Tonight I’m revealing my appetizer recipe for the Breakstone Blogger Challenge – Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly Dip!
This recipe was actually inspired by my Father-in-Law. His favorite thing to whip up for a quick & easy appetizer is softened cream cheese mixed with sweet-hot pepper jelly, served with corn chips. Brilliant! The combo of tangy sour cream & cream cheese with sweet & spicy jelly is CRAZY good.
Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly Dip
Ingredients:
8oz reduced-fat or fat-free sour cream
8oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
8oz hot pepper jelly (I used Dickinson’s Sweet ‘n’ Hot Pepper & Onion Relish)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients and serve with sliced cucumbers, carrots, celery or corn chips.
So ridiculously easy, right? Also, you can find sweet-hot pepper jelly right next to the other jellies in your grocery store, or try looking near the specialty cheeses/meats. It. Is. Spectacular. Promise!!
In other news, maybe you were wondering if it was 20 degrees above average today? It was. IT WAS! We reached 73 degrees in Central Iowa - AWESOME! Take that, winter…
Apparently we’re supposed to get owned in the next couple of days – cold, wind, rain, the works – but I’ll revel in the moment while it lasts. 8)
Maybe you’re also thinking that 70 degree temps in November would be a outdoor runner enthusiast’s dream come true? I’m sure that’s the case for most people but, as my brother and I were discussing the other day, we’ve already made the mental shift into gym mode for the season (it took me long enough!) so I appreciated the mild weather through the window as I chugged along on the treadmill this afternoon. 
I’ve been digging interval workouts lately and have gone back to this 5-minute interval routine several times over the past week or so:
| Time | Speed | Incline |
| 0-2 | 4.0 | 1% |
| 2-5 | 6.0 | 1% |
| 5-10 | 6.5 | 1% |
| 10-15 | 7.0 | 1% |
| 15-20 | 6.5 | 1% |
| 20-25 | 7.5 | 1% |
| 25-30 | 6.5 | 1% |
| 30-35 | 7.0 | 1% |
| 35-40 | 6.5 | 1% |
| 40-43 | 6.0 | 1% |
| 43-45 | 4.0 | 1% |
| Total: | 4.75 miles |
This routine goes by quickly, is challenging and the change of pace keeps things interesting, without having to constantly be changing the speed on the treadmill. Finished up my workout with 15 minutes on the elliptical. Blammo! 
I came home to the sweet smell of…caramelized onions?! I had some extra time before work this morning, so I caramelized a couple onions for tonight’s dinner (what, you don’t caramelize onions in your free time?) and the house still smelled INCREDIBLE when I got home. I actually thought I had put something in the crock pot and forgot about it!
Anyways, they were one of the toppings for tonight’s dinner of BBQ Pizza!
Oh. Dear. Lord. This was fantastic and SO easy!
Confession: I am terrified of baking with yeast. I just…can’t. Therefore I’ve never made my own pizza dough and it looks like it’ll be awhile before I even think about attempting it, because my new Trader Joe’s makes a fantastic, ready-to-bake whole wheat pizza crust dough!
It was so easy to stretch out – no shrinkage or stickiness at all. It took about a minute to get it from dough ball to pizza base!
Zee toppings:
Previously mentioned caramelized onions (my favorite thing ever)
steamed broccoli,
leftover BBQ brisket,
cheddar cheese, banana pepper rings and Bone Suckin’ BBQ Sauce!
On goes the sauce, brisket (tossed with a little sauce,)
broccoli and caramelized onions.
CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THESE!! I caramelized 2 onions for my pizza (I cut the big dough ball in half – half for me, half for IBE!)
Finally we’ve got the cheese and banana pepper rings.
Into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Gawjus!
I’m not even saying this because it’s Trader Joe’s, but this crust is fantastic. Just a little sweet and perfectly doughy without being soggy. Plus it was NINETY NINE CENTS!
Caramelized onions? yes. BBQ sauce? Yes. BBQ Brisket? YES! Most amazing combo ever. Homemade pizza is so much fun (and great for using up leftovers!)
Woo, that was good, super filling and my goodness, so inexpensive. Love that!
With that, I am off – lots to do around the house tonight. See ya’!
~~~~~
You’ve been charged with bringing a dish to a potluck. What do you opt for: drink, appetizer or dessert?
I always pick dessert. It gives me an excuse to try a new recipe and practice quality control, natch!
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It’s a PERFECT appetizer for summer parties. Really, really good. Thanks for sharing!
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