Pork Verde Burritos

This is an easy recipe to prepare; once made, you can enjoy it for several days. Serve this with warm flour tortillas, rice, and beans. Our sweet jalapeños complement the pork and calm the acidic Salsa Verde down. There are authentic recipes out there, but I’m into no mess and no fuss about the kitchen. This recipe serves eight, but you are welcome to double and have leftovers for a quick lunch.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of pork loin or pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 1” pieces

• salt and ground black pepper

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

• One large yellow onion, chopped

• Three cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

• 1/2 Tablespoon dried oregano leaves

• 2 cups chicken broth

• 1/4 cup chopped candied jalapeños

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

• 2 - 7 oz cans of Salsa Verde

• Flour tortillas

• Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Season pork pieces on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large stockpot over high heat. Add oil. Once the oil is hot, sear the pork pieces until browned on all sides. Remove the pork from the pot. Add onion and saute until tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in cumin and oregano. Return pork to the pot and add chicken broth, candied jalapeños, and Salsa Verde. Stir to break up all the browned pieces in the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 2-4 hours until pork is easy to smash with a spoon. Break the pork pieces into smaller shreds with a large spoon. Add the cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes on a simmer.

To serve:

Heat a skillet and add a flour tortilla, turning, so both sides are warmed. Add a large spoonful of Pork Verde, cheese, and salsa. Serve with rice and beans.

So delicious!

Out of this World Corn Dip

Campbell's Meatball Grinders

I enjoy getting into the kitchen and making these yummy Meatball’s! They are full of spicy goodness flavor and I always make extra to freeze for one of those busy delivery day supper nights.

Meatball Ingredients:

1/2 lb. of ground chuck

1/2 lb. of Italian sausage

2 Tbls. candied jalapeños, chopped

1 small onion, grated

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. rosemary

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup Planko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup. Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1-2 tsp. olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine the ground beef, sausage and spices in a large bowl.  Add the onion, candied jalapeños and mix well.  Add breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, beaten egg and 1 tsp. of olive oil.  Combine the mixture thoroughly with your hands.  Form into meatballs, about the size of a walnut, adding more olive oil as needed to hold meatballs together. Place meatballs on a foil covered baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.  

Sauce Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 (28 oz. cans) crushed tomatoes

2 Tbl. Italian seasonings

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 cup water

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add chopped onion and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and stir together.  Add water a little at a time until the sauce reaches desired consistency.. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Grinders:

4-6 hoagie rolls

Provolone or mozzarella cheese, slices

To make the grinders, preheat the oven to 400°. Place open hoagie rolls on a large baking sheet.  Spoon 3-4 meatballs into each roll along with the sauce. Top with sliced cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the rolls are toasty and the cheese is browned and bubbly.

Kielbasa Sausage & Cabbage Dish

This is a delicious dish to fix on a cold and rainy evening. Easy to throw together, makes the house smell good, and everyone asks, “when’s it ready”? This recipe fills a large skillet for four or leaves your leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of Beef Polska Kielbasa

• Two large onions, sliced into chunks

• One large head of cabbage, cut into wedges

• 1/4 cup of candied jalapeños slices; add more if so desired

• Four tablespoons of brown sugar

• 2 cups of water

Directions:

Slice Kielbasa into angled slices, place in a skillet over medium heat, and often turn until lightly browned on both sides. Place on a paper towel. Drain grease from the skillet but leave the browning from Kielbasa in the skillet. Add cabbage wedges, onions, candied jalapenos, Kielbasa, water, and brown sugar. Turn heat to medium-low, and place the lid on the skillet. Steam until cabbage and onions are soft. Add water if necessary. You will want some of the juice when served.

Ready for our 2019 Fall season to begin!

We are ready for the season to begin, and look forward to seeing our Pepper/Pickle Fans! Sign up at our shows for our giveaway contest of a jar and cookbook while signing up for our Pepper Post that will keep you updated once a month of our events, store locations, recipes, contests and more… We hope you are one of our lucky winners!

50th Hillsboro Arts & Crafts is in Hillsboro, Kansas, and is an outdoor event this Saturday!

