whatever you like, and serve while it’s hot.

This recipe will serve 4-5 people with moderate appetites.  Double the recipe if you’ve got really hungry people to feed.

If you have ice cream for dessert, leave the pepper jelly on the table.

The Math Department at my husband’s school is having a pitch-in tomorrow, and guess what he asked me to fix?

I figured he’d want a crock of chili, or a casserole, or a pie, but noooooo.  He wanted the pretty Christmas chip-n-dip plate full of assorted crackers, finger sandwiches, and a pineapple habanero pepper jelly-covered blob of cream cheese, the simplest of all possible dishes.

Simple, yes.  Delicious, too.

My family likes all of the Texas Pepper Jellies we’ve tried so far, but the Pineapple Habanero is our favorite.  Tim figured that since he likes it so well, naturally all of the other math teachers will like it, too.

He’s probably right!

And HEY, y’all, there’s still time to order Texas Pepper Jelly products and get them BEFORE CHRISTMAS!  Time’s a’wastin, though, so get your stuff ordered!

Your relatives are really hoping they don’t get more ties and socks from you this year.  With Texas Pepper Jelly’s inexpensive and awesome gift selections, the person who gets your present will be the envy of the reunion!  We’ve got Gift Certificates, too!

Why give an ordinary, boring gift when you can give Texas Pepper Jelly as a gift?

Did your family draw names this year?  Were you planning to give your Uncle Fred socks?  Or a tie?  Why would you DO that when, for WAY less money, you could give Uncle Fred a Texas Pepper Jelly gift package?

He’d wear the socks and tie, sure, and he might even appreciate them.  But if you gave him Texas Pepper Jelly for Christmas, he would be so delighted he might even make you his heir!

Seriously, get out of your boring rut of giving the same old stuff every year; be different this year, and give something really unique, something really fun, something really delicious, and I could go on and on.  It’s easy to give socks, sure.  But do you really want to be THAT GUY?  Why not be the COOL GUY and give Texas Pepper Jelly!

Everybody would try to make sure you drew THEIR name next year.

Anybody can give the gift of socks.  It takes a really cool guy to give the gift of fun, celebration, out-of-the-box creativity, and yumminess.

Go for it!

There’s not a thing on that page that’s expensive, and you’ll get it before Christmas.

P.S.  Don’t forget to sign up for your FREE eCookbook!

Life is full of coincidences!

I was chatting with my friend, who happened to mention that she LOVES Texas Pepper Jelly.  I told her that I wrote for Texas Pepper Jelly, and she was amazed at the irony of it!

Tammy discovered Texas Pepper Jelly because of the free sample signup from several months back.  (This particular sample giveaway has expired)  (We’ll be having more of those later, by the way!)  The sample she was sent was Strawberry Habanero.

Then she told me her favorite way to use Texas Pepper Jelly.  She puts it over Brie and spreads it on French bread!  Simple and delicious.

After Tammy got her free sample in the mail and tried it, she put in an order for more.  That’s what happens to people when they try Texas Pepper Jelly.  One jar is never enough.

With Texas Pepper Jelly, you’ve just got to have MORE.

Don’t forget that Texas Pepper Jelly is offering our eCookbook – a ten dollar value – absolutely free to everyone who follows the directions.

By the way, Tammy refers to her obsession with Strawberry Habanero, brie, and French bread as Southwest Meets Paris. Don’t you just love that?