One of my favorite appetizers to serve during the holidays is a very simple one. You place an 8 oz. bar of cream cheese on a plate to soften. Then right before your guests arrive, you open a jar of sweet red pepper relish and pour it over top of the cream cheese. Then you set it out with a small serving knife and a bowl of crackers.
What could be easier? But those little jars of red pepper relish are sometimes hard to find and a little pricey. So I make my own. It's a simple recipe, and easy for canning.
First chop the red peppers finely. I pulse them in a food processor. (When I'm canning, I double the recipe.)
Place the chopped peppers in a large sauce pot. Add sugar, salt, cornstarch and vinegar, and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, prepare your jars and heat up the water bath for canning. The doubled recipe fills seven pint jars. I use14 half-pint jars, which is the perfect size to layer on top of a bar of cream cheese.
Please be warned -- this snack is very addictive!
Red Sweet Pepper Relish
(This is the doubled recipe)
12-14 large sweet red peppers
3 C. white granulated sugar
4 T. cornstarch
2 t. salt
2 C. apple cider vinegar
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; simmer for one hour. Fill prepared canning jars and process for 10 minutes. Yield: 14 half-pint jars
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