Nacho Average Pickle: Pickled Jalapeno Slices

Yea for produce! This fall I actually had a crop of jalapeno peppers that pulled through this terribly dry summer. But, just a week or so ago, the freezes began. Now, I have a bunch of jalapeno peppers that need to be made into something! So what do I do? Pickle them! I have an amazing pickling recipe from Grandma Hix that I am going to charitably share with you. I didn't think to photo everything until I was finished, so forgive me for the lack of visual aid. But it's pretty simple so I think you can handle it.

Pickles

(of any kind really)

cucumbers (or whatever you want to pickle)

dill

garlic

1 quart white vinegar

2 quarts water

1/2 c. pickling or canning salt

Put one dill head and 2 cloves of garlic in the bottom of each sterilized jar. Pack your produce tightly in the jars. Put another dill head at the top, leave enough room at the neck.

Bring vinegar, water and salt to a boil; pour over pickles.

Optional: boil in water bath for 5 minutes.

Wait 2 weeks before eating.

*If you have brine left over, save in a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for future use.

I've used this recipe for cucumbers and had great results, they get even better with time. This is my first time to try it with jalapenos. It's definitely the old fashioned way of doing it. Grandma said that they used this recipe with huge barrels of pickles. Yum! I love jalapenos on my nachos so I can't wait to try these out!

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Coffee Sense: Biscotti!

Here is my recipe for biscotti. It was a recipe given to my mom by a friend, and it's basically the same one that I've used ever since. It turned out great this time and I'm so glad to have it again!

Although, when I went to make a cappuccino, my brewer got clogged and after two attempts, I realized my espresso was not ground fine enough. So I didn't have a cappuccino with my fresh biscotti, but fear not! Coffee was consumed alongside this wonderful treat!

Almond Biscotti

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients: 5c. white flour, 3c. granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add 6 eggs,

then add 1 Tablespoon each of the secret ingredients: Amaretto and almond extract.

Roll dough into 6 separate balls.

Then roll each ball out into long logs and place three a piece on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake 20-30 minutes. Remove each log and slice on a diagonal. Replace each sliced piece onto the cookie sheet on its side. Return to the oven and bake about 10 more minutes.

Remove from oven. Flip each piece. Biscotti is a cookie that is "twice baked." This is your double baking. Return to oven and bake at least 5 minutes more.

Voila! Enjoy with your favorite coffee beverage. Warning: this biscotti recipe yields super hard cookies; it is meant specifically to be dipped into a beverage.

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Presto Pesto!

The cold weather has finally hit! It's been freezing this week, so I decided I needed to make the best of the rest of my fresh basil. So, I made some home made pesto! I don't know where I got the recipe, it's just one I had in my book. Here's how it goes:

Basil Pesto

With a food processor, chop 3 c. basil and 1 tbsp olive oil.

Add 1 c. olive oil, 2/3 c. parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons garlic, and 1/2 c. walnuts 

(calls for pine nuts but this is all I had). 

Process until smooth! Made about two half pint jars full.

Now to make some Basil Ranch Sauce!

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Thanksgiving

Well, not much to show about Thanksgiving this year. We had 3 separate Thanksgivings, one with my family, one with Nick's mom's side, and one with Nick's dad's side. Makes for an interesting time what with all the people you get to see, but it also makes things a little crazy running back and forth everywhere. We had a really good time this year, and I think Ryder really enjoyed all the new people. Looking forward to next year! Jake, Kelly, are ya coming?

 Ryder and Pops

Grams, Ryder, and Pops

And um, here were some cupcakes I attempted to make...that's what happens when Ryder's teething.

WELCOME!

Hi everyone! Here I am in the blogging world. Welcome to my family and friends! I hope I can keep this up and keep things interesting...we'll see! Enjoy!