Rain or shine and “us” Kansans won’t melt in a shower or two! You will find us with 300+ other vendors so make it a day from 9:00- 4:00. We will be in our usual spot on West Grand. We love it when you do a quality control check of our peppers and pickles with a sample. We offer our special of purchase 2 jars and receive a cookbook ( a great gift ) or 3 jars and 2 cookbooks OR better yet, purchase a case ( 12 jars, mix and match ) for $1 less per jar, and we will throw in some cookbooks for those gifts! It’s a heck of a deal and lets you stock up for the upcoming holidays! Our jars have a 2 year shelf life but WHO can keep them around that long? lol

Southern Cornbread Sandwich

Living in the country where a “quick trip” to the grocery store is an hour round trip is how this sandwich came about. Friends dropped in, and ended up staying through the afternoon. I had all the fixings for sandwiches but out of bread. We had ham and beans the night before and I still had cornbread left over. Hence, my cornbread sandwich. Hope you enjoy it as much as our company did.

When I make cornbread I like it dense so it doesn’t crumble, so my recipe is a bit different then most, and it worked perfectly for this as it stayed together like a regular sandwich.

Cornbread Ingredients:

• 1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix

• 1 cup milk

• 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

• 2 Tbsp. chopped candied jalapeños

• 1 cup cheddar cheese, divided

Sandwich Ingredients:

• 12 slices of honey baked ham

• 2 cups shredded cabbage

• 2 Tbsp. candied pickles, chopped

• 2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

• 1 tsp. candied jalapeños brine

• 8 slices of Swiss cheese

• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and broke in half

• slices of candied jalapeños, as many as you’d like per sandwich

Cornbread Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix Jiffy mix, milk, vegetable oil, candied jalapeños brine and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese together.

Pour into a well greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Cool 1 hour on a wire rack.

Slice into four square slices then slice lengthwise in half.

Sandwich Assembly:

In a small bowl add shredded cabbage, mayonnaise, and candied pickles. Mix well and set aside.

Place all the cornbread slices, interior side facing up onto a non stick baking sheet. Spread the slaw mixture equally on all slices and top them with the Swiss cheese slices.

Place baking sheet in the oven on broil until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

Add 3 slices of ham on 4 of the cornbread slices and evenly distribute bacon on top of ham. Then top with candied jalapeños, and place the cornbread slices on top. Serve immediately and dig in.

Sweet & Spicy Peach Brie

This is one of my most asked for appetizer for the family dinner. The presentation is beautiful, the flavors all work together, and the plate is scrapped clean every time. You can use apricot preserves if your not a fan of peach as both flavors go well with the brie, bacon and pecans and of course our candied jalapeños. I think next time I’ll use the habaneros and bring an extra kick to the party!

Ingredients:

· 1 sheet of puff pastry dough                                                                              

· 1 (8-oz) package of brie cheese

· 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

· 1/4 cup of peach preserves, the kind with chunks of peaches

· 1/4 cup Campbell’s candied jalapeños, minced

· 2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled                                              

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set out puff pastry and let come to room temperature. Once pastry is at room temp then place brie in the middle. Mix the preserves with the candied jalapeños and pour over the brie. Add the pecans and bacon on top of the brie. Fold the dough up and over the brie, pinching the edges tightly together to make sure none of the filling spills out during baking. Place on a greased baking pan. Brush melted butter over the dough. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pita chips.

Delivery to The Cook's Nook in McPherson, Kansas

The Cook’s Nook is one of our favorite delivery locations. We are always finding a the latest and coolest gadget for our kitchens. They like to sample our peppers and pickles and we are delivering for their Fall Open House and they will be sampling out our Cheeseburger Dip, using the jalapenos and pickles together. @McPherson, Kansas

City Market - KC and Little Bill's Pimento Cheese

We are so lucky to be next to Little Bill's Pimento Cheese at the The City Market - Kansas City. He was celebrating 6 years at the market with 6 different flavors. We had company drop by today and I pulled out his Sweet Chili and put on chips. Delicious and full of flavor. My group pulled out the habaneros and added to the top. YUM YUM YUM
I just wish he’d celebrate every week! I also picked up the Blue Cheese and Horseradish flavors. Suggestions?
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the market! We had lots of fun! 😘

