Pickled Jalapenos, Bean Sprouts, Chicken Breast and Basil Butter

I was out checking the garden this morning and decided that the jalapenos need to be harvested.  The leaves were looking pretty bad.  The leaves were starting to yellow and curl.  I've never pickled jalapenos before, so back to the Internet I went.  I found a recipe at gimmedelicious.com called "Quick 10 Minute Pickled Jalapeno.  Since this was my first time with this recipe, I read  the reviews and followed it exactly

I took the precaution of wearing gloves.  I keep a box on hand just for situations like this. I went ahead and got all my brining ingredients together and as they came to a boil I decided to de-seed most of the jalapenos.  I'm really glad that I did.  The jalapenos are nice and spicy.  My husband will love them. They have a great flavor.

 

 While I had been harvesting and chopping jalapenos, I had some bean sprouts that I had placed in the sun to green up.  My husband and I really enjoy these in our wraps and salads.  While I was waiting for the jalapenos to do their thing in the brine I 'cleaned' the sprouts and jarred them for the week ahead.

 When I have the opportunity, I try to get a head start on meals for the upcoming week.  I had one chicken breast in the freezer and  decided to roast it for this weeks salads or wraps.   After I pounded my chicken breast thin,   I took my home grown  dehydrated basil, added parsley, garlic, onion powder, poultry seasoning, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, seasoned both sides of the chicken breast.  I  place the chick in parchment paper and roasted in the toaster over at 375 for 40 mins.  Of course I couldn't resist a  sample bite.  Hmm, delicious!

I decided I would make sauteed zucchini and squash to go with the broiled pork chops I'm making tonight.  So I went back out to the garden to harvest a little bit of basil to make a garlic and basil butter to go with it. Yum, I can't wait to start cooking.

If you have any favorite recipes or uses for fresh herbs,  leave me a comment below!



                             

It's Been a LONG HOT Summer!

Hurricane Harvey was an unexpected and un-welcomed surprise this summer.  The amount of damage done by this hurricane is unimaginable.  We were very lucky, and blessed. Our home and our business were spared.  There are so many others that weren't as fortunate.  Our hearts and prayers are with them 

Hurrican Harvey

The garden after Hurricane Harvey

My first spring garden did very well.  My tomatoes did pretty good.  The cucumbers were wonderful, the bell peppers weren't as successful, unfortunately.   Prior to Hurricane Harvey I had cleaned the garden out and all I had left were bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, basil, sage, garlic chives and some green onion.

 

Spicy Sprout Salad Mix

Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Popcorn

Over the summer I decided to try my hand at growing sprouts.
After a lot of research, I ordered a sprouting kit from Amazon and have been Sprouting all summer!  It's a great addition to our salads and vegetable wraps!

Top Shelf Green Onion
Bottom Shelf Cinnamon Apple Chips

I came home from work one day and found a surprise waiting for me.  My sister had sent me a new food dehydrator and a new cook book!  Since I had a road trip planned, I went to work making hubby some snacks for the drive. One of our new favorite snacks is Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Popcorn.  It was a perfect, healthy snack and not to spicy for me.  I also made some cinnamon apple chips that were absolutely sweet and delicious. I tried some sea salt zucchini chips that were a great success as well.

                                             







As we move forward into October I hope we have some cooler days coming.  For this fall I've planted 2 more tomato plants and some cabbage.  I did get another Cilantro plant and hopefully I'll leave it long enough to grow!

 My jalapeno plant is loaded right now so I'm hoping that it will keep producing long enough for me to have some fresh tomatoes.  I'd really love to make some home-made salsa.  If you have a favorite recipe let me know in the comments below!





 For more pictures of my garden and more info about my obsession with food dehydrating, check out my facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/Vegetable-Gardening-on-the-Texas-Bay-2249871568570602/