Pickled Jalapenos with Recipes

Hey friends. As Fall approaches, I become somewhat of a nester. I like to start thinking about warm pots of soup, hand quilting my first almost finished quilt top, snuggling up by the fire as I look outside the window......and making homemade gifts. I love to get a little stash of gifts built up early in the season so that the holidays will be stress free when the dates actually arrive.

I have been filling my Etsy with oodles of new gift packaging products. They are all very simple and affordable and will make your gift packaging so easy this holiday season...or any time. :)

Today I have a gift idea to show you using some jars of jalapeno pepper rings that we recently canned. The packaging is simple as can be, looks great because you can see the pretty canned jalapenos and I was done in no time. With so much going on with the girls' activities, simple and quick is the name of the game!

To fancy up my jalapeno jars, I used some new products that are now up in my Etsy shop. I added patterned paper to my new Metal Rimmed Tags then stamped *jalapeno peppers* using an alphabet stamp. I really prefer the hand stamped look over printed tags, so homespun looking.

I then tied my new Cotton Twine around the jars, securing the bottom with a little glue dot. I tied a simple bow at the top of the jars.
Next up I attached my stamped tags to the jars using my Small Clothespins.
Sooooo easy peasy. So quick. So cute. So simple.
Throughout the holiday season, I like to display my little gifty items in fun baskets and trays that I pick up here and there. These little goodies were ready in a snap. I think they hot sitting there all cute like don't you? Now when holiday guests arrive, I can send them home with a cute gift that is all ready to go.
The details: The Cotton Twine is packaged with 5 yards. Perfect for tying up little parcels, stacks of cards, wrapping around jars and boxes, etc. A great staple to keep in your supply stash.
The Large White Metal Rim Tags are packaged in a set of 10. You can keep them simple and clean by using as is....or use a 2" punch or circle die to cut out your favorite patterned paper. The tags can be used for labels, to hang off jars or boxes....on cards and scrapbook pages, etc. So many fun uses for these little guys.
The clothespins that I used on my half pint jar gifts are the Small Clothespins. They measure about 1-3/4" long....oh how I love them.
As a bonus today, I'm including three of my favorite recipes that I'll be sharing with my friends and family when I hand out my jalapeno jars as gifts. I recently came across this wonderful nacho recipe so I think for gifts I'll give a jar of the jalapenos, a bag of tortilla chips and some wonderful melting cheese. All three recipes are great with the canned jalapeno rings. GREAT gift that everyone will love. You could also take it a stsep further and make some handmade recipe cards. That would be super cute! Stay tuned tomorrow for some fun photos of how we made our jalapeno rings!!

Tip: If you like this gift idea but don't can, simply purchase the gallon size pickled jalapeno rings at the grocery store.....divide them up in cute jars......and your gifts will still look great!

To print the recipes, simply copy and paste into a word document or print directly from my blog. Enjoy!!

Crock Pot Nachos-Michelle Wooderson 9/10

These are not your typical concession stand nachos. Seriously kicked up a notch!

3 pounds rump roast (really any roast will do)

1 can diced tomatoes with chilis (10 oz)..I use Mild Rotel

1 whole yellow or white onion, roughly chopped

1 package taco seasoning

Optional add-ins:

Jalapenos

Sliced green pepper

Small can green chilies

Cumin to taste

Ground pepper

Tortilla chips

White queso melting cheese (I find near the cream cheese in a small tub)

More pickled jalapenos.

Cover all sides of roast with taco seasoning. Put roast in crock pot, adding Rotel and chopped onion. Dump other optional ingredients on top. Turn the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. Remove roast from crock pot. Shred roast into chunks with two forks. Put shredded meat back into crock pot with some of the juice. Reheat. Serve over tortilla chips with melted white queso cheese and additional pickled jalapenos. Meat is also good with soft tortillas and refried beans as burritos.

Mom’s Hot Cornbread-Michelle Wooderson 9/10

I grew up on this cornbread and have been making it ever since for my family. No cornbread compares to my mama’s. So soft it melts in your mouth. Go ahead and toss your other cornbread recipes out.

2 packages cornbread mix

½ cup oil

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1 large can cream corn

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 Tablespoons hot pepper relish (or chopped pickled jalapenos)

Mix all ingredients and pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve with butter. Great with chili or Mexican food.

Pioneer Woman’s Restaurant Style Salsa -9/10

I finally found THE perfect salsa that tastes just like the restaurant versions. During the summer I like to make fresh salsa with home grown garden ingredients. During the winter months, this is perfect! I use tomatoes and jalapenos that we can from the garden.

1 can (28 ounce) whole tomatoes with juice

2 cans (10 oz) Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)

¼ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole jalapeno, thin sliced

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

½ cup cilantro

½ whole lime juice

Dump all in a food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like. Test seasoning with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed. Refrigerate salsa for least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheesy nachos.