Guacamole

One item you can count on disappearing from your party is guacamole. Everyone seems to love it!

When I was visiting my family in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, I was asked to put together a guacamole for an event.  Turns out, everyone loved it.  My aunt suggested I put in the cumin and it was the perfect ingredient!  You can make guacamole a million different ways but this one seemed to be the winner for us.

Keep in mind, air is the enemy of avocado's too.  Get that lemon juice in there and mixed in well so it doesn't turn a funky color on you!

Enjoy!

Guacamole

From Alissamay's kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocado's, seed and skin removed
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 2 medium roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
•  the juice from 1 small fresh lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper sauce (like Tobasco)
• 1-2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Use a medium bowl to mash the avocado with a fork. Some chunks are fine, it's up to you how smooth you want it.
2. Add the remaining ingredients (minus the cilantro) and mix well, tasting as you go.
3. Add the cilantro last, right before serving.

Quick Jalapeño Cream Cheese Poppers

Talk about a quick and easy party favorite!  This recipe is really to put together at the last minute.  It takes no time at all to bake and run out the door to a party.  I used some pickled jalapenos that I made and I loved them even more.  The slight pickled flavor made it spectacular for me.

I've got some pictures below to demonstrate how to use the refrigerated crescent roll dough.  This isn't complicated, I just think pictures are really handy. 

The crescent roll dough you buy in the refrigerated section is easy to use.  That "pop" still scares me silly. Just open the can and take out the dough without unrolling it.  There is a perforation down the center, break it in half.  Unroll the two sections but pinch the seams together that separate the four sections, so you have two long rectangular pieces.
Slather on the cream cheese.
Roll up, cut, bake. Easy.

Once baked up, they buttery tender crescents just add to the deliciousness of the filling.  The jalapeños are spicy but get mellowed out from the cream cheese.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Quick Jalapeno Cream Cheese Poppers

Recipe from High Heels & Grills

Ingredients

• 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup jalapeños, minced (I used these pickled jalapeños)
• Crumbled bacon (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and jalapeños.  You can mix in the bacon if you are using it. 
3. Open the can of crescent roll dough and put it on your work surface WITHOUT separating it. 
4. Break the roll in half where it is perforated. You want two long rolls of dough, so pinch the seams together on each roll so you have two continuous rolls of crescents. 
5. Spread the cream cheese mixture oven the top of each rectangle. Roll each roll up starting from the short side (so the roll is the long way).  Cut into 11-16 pieces depending on how big you want them. 
6. Bake for 11-13 minutes. 

Easy Pickled Jalapeños

What do you do with a hefty yield of fresh jalapeños from your garden? Can them.  Can you? Of course you can.  OK I'll stop.

Even if you know nothing of canning don't fret, this isn't really "canning".  These are refrigerator pickled jalapeños, much easier than the traditional canning method where specialized equipment is sometimes needed.  All you need to make these happen is some jars, some jalapeños and about 30 minutes.

One question I know you're going to ask me is how long do they have to sit in the refrigerator until they are ready to eat.  Well, it's like this.  The longer they sit the more pickle-y they become.  Technically you can eat them immediately after canning but they will develop a stronger taste the longer you wait. The good news is, they last a really long time in the refrigerator, Jami from "An Oregon Cottage" said she's still using her's after about a year!  If I still have any in a year I'll let you know.

I made a much smaller batch than the original recipe.  I like jalapeños and all but I can't eat them everyday, so I needed to tone it down a bit.  Great way to use up some of those garden jalapeños!

Oh, one more thing.  I found two red jalapeños when I went to pick these.  I had to look it up and find out what that meant.  Are they hotter? Milder? Turns out they are just more ripe but the flavor is much the same.  Adds a pretty color to the jars in my opinion.  Also, don't be afraid to add in some sliced carrots...you get the nice pickled jalapeño flavor without all the heat.

Easy Pickled Jalapeños
Recipe from AnOregonCottage

Ingredients

• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of fresh jalapeños
• 6 garlic cloves
• 3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp pickling salt

Directions

1. Wash the jalapeños, cut off the tops and then slice into 1/4 inch pieces. 
2. Cut each garlic clove in half. 
3. Pack the sliced jalapeños into three pint sized jars and add 4 garlic clove halves to each jar. 
4. In a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, water and salt.  Bring to a boil. 
5. Pour the hot liquid over the jalapeños. 
6. Screw on the tops and rings and refrigerate.  The original poster of this recipe says she has used her's up to a year later. 
7. **If you want to "can" these jalapeños, make sure the liquid is to within 1/4 inch at the top of the jar before securing the lids.  Process in a water bath for about 10 minutes. The jalapeños will be softer than the refrigerated version but refrigeration will not be necessary until they have been opened.