September 30, 2011: Sweet Hot Pickled Jalapenos Recipe

Over the summer my husband and I visited The Orchard at Charlie Clark’s Steakhouse in Pinetop. During the summer months, The Orchard – several acres of grass and trees and an outdoor dance floor and bar – hosts arts and crafts festivals as well as other events. We bought some canned goods from a company called Made by Bees, from Gilbert, AZ and absolutely fell in love with their sweet hot jalapenos.

This recipe is my attempt to recreate that one; I think I came pretty darn close!

Warning: These jalapenos are addictive!

Sweet Hot Pickled Jalapenos

1 pound fresh jalapeno peppers

2 cups vinegar

½ cup water

½ cup olive oil

3/4 cup honey

½ t. smoke flavoring

2 t. pickling spices

About 2 t. chili pequin (or Japanese hot chilis)

Wash jalapenos peppers and cut off stems. Slice the peppers on the diagonal. Remove excess seeds (that’s what makes them hot so remove as many as you wish depending on how hot you like them). Pack slices into clean canning jars (I used 5 half pints and four 4-ounce jars).

In a saucepan, heat the vinegar, water, oil, honey, smoke flavoring and pickling spices to boiling. Remove from heat and pour into jars, leaving about ½ inch head space. Add 2 chili pequin to each jar. Fasten lids and screw bands on jars.

Process in boiling water for 15 minutes (low elevations) to 25 minutes (high elevations). Time them from the moment the water starts boiling. Remember that the jars should be completely covered in water. When time is up, remove them from the boiling water bath with a jar vise. Let sit, undisturbed, for at least 12 hours. For best flavor, let the jalapenos sit for 3 weeks before eating.

September 29, 2011: Baked Beans Recipe

Here’s another dish that I like to make when the weather gets cooler and the seasons change. It’s the perfect accompaniment to pork chops, a loin roast or smoked sausage. Then again, if it’s still warm enough in your neck of the woods for a barbecue, baked beans are great with hot dogs or hamburgers.

This recipe makes a large amount; if you have lots leftover, you might want to can the rest (using the pressure method and same instructions as for chili or spaghetti sauce included with your pressure canner. For my elevation it’s 14 pounds pressure for about 50 minutes).

These are the leftover baked beans that I canned for use later.

Baked Beans

1 pound white beans

¼ pound bacon ends (more fat than meat), chopped

1 cup white or yellow onion, chopped

½ cup molasses or corn syrup

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 t. dry mustard

½ t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

Sort and rinse beans. In a Dutch oven, add beans and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn off heat. Let stand for at least one hour, preferably two. Drain beans.

Add 8 cups fresh water to beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 ½ - 2 hours, until beans are soft. Drain beans, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add remaining ingredients. Bake, covered, in a 300 degree oven for about 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Makes 10 – 12 servings.

Notes: You can also make this recipe in a slow cooker. Soak the beans the night before and boil them in fresh water the next morning for as long as possible. Continue with recipe as directed and leave on low in a crock pot all day.

If you want the darker color you usually see in baked beans, use dark molasses instead of the corn syrup.

September 28, 2011: Lentil and Sausage Stew Recipe

I don’t know about the weather in your neck of the woods, but around here it’s getting downright chilly at night and in the mornings. It won’t be long now before we get our first freeze.

As the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, I start thinking about making hot, hearty dishes like stew and soup for dinner. Here’s one that used up a lot of food in my refrigerator. Feel free to substitute other meats and vegetables that you may have in your fridge; adding some greens is a flavorful addition and ham would work equally well with the flavor profile of this dish. To me, there are no hard and fast rules for soup ingredients; experiment with what you’ve got!

Lentil and Sausage Stew

1 T. olive oil

2 cups chopped white or yellow onion (about 2 medium onions)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups sliced carrots

1 pound smoked sausage (I used jalapeno cheddar but any variety is fine), sliced

1 pound lentils, rinsed and drained

4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth

1 t. dried sage

1 T. dried fennel seeds

½ t. black pepper

1 t. salt (or to taste)

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven to medium low. Add onion, garlic and carrots and cook until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add sausage, lentils, broth and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 45 minutes, until lentils are soft.  

Note: You may need to add extra water if the stew is too thick.

You can also make this recipe in a slow cooker. Just add all ingredients to your crock pot in the morning and by dinner time all of the ingredients should be thoroughly cooked.

