DIY // Homemade Hot Pepper Jelly

Everybody's doing it.  Except me.  That was, until this past week when I crossed over into the popular crowd and became a home canner.  And with that I've hit full-fledged domesticity and I'm loving it.

Hot Pepper Jelly is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures.  I love to plop down on the couch, watch some trashy reality tv and munch out on wheat thins, cream cheese and Apple Valley Country Store hot pepper jelly.  The best in all the land!  It's sweet, perfectly spicy and pretty darn beautiful with its champagne-colored jelly and red bell peppers.  I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own, so that I can avoid a mad (3-hour) dash to Hood River to pick up some more whenever I get the craving and so I can share my love with those around me.  So, with Christmas lurking around the corner, I finally pushed up my sleeves and got to business.