This simple-to-make summer pasta salad is both filling and refreshing!

Ingredients:

1 package bow tie pasta – cooked but still fairly firm

1 cup Texas Pepper Jelly (your favorite flavor, and why not do some experimenting and try them all, one by one?)

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/4 cup finely diced onions

Dash salt – if you must

What to do:

Add everything to the cooked pasta and mix well.  Be sure the pasta has cooled down a bit before adding pepper jelly and feta cheese; you don’t want them to melt.

Serve.  I like it best after it’s been chilled for a few hours, but it’s also delicious when it’s still warm.

Want a treat for those extra-hot summer days, when nothing is cold enough for you, and nothing in the freezer appeals?

Just shave some ice into a big cup and stir some Pineapple Habanero pepper jelly into it!

While it’s still icy, spoon it up and let the cold fruit and spicy peppers glide over your tongue, cooling down your whole body.  When it starts to melt, suck it up through a straw.

Yup, there’s nothing like a pepper jelly snow cone when it’s hot outside!

You can use any flavor of pepper jelly, of course, but I like my spicy summer slushies best with pineapple pepper jelly.

Oh, hush.  You LOVE meat loaf.  At least, you’re going to love Spicy Turkey Meat Loaf.  It’s like no meat loaf you’ve ever had before!

Spicy Turkey Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

3 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 cups soft whole wheat bread crumbs (about six slices)

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach: thawed and squeezed dry

3/4 cup Texas Habanero Salsa

1/4 cup Texas Berry Medley Pepper Jelly

1/4 cup Texas Passion Pepper Jelly

What to do:

Dump everything except the Texas Passion Pepper Jelly in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Don’t be afraid to use your hands.  Shape the mixture into a large loaf or several smaller loaves; I put mine in a large bread pan.  Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  When the meat thermometer reads 165 degrees, remove from oven and brush with Texas Passion Pepper Jelly.  Let it “set” for about twenty minutes, slice, and serve.  If there is any leftover, it’s even better the next day.  Makes a great sandwich, too.

Whoever heard of chili made with seafood?  Answer:  I have.  And it was absolutely delicious, too. Also?  This chili doesn’t need to cook all day to be awesome; in fact, it doesn’t take very long at all!

Seafood Chili

Ingredients:  2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

1/4 cup Texas Habanero Salsa

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 cup diced green pepper

3/4 cup diced red or yellow pepper or both

1/2 cups sliced onion

3/4 cup Texas Mandarin Orange Pepper Jelly

8 ounces orange roughy or red snapper fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 ounces uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup uncooked scallops

What to do:

In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil and add the rice, salsa,  and garlic; return to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender.  Add the fish, scallops,  and shrimp.   Cover and simmer for about 3 more minutes.  Add the Mandarin Orange pepper jelly and simmer for two more minutes.

Now, sometimes this turns out soupy, and you’ll need to serve it in bowls.  However, depending on the weather, humidity, and the mood of the fish, sometimes it turns out more chunky, and you can eat it off a plate.  But no matter how you end up eating it, it’s FANTASTIC!  Doesn’t take very long to fix, either.

Blueberry Chicken Surprise gets its name from the fact that nobody expects chicken and blueberries to go together.  Guess what, though; they do!  And the combination is irresistible!

Blueberry Chicken Surprise

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 tbs. vegetable or olive oil

1/2 cup Texas Blueberry Jalapeno Pepper Jelly (use the habanero version if you like your chicken HOT!)

3 tbs. Dijon mustard

1/3 cup vinegar (any kind you like)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Hot cooked brown rice

What to do:

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat on each side until lightly brownded.  Combine pepper jelly and mustard; spoon over the chicken.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until done.

Remove chicken with a slotted spoon.  Add vinegar to skillet, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about three minutes or until sauce is reduced by a third, stirring occasionally. Stir in the blueberries.  Pour over the chicken and rice.  Eat.  Eat some more.  Discuss.

I wasn’t sure about this combination at first, but now I’m a believer.  It’s FANTASTIC!

This, readers, is a main dish, and if you defy the odds and have some left over, it makes the most delicious sandwich EVER!  It’s also a crock-pot dish, which makes it easy, easy, EASY to do!

Sweet, Sour, and Spicy Brisket

Ingredients:

Beef Brisket, about 3 1/2 pounds (DO NOT USE CORNED BEEF!) Cut it into three pieces

1 cup Texas Spicy Peach Grilling Sauce (or BBQ sauce)

1/4 cup Texas Pepper Jelly, any flavor

1 envelope onion soup

1/2 teaspoon pepper

What to do:

In a bowl, combine everything except the brisket.

