Lisa, Habanero Gold sounded too hot for me too........ Just substitute the same amount of a pepper you like. I called my first batch Anaheim Amber. Very mild. This year I made Jalapeno Heaven. I'll let ya know after tonight.........it's on my dinner/snack menu!! :+) Deanna

Here's a couple that I keep on hand - I make my own yogurt cheese and we go through a lot of dip in the summer. Italian Dip Mix 3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes 1 teaspoon salt (optional - I don't add any) 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 pinch ground oregano 1/2 teaspoon dehydrated carrots (if I have them) 1/2 teaspoon dehydrated sweet peppers (I usually put finely chopped fresh ones in) Mexican Dip Mix 1/2 cup dried parsley 1/3 cup dried minced onion 1/4 cup dried chives 1/3 cup chili powder (mild and/or hot) 1/4 cup ground cumin Salt to taste (anywhere from 2 tablespoons up to 1/4 cup) You can add smoked paprika, chipotle powder, cheddar cheese powder, etc. It's fun to experiment. For a quick dip, I take a cup of yogurt cheese (or you can use sour cream and mayonnaise) and mix in one cup of homemade salsa. DH can polish off the whole bowl even without the chips :-)

The fig tree I have has seen very cold temps, when I open the garage and pull out the snow blower in the winter. Its about 35-45 degrees in there in winter, as there is a small air vent in the ceiling, that just barely makes it a bit higher than freezing most of the time. Something odd though. You know those small ice cream freezers you buy that have a liquid filled tank that you freeze and then a dasher gets out in, and you make small batches of ice cream. I had one of these machines from Presto and the metal container expanded to a point where the middle area, where the dasher was, had expanded like a balloon as if it were boiled. Can't understand how that happened.. It was junk though.

These are some easy snacks: Egg n Bacon Crescent Sandwiches Preheat oven to 375F. 8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled 3 oz. or 3/4c grated Swiss or cheddar cheese 1/4c finely chopped celery 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped 3 TB mayonnaise 1 TB mustard 1 8oz. can Pillsbury Crescent rolls mayonnaise to brush on top sesame seeds Mix bacon thru mustard in a bowl. Separate dough into 4 rectangles, pressing perforations together. Cut each rectangle in half. Spoon about 1/4c egg mixture into center of dough square. Pull 4 corners up of dough square to cover top of filling, pinching edges to seal. Place seam side down on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten each slightly. Brush with a little more mayonnaise and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 375 for 12-18 minutes. Tamale Pocket Sandwiches 1 lb. ground beef 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1/2 med. onion, finely chopped 7 oz. can Mexi-corn 2 t. chili powder 2 cans Hungry Jack biscuits salt and pepper to taste sliced American cheese 1/4t. garlic powder Brown beef, drain. Add rest through corn, simmer 10-15 minutes or until thick. Separate biscuits, roll or press all 20 biscuits to a 5-inch circle. Spoon about 1/4c meet mixture onto 10 dough circles. Top each with half a slice of cheese. Put other dough circle on top, press edges with fork to seal. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Will freeze fine. Barbecue Cups makes about 20 - preheat oven to 400 3/4lb. lean ground beef 1 TB plus chopped onion 2 TB brown sugar 1/2c BBQ sauce canned biscuits  2 10 pks. grated cheddar cheese Brown beef, drain fat. Add onion and saute lightly. Add sugar and sauce, simmer a few minutes. Press biscuits to make a larger circle. Put into muffin tin cups. Add meat mixture, top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes. For pizza cups, add pizza sauce to browned beef, omit sugar, top with grated mozzarella cheese. Sausage Ân Cheese Turnovers makes 10 - preheat oven to 350 10oz can Hungry Jack biscuits 1/2lb bulk sausage, brown, drain 1/4t Italian herbs 4 oz can mushroom pieces, drained, pat dry 4 oz (1 c) grated mozzarella cheese 1 egg, beaten 3 TB grated Parmesan cheese Heat oven to 350. Grease baking sheet. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Roll each to a 5-inch circle. Combine sausage, herbs, mushrooms, and mozz in a bowl. Spoon 3 TB meat mixture onto center of flattened biscuits. Fold over, press edges to seal. Brush tops with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Put on sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp. Bacon Quiche Cups makes 10 - preheat oven to 375 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese 2 TB milk 2 eggs 1/2c shredded Swiss cheese 2 TB green onions, chopped 10 oz. can Hungry Jack biscuits 5 slices bacon, crisp cooked crumbled Heat oven to 375. Grease 10 muffin tin cups. Form biscuits in the cups. Put half the bacon in the biscuit cups. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, milk and eggs until smooth. Stir in Swiss cheese and onions. Spoon 2 TB mixture into each biscuit cup over the bacon. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min. or until filling is set and biscuit edges are golden. Top with rest of bacon, pressing into filling. Remove cups from pan. Reheat wrapped in foil at 350 for 10-15 min. or until warm. Bierocks and calzones are two other "hot pocket" type snacks than can be frozen. Bierocks (I add a slice of mild American cheese when filling them.) 15 Bierocks FILLING INGREDIENTS 4 cups cabbage, cut fine 1/2 cup onion, cut fine 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 lb hamburger salt and pepper cayenne pepper (optional) DOUGH INGREDIENTS 4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 package active dry yeast 1 cup milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs FILLING: In a large frying pan, cook the cabbage and onion together until the cabbage is completely softened and golden. This process can be hastened by adding a half-cup of water (or so) and covering the pan, but eventually cook all the liquid off before proceeding. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired. In a separate pan, brown the hamburger. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired. Mix the cabbage/onion with the hamburger thoroughly. You may complete this part of the recipe in advance,refrigerating until needed, or just before you are ready to assemble the rolls. DOUGH: In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter and salt just till warm (115-120 degrees F) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly. Ad to flour mixture; add eggs. Beat at low speed for 1/2 minute, then three minutes at high speed. Stir in as much remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl; turn once. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 hour). Punch down and cover; let rest 10 minutes. ASSEMBLY: Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, and a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cut into squares of 3 inches by 3 or 4 inches by 4. By the spoonful, place some filling mixture into the center of each square, apportioning all of the mixture among the squares. For each, bring the two opposite corner ends of the dough square up to meet one another, then do the same with remaining ends and pinch them (all 4) together with your fingers. You will see that you now have open slits along the diagnals; pinch these together as well, making a seam of each. Water on your fingertips will facilitate them staying"glued" together. The end product should be a square with a seam running from each corner to the center where all four are joined. Set the squares on a baking sheet (if you had trouble keeping the seams closed, you can flip them over so that the seams are against the baking sheet, thereby keeping all the filling in place and making a nicer presentation). Let raise 30 minutes. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 °F for 30 minutes or until golden brown. ** you can use packaged "hot roll mix" for the dough or frozen bread dough. This looks good and easy too! Pepperoni Bread Submitted by: Martha Katz Rated: 5 out of 5 by 308 members Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours 55 Minutes Yields: 10 servings INGREDIENTS: 1 (1 pound) loaf frozen bread dough, thawed 1 egg, beaten 4 ounces sliced pepperoni 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. 2. Roll frozen bread dough out into a rectangle. Brush dough with beaten egg. Arrange pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese over the dough. Sprinkle on the Italian seasoning. Roll up dough like a jelly roll and pinch seam to seal; place, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet. 3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until golden.