This Girl is on Fire Hot Pepper Jelly & 20+ Uses for Pepper Jelly

Adapted from Cooking with Mary & Friends

Fiery hot pepper wine jelly made with a mix of peppers to add depth of flavor and heat. The sweet peppers, serranos and jalapenos hit your tongue first, and then, just when you’re not quite expecting it, there’s a little tingle of heat at the end. That’s the carrot peppers sneaking up behind you. That orange pepper on top of the jar there–that’s a carrot pepper. I use them a lot in salsas along with other peppers to round out the heat profile and I always get tons of compliments on my salsa, so I figured the same principle should work with hot pepper jelly. It totally did!

But aside from the hot pepper jelly, there’s something else I want to talk to you about today. I am not sure if you know, but I’ve been between jobs for a little while now. (For me, blogging is a side gig, a hobby, not a profession.) I was laid off from my last position after working there for almost 6 years. I’ve had some interviews and one company really loved me and told me they definitely wanted to bring me on board, but they were just in the initial stages of a merger and needed some time to figure out their strategy before bringing on someone new. So I waited. And waited. And applied for more jobs, but my heart was stuck in waiting mode. Finally, a couple weeks ago, I decided I needed to quit waiting and DO something. I felt stuck. Asleep. Like a huge ball of energy was just hibernating inside of me, waiting to be released. I did some busy work around the house, avoiding the yucky feeling swelling up inside of me. Petted the cats. Played my stupid word game. And then this voice inside me started chiding me, saying “Ann, you need to stop this. You need to get un-stuck.”

Because I’d kind of exhausted the options in my own city, I’d been applying for jobs in nearby cities but my heart wasn’t in it. They all felt like just another online application that I was filling out, like a zombie. Tweaking a cover letter here, attaching my resume, filling out the forms. Bleah bleah bleah. I was going through the motions, but I knew in my heart that if I really wanted something to happen, I needed to be open to it, truly dedicated to the opportunities that might come my way. And that might mean moving. But if that’s what it takes, I need to really commit my heart and soul to it and just trust that the right things will happen.

So I closed my eyes and meditated on this for a few minutes and I felt the energy shift and open and start flowing. It felt like my heart and soul were opening up and this rush of energy came flowing into me and out into the universe. I felt so open and alive and ready.

I started working on job applications, but now I was alive and really picturing myself in the positions. I decided to apply for a second position at a company in a nearby city that I had already applied for a month ago. Almost immediately after I’d submitted that application, I got a call from the HR person at that company, asking if I was looking to relocate. I said for the right position, yes, I would relocate. This was on Wednesday. They asked if I could come in for an interview on Friday morning. Whoa! Yes, I said I could. I had to teach yoga on Saturday morning so I’d have to get up really early and drive all the way there and back in one day (7 – 8 hours total of driving), but it wasn’t anything I haven’t done before and it was definitely worth it for the right job.

Not long after that (the same day), I received a call from one of the local companies I’d interviewed with. He wanted to let me know he hadn’t forgotten about me and he would get back to me with next steps by the end of the week. Then, a little later, the first company called back and wanted to move the interview to Friday afternoon. Sure, that was even better for me … gave me more time to get there! Oh and then I got a text saying that the person I was interviewing with wasn’t in the office on Friday, so could I do a phone interview instead? Um, yeah, no driving! Totally.

Mid-day on Thursday the local guy texted and asked if I could do an interview that day. My kids had appointments, I really couldn’t. Could we do it Friday morning? No response for several hours. It was after 5:00 when he texted and asked if I could do an interview in the evening? What? An evening job interview? Well, okay. So I had a phone interview after 6 pm with one of their employees in CA. Not so bad. And then he wanted me to do two more phone interviews in the morning. Which meant four interviews in less than 24 hours. Holy crap! Talk about unstuck energy. It was amazing.

So after all of that, I took some time to finally do something with all the peppers from my mom and dad’s garden. I saw this recipe for hot pepper jelly from Mary and I decided some hot pepper jelly seemed really fitting. The song “This Girl is on Fire” was playing through my head as I seeded the peppers and blended them up, then put them in a pot to cook with the wine vinegar and the sugar. The whole process felt very freeing and wonderful.