Playing With My Food

The inspiration, you ask? A box of crackers, you know, is the pretzel on one side and the cracker on the other. Then peanut butter on every cracker, followed by whatever tickles your fancy, and then topped with a candied jalapeño. I used Nutella, strawberry freezer jam, peach preserves, and honey. They would make a beautiful appetizer/dessert presentation, leaving you craving “just one more.” I promise…

Black Bean Jalapeño Dip

All you have to do is keep the essential ingredients on hand for that night when the company drops over or pull out for a good movie night snack at home. Add seasoned chicken or ground beef to make this an easy meal, and heat in the oven until the cheese melts. So many options!

Ingredients:

• 1-15 oz. can black beans rinsed & drained

• 1 – 8 oz. cream cheese softened

• One bunch of green onions, chopped

• 1/2 cup. of Candied Jalapeños, chopped

• One pkg of three blended Mexican shredded cheese

Directions:

Layer black beans on a plate, blend cream cheese & onions, and spread over beans. Refrigerate; just before serving, sprinkle Candied Jalapeños over cream cheese and top with shredded cheese. Serve with tortilla chips. YUM!

Mini Stuffed Peppers

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My newfound love! These little mini sweet peppers are the perfect finger food. Great for filling with all kinds of yummy goodness. Try stuffing them with spinach and mushrooms, goat cheese and shallots, pimento cheese and candied jalapeños, taco meat and cheeses, and even guacamole. You can slice off the stem end, stuff them, and grill them on a baking sheet in the oven. Did I say I love these little mini wonders?

Ingredients

12 mini sweet bell peppers

1 pound of Italian sausage, cooked and drained

1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese

1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup chopped Campbell’s candied jalapeños

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the mini peppers in half, top to bottom, and remove the seeds and ribs. Set aside. In a medium skillet, brown the sausage while breaking it up into small pieces. Drain any excess fat from the link and remove the skillet from the heat. Cut the cream cheese into small chunks and add the cheddar cheese and candied jalapeños into the skillet with the sausage. Mix until blended.

Place the peppers cut side up in a nine-by-13-inch baking dish covered with foil. Evenly divide the sausage mixture among the pepper halves. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the peppers look soft and the sausage is slightly browned.

Dessert?

There is nothing like a visit to your favorite orchard when the peaches are ripe and so are the blueberries. Vanilla ice cream, sliced peaches, blueberries and for an added bit of spice we like to add our candied jalapeños. The ice cream cools down the spiciness to a smooth blend of flavors that you won’t get from any ice cream shop around. I wish peach and blueberry season was year round!

A New Location in Wichita, KS

Imagine our surprise when we checked out this fun shop! Sweet ‘n Spicy rolled into one. Gee, what a “new” concept… LOL! Their sweet is all things truly for that sweet tooth, unique sodas with catchy names, candy from years past and present and then lets talk SPICY! Jars, bottles, the all kinds of funky spicy flavors that will make any connoisseur of spicy heat go crazy! AND guess who is now included in the line up? From our Garlicky Pickles to our Candied Ghost Peppers, I think it’s a match made in Spicy/Sweet heaven!

Chicken Enchiladas

I love to make enchiladas and have a recipe given to me years ago that never changes… it’s that good! When I have the time, I buy dried Ancho and Pasilla peppers and make an authentic Mexican Red Enchilada Sauce. It tastes so much better than out of a can. You can google several recipes. I also feel marinating the chicken in our candied jalapeño brine (juice), then adding candied jalapeños on top, takes them to another level of yummy goodness.

Ingredients:

• Two chicken breasts, cut in half and pricked with a fork

• 1/2 cup of candied jalapeño, brine

• 4 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded

• One medium onion, chopped fine

• One jar of Campbell’s candied jalapeños, slice in half as many as your spice meter allows

• One package of thick corn tortillas

• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

• One large can of enchilada sauce

• Two large greased baking dishes

Directions:

Place chicken breast in a large baggie and add brine and marinate for 2-3 hours.

