Hot Pepper Jelly

The first time I ever had hot pepper jelly was in Denver earlier this year at the annual National NORML Conference.  I'm pretty sure just about everything tasted better there because of the *ahem* high altitude, but this jelly was AWESOME.  It was green and the perfect blend of spicy and sweet and it paired perfectly on top of a bagel with cream cheese.  My version includes a cup of diced red peppers, about half a cup of diced jalapenos and a dash of cayenne.  I also steeped a bunch of the jalapeno seeds & veins from inside the peppers in a little homemade spice bag (I use cheesecloth and twine) and let it soak before I added in pectin to jelly it up.  Guess what y'all?  The only thing that makes jalapeno jelly green is food coloring, so I skipped it because I have no idea what its actually made of and apparently its not really that great for you.  There are some natural alternatives to the stuff you use to dye Easter eggs, but its kind of pricey and I didn't have any on hand.  So here you have it folks, my version of scrumptious hot pepper jelly.  Don't forget to wear gloves when handling the peppers!!!

Hot Pepper Jelly

1 Cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 Cup chopped jalapeno pepper

4 Cups white sugar

1 1/2 Cups apple cider vinegar

1 6oz. container of liquid pectin

Remove stems, veins and most seeds of the peppers, but reserve about 2 tablespoons and place in a spice bag.  In a large pot over high heat combine bell peppers, jalapenos, sugar, vinegar and spice bag and bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes, discard spice bag and add a dash of cayenne (optional!).  Stirring constantly, mix in the liquid pectin packet and let the mixture continue to cool for 3 more minutes.  Sterilize and set up your jars, pour in the jelly mixture and top with lids and secure with bands and submerge in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.  I like to flip the jars every 30 minutes for about 2 hours to evenly distribute the pepper pieces, otherwise they will all float up to the top.  Enjoy!