I have since received news from both of those employers. The local one decided to go with the other candidate, which I was a little bummed about initially, but when I thought about it, my heart really wanted the other position. I went back into waiting mode for a bit … and then one afternoon I reminded myself I needed to send out some energy to remind the universe that it’s time to give me a job. I started applying for jobs like crazy and even talked to a recruiter responding to one of my applications. After 6 job applications and the phone call, my son was hungry and was wondering if I would take him to the sub shop so he could buy himself a sandwich. So I took a break from applying to drive him there, fully intending to come home and apply for more jobs. But just as I was trying to figure out where to turn with all the construction on the road, I got a phone call. I missed the turn. It was the out of town company calling with some exciting news for me. I freaking got the job! I pulled into a parking lot to finish the conversation. I was so excited I wanted to scream, but maintained my composure until I got off the phone. (And then my son and I found the turn and made our way to the sub shop, but our conversation definitely took a different turn.)

Things are still a bit in the air because we’re waiting for the background check to come back and I’m not really sure whether I’ll have to relocate or not, but I’m open and trusting that the right thing for me and my kids will happen.

How do you can the jelly?

So that was a lot about me and not much about the jelly. I know, I should tell you more about how to make and can jelly. It’s really quite easy. You just need some glass jars, lids, a jar grabber, a large pot for boiling water. I found a canning kit on Amazon that has (more than) everything you need. I used the little 4-oz. jelly jars like these ones on Amazon and a couple of the 8-oz. jars when I ran out of the little ones. Here are some helpful images and tips for canning your pepper jelly. My mom and I sometimes skip the hot water bath and just set the jars upside down once you’ve sealed them. When you flip the jars later, the jam should go down to the bottom of the jar and create the seal. I did that with a few of the jars of this hot pepper jelly, but when I flipped them, the jelly never fell down to the bottom of the jar like it should, so I think the hot water bath is the right approach here.

Wondering how to use pepper jelly? (aside from on crackers with cream cheese which is amazing, but one can only eat so many crackers) … here’s a great resource: 22 great ideas for using pepper jelly. I also love to spread it on toast and enjoy with a cup of chai tea in the morning. Simple pleasures are sometimes the best. Also, scroll down for over 20 recipes and even more collections for using your hot pepper jelly.

If you have apples and hot peppers, here’s my recipe for Five Alarm Apple Hot Pepper Jam (low sugar) where I used the upside down method instead of the hot water bath.

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Wondering how to use hot pepper jelly?

I’ve found a lot of recipes to use pepper jelly online and can’t wait to try these recipes! Hot pepper jelly is great for glazes for meats, chicken or veggies, melted over ice cream, salad dressing, with cheeses … you can even use it in cocktails!

• Sweet Hot Habanero Ham Sandwich
• Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce – MyRecipes
• Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Pepper Jelly – Healthy Delicious
• Sausage Rolls with Hot Pepper Jelly – The Cookie Rookie
• Pepper Jelly Margarita – Spicy Southern Kitchen
• Pepper Jelly Glazed Chicken Wings – Taste of the South
• Hot Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip with Bacon – Life, Love and Good Food
• Pepper Jelly Cheese Ball Bombs – Take Two Tapas
• Moghul Curry Dip with Pepper Jelly – Monsoon Coast
• BBQ Red Pepper Jelly Spare Ribs – Dash of Savory
• Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette – Our Best Bites
• Pepper Jelly Cocktail – Tipple Sheet
• Sweet Roll Sliders with Ham, Swiss Cheese & Hot Pepper Jelly – Share a Little Happiness
• Cream Cheese & Pepper Jelly Chicken – No Thanks to Cake
• Pimento Cheese with Hot Pepper Jelly – HGTV
• Pepper Jelly Turnovers – A Canadian Foodie
• Shrimp & Tasso with Hot Pepper Jelly – Today
• Blueberry Tangerine Manchego Salad with Hot Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
• Prosciutto Wrapped Turkey with Balsamic Hot Pepper Jelly Mustard Sauce
• Rosemary Pear Crostini with Hot Pepper Jelly, Walnuts and Pomegranate

And here’s a bunch more inspiration to put your hot pepper jelly to good use:

• 22 Ways to Use Pepper Jelly – Pappy’s Gourmet
• 7 Hot Pepper Jelly Uses – Pepperscale
• 8 Ways to Use Hot Pepper Jelly – Serious Eats
• Ways to Use Hot Pepper Jelly – Armadillo Popper
• Why Southerners Love Hot Pepper Jelly – Southern Living

This post was shared at Full Plate Thursday.