Put the brisket in the crock pot and pour the contents of the bowl over it.

Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 4-5 hours on high, but the meat is more tender if you let it cook longer on low.

Removed brisket from crockpot and let it “set” for about fifteen minutes before you slice it.

In the crockpot, all those hours, the brisket has been soaking up that peachy, fruit flavor.  If you DO have enough left over for a sandwich, you probably won’t even need a condiment!

Okay, folks, it’s grilling time, and people tend to take their grilling seriously.  This spicy fruit salad salsa is something you will be making again and again this summer, take my word for it.  Then again, why take my word for it; get out there and start mixing some up for your family!  It’s AWESOME!

Spicy Fruit Salad Salsa and Pork

Ingredients:

1 cup seeded chopped watermelon

1/2 cup Strawberry Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

1/2 cup chopped kiwifruit

1/2 cup Peach Habanero Pepper Jelly

3 tbs. lime juice

4 tsp. honey

2 chopped mint leaves

1/2 cup peach preserves

3 pounds pork tenderloin, cut any way you like to grill it  (I cut mine into medallions.)

What to do:

To make the salsa, combine the first eight ingredients in a bowl and set it aside.  In a saucepan (you can use your microwave if you prefer) heat the preserves for a minute.

Grill the pork for about 5 minutes.  turn, brush with some of the preserves, and grill 8 or 9 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, basting occasionally with the preserves.  Serve with the salsa.

This salsa is good with just about anything, as a matter of fact.  Just thinking about it makes me want some. When the meat is all gone, my kids scoop up the rest of the salsa with crackers.  It’s absolutely delicious!

Today’s recipe isn’t really a recipe; it’s more of a suggestion.  It was my husband’s idea, actually.  We ran out of his favorite salad dressing and he reached for the Mandarin Orange Habanero Pepper Jelly.  He drizzled some onto his salad, took a bite, and an expression of ecstasy crossed his face.  Seriously.

So for today, I will leave you with the suggestion that you forgo your boring usual regular salad dressing, and drizzle a little pepper jelly on your tossed green salad.

I’m betting that you’ll agree with us that it turns that ordinary salad into something WONDERFUL!

Y’all know by now that here in my house we are big “skillet supper” fans.  Here is one of our favorites.  (It’s the Texas Habanero Salsa that makes it so special!)

Habanero Skillet Stew

Ingredients:  1 pound ground beef (use sausage if you wish, or half and half)

2 large potatoes, cubed (peel if you wish)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 4-ounce can mushroom stems and pieces, UNDRAINED

3/4 cup of Texas Habanero Salsa

garlic powder to taste

What to do:

In a skillet, cook beef, potatoes, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms over medium heat until meat is fone; drain thoroughly.

Reduce heat to simmer, and cook for another 15 minutes or so until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the Texas Habanero Salsa and garlic powder.  cook about 5 more minutes.  Serve.

Again, a nice green salad will complete this meal nicely.

Your family will love this one.  Plus, it’s so easy to make!

The Texas Apple Jalapeno (or habanero) Pepper Jelly really makes this meal special.

There’s nothing like a crock of spicy brats to perk everyone up on a rainy night.  It’s been raining here for five days, and the forecast says not to count on seeing any blue sky until after the weekend.  When it’s cold and wet outside, it’s great to sit down to a hot, spicy dinner!

Crock O’ Spicy Brats (I love the name of this dish!)

Ingredients:  5 bratwurst links (about a pound and a half)

5 medium potatoes, peeled (if you wish) and cubed

1 27-ounch can of sauerkraut, rinsed and well-drained

1 medium Granny Smith (tart) apple, chopped

1 5-ounce jar Apple Jalapeno Pepper Jelly  (Apple Habanero, if you like it REALLY spicy!)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (brown Splenda works, too)

What to do:

Brown the bratwurst on all sides, in a large skillet.  In a 5-quart crockpot or slow cooker, combine all the other ingredients, then stir in the bratwurst.  You can cut the bratwurst into smaller pieces if you wish, but my family likes to fish the huge things out intact.  Add the pan drippings, unless you’re on a really strict diet.  cover and cook on high for about 5 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.

A tossed green salad is all you need with this meal.

Your house will smell funny for a few hours, but it’ll be worth it.  This supper is fantastic!