September 27, 2011: Homemade Scarecrow Recipe

It’s just about a month away from Halloween now and it’s time to start thinking about decorating for the holiday and the season. Halloween is my DMIL’s very favorite holiday and I’m sending her some decorating ideas I found in a magazine. But for me, it’s not so much about ghouls and goblins but celebrating autumn. Every year I make a scarecrow and thought I’d share the directions with you.

Start with two pieces of scrap wood. Shown here is one about 5 feet long and one about 3 feet long. The longest piece becomes the base of the body, going through the head and down to the feet. The shorter piece supports the arms. Just take a short nail (I used a roofing nail) and secure the two pieces in the shape of a cross, as shown.

My scarecrow is wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Now, dress up your scarecrow. I used an old flour sack for the head and stuffed it with plastic bags. A marker made his eyes, nose, and mouth. If you really want to get fancy, you can sew on his features or use things like buttons for eyes. Put the clothes on your cross frame first, before stuffing, and poke the board through one leg of the pants. The pants will hang down until you give them something to keep them in place around the “waist”.

Next up is stuffing your scarecrow. I suggest using plastic grocery bags or crumpled up newspaper pages. There’s no need to stuff him with straw – just stray bits of straw stuffed in the ends of the sleeves and pant legs will make your scarecrow look authentic.

Once he’s stuffed, tuck in his shirt. You can use safety pins to secure the pants to the shirt, if necessary. Now just add the little details. I gave my guy a bandanna and a hat. You could give yours a pair of work gloves and boots, a belt, a vest, or even a pair of suspenders (which will work wonders for keeping his pants up!). Your scarecrow should stand up all by himself - or you can pound the board keeping his body rigid into the ground.

To me, nothing says “autumn” like a scarecrow in the front yard! And kids love ‘em!

September 26, 2011: Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

When you make my favorite Mixed Green Salads recipe, try your hand at making a homemade dressing to go with it. If you have a fairly well stocked pantry, you should have all of these ingredients on hand and it only takes a few minutes to whip up this dressing that is the perfect complement to the mixed baby greens, tomatoes, nuts and Gorgonzola cheese in the salad.

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 cup mayonnaise (or substitute Greek yogurt if you want to cut down on calories a bit)

3 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. lemon juice

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. olive oil (best quality)

1 t. finely minced garlic

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour into a jar. Chill several hours before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Note: This dressing will last a couple weeks in the refrigerator.

September 25, 2011: Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

I haven’t made stuffed bell peppers in ages but recently a friend of ours brought over some bell peppers picked fresh from his garden. They were just too tempting – and the best way to use up several at once was to make this recipe. Rather than resort to my mother’s recipes, I decided to give stuffed peppers a more modern twist by turning them into a Southwestern style entrée. Hope you like it!

Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 cup rice

1 cup coarsely chopped peeled and seeded tomatoes

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. dried cilantro (or 2 t. fresh cilantro, chopped)

1 t. minced garlic

½ t. garlic salt

Salt and pepper to taste

4 jalapeno cheddar sausages

4 large or 6 small bell peppers

2 ounces Velveeta cheese

4 – 6 T. prepared salsa

2 T. ketchup

1/3 cup water

Cook rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, set a large of pot of water to boiling. Add the peppers and the tomatoes (about 2 medium). Remove the tomatoes after a minute with a slotted spoon. Immediately run under cold water and then remove the peels. Remove the seeds with your thumb and chop tomatoes into large chunks. After 5 minutes, remove the bell peppers and allow to cool. When cool, slice off the tops and remove the seeds and white membranes inside. If necessary, slice a small bit off the bottom of the peppers so they stand upright. Place the cleaned peppers in a greased baking dish.

When the rice is done, add the chopped tomatoes, green onion, Worcestershire, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper. If desired, you can also chop up any extra bits of bell pepper from the sliced off sections and add these, too. Thinly slice the sausages and add them to the rice mixture.

Fill the peppers with rice mixture and top with a slice of Velveeta cheese. Top each with a tablespoon of salsa, allowing it to drip over the sides. Mix the ketchup and water and add to bottom of baking dish.

Bake peppers uncovered in 375 degree oven for about half an hour, until the peppers are softened and the cheese is melted.

Serves 4.

Note: If you like more heat, add a couple tablespoons of chopped hot green chile or jalapenos to the rice mixture.