In a skillet about the size of the corn tortillas, add oil and heat on medium. When oil is heated, add a corn tortilla, flip over, and immediately take out of skillet and place on a paper toweled plate. Continue to do this to the remaining tortillas. Do not let them bubble or fry; you only want to coat them in warm oil.

Take chicken out of the baggie and add to the skillet with one tablespoon of oil that you used for corn tortillas. Heat on medium-high and cook until meat is done, turning as needed. Then place in a bowl and shred with forks. Add taco seasoning to the heart and mix well.

Add enchilada sauce to a pan and heat until it starts to bubble.

Place shredded cheese in a bowl.

Place chopped onion in a bowl.

This is a messy process so have a dish towel handy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set out a large plate and add some of the enchilada sauce to it. Place the corn tortilla onto a plate and then turn it over to ensure it is covered in sauce. Add chicken down the middle, onion, and cheese, then roll and place in a greased baking dish. Continue until the pan is full of rolled tortillas. You can add more sauce to the plate as needed. You don’t want to fit them in the baking dish tightly. I usually make up two baking dishes: one to eat and one to freeze. Once done, spread the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and add the cheese. I like to cut my candied jalapeños in half and spread them over the top of the enchiladas. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sides of the dish are browned.

Serve with shredded lettuce, black olives, green onions, and salsa.

You can also make this with ground beef, add the seasoning while cooking and make sure ground beef is finely chopped.

I hope you’ll enjoy it, and if you have an extra 1/2 hour to make your sauce, you won’t regret the spare time.

The PERFECT gift for Daddy for Father's Day!

While we were at the Downtown Day’s in Lee’s Summit this mother and daughter came by our booth and tried our products, looking for just the right one for Dad. Then they pulled him over to give our peppers a try. He liked the habanero but his daughter insisted he’d love the Ghost Peppers and she wasn’t wrong. I love this picture of the three of them and the look of adoration this little girl has on her face for her Daddy!

Jalapeños or Habanero-Marinated Pork Chops

This recipe uses it all, starting with peppers to the brine. I personally love the combinations of the habanero/jalapeño with pork chops, but the jalapeños are really good as well!

Ingredients:

4 thick cut pork chops

1/4 jar of candied jalapeños OR candied habaneros, very finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup of fresh orange juice

3 Tablespoons of light brown sugar

3 Tablespoons of candied jalapeños OR candied habaneros, juice (brine)

Directions:

Combine peppers, garlic, orange juice, brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of pepper juice. Pour half of marinade into a large resealable plastic bag, reserve remaining marinade. Prick pork chops all over with a fork and add to bag; seal and turn to coat. Let marinate, turning occasionally, at least 30 minutes.

Prepare grill for medium-high heat; oil grate. Remove pork chops from marinade and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Grill tuning occasionally, until charred and cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to platter and let rest 5 minutes before serving. Drizzling reserved marinade over pork chops.

Stocking Store Shelves

Nothing like restocking our store shelves! Thanks to everyone for supporting my small business! #smallbusinessweek #livingmypassion#ourpepperfansarethebest

THIS....

I always try to time my deliveries around lunch when I’m going through Emporia, Kansas. This is just one of the many reasons why!

Darin is the nicest guy as is his staff and their enjoyment of having fun with recipes and ingredients, shows in the food they serve. Always something new and sure to tantalize the taste buds and leaving you with a sigh of a full belly! Lucky you if you live in the area, otherwise take a road trip to the Do-B’s and be prepared for a mouthwatering experience.

Have To Keep Dad Happy!

My mom told a story on my dad yesterday and I had to laugh. I’ve mentioned he is my biggest Pepper Fan! EVER! He goes through a jar per week. Eats them on everything from breakfast to dinner. I dare not let his supply run out! 
He just turned 92 the other day and does not communicate much anymore other than to answer questions. 
Mom had set his dinner plate on the table and turned around and then heard a tapping sound. She looked over her shoulder, and dad with raised eyebrows was tapping on his plate with his fork. She had not set out his dish of peppers. Once his bowl of allotted peppers were in front him he speared a ring on his fork along with a bite of chicken and a smile of his face.