Candied Jalapenos!!!

Sorry about the delay in posting anything - I was away on vaca in AZ!!!  Arizona is so beautiful this time of year especially since at home on the east coast they had snow while I was enjoying 80 and 90 degree weather!!  Every time I go to AZ now I always bring home fresh tortillas - we pick them up while they are still warm from the store.  They are fantastic and make for a great meal each time.  This time I not only brought home fresh tortillas but also jalapenos - 3 lbs. that is!!!  I had read on The Pioneer Woman's blog about Candied Jalapenos (Cowboy Candy) and knew I had to try it. You start with 3 lbs. of fresh jalapenos.  I should have taken a pic of the peppers before I sliced them.  They were bright green, firm and large - nothing like what we get around here!  I sliced them all and put them in a bowl to begin the canning.

Yup - seeds and all!!

Next you cook them with sugar, vinegar, turmeric, garlic, celery seed and cayenne pepper.  Only 4 minutes!!!

The smell was incredible

Next they go into the lovely little canning jars.  I must admit that I did sneak a lick off the spoon when it was all said and done.  The syrup is sweet and hot - very weird but deliciousness!!!

 After they are in the jars you boil the syrup a little longer then pour the syrup in the jars and process the jars in boiling water for about 10 minutes.  I ended up with 14 jars of peppers and 1 jar of syrup.  The syrup I'll use on some mexican chicken or maybe add to a mexican tortilla soup!!!

A pyramid of sweet and hot!!

I think next time I will probably cram a few more peppers into each jar but all in all there are plenty of peppers in each jar.  Some of you can look forward to getting these little babies in your Christmas baskets this year!! Here's the recipe just in case you would like to give them a shot yourself.  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/canning/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/