Refrigerator Dill Pickles

The other day the Farmer's Market had pickling cucumbers and fresh dill available and I just couldn't resist, I ended up buying 4 pounds of cucumbers and a couple bunches of dill. I found several recipes that I had used in the past and adapted a little from all of them to make these refrigerator dills. They were ready to eat about 2-3 days later. This recipe made 6 quarts of crunchy, delicious pickles!

What you need:

Jars, I used Quart size
4 pounds pickling cucumbers or you can use regular cucumbers if that's what you have
fresh dill, I used about 3 heads per jar(2 on bottom and 1 on top)
fresh garlic, I used one clove in each jar
one large onion sliced
1 Tablespoon of sugar per quart jar

For the brine:

12 cups water
5 cups white vinegar
1 cup salt, I used sea salt but you can use pickling salt also

Bring brine to a boil.

In each quart jar:
add 1 slice of onion, 1 clove of garlic and 2 sprigs of dill on the bottom, then put in the sliced cucumbers(I cut the ends off then sliced them the long way) and added another sprig of dill on top. Add 1 Tablespoon of sugar on top before pouring the hot brine over. (I used a funnel, be careful it is very hot) Put on lids and bands, let cool and then refrigerate (unless you are canning them, then they will keep longer). If you aren't canning, they can be kept in the fridge up to 3 months. Once opened use within about 7 days. I made 6 quarts but I packed my cucumbers pretty loosely in the jars and I did have some brine left over.

Enjoy!
~Simply Angie

Grandma's Bread Pudding and Caramel Sauce

I was trying to think of something for dessert last night and homemade bread pudding was my choice. Our Dad was not a dessert lover but bread pudding was one of his favorites. Our grandma made the best bread pudding, hope you like it! Ingredients : 5 cups slightly dried out bread, any kind. I used Italian bread. 1/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon Caramel Sauce Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Directions : Cut the bread in cubes. I cut some of the crust off (on about half of the bread). Place bread into a greased casserole dish or an 11x9 inch pan. Add raisins. Microwave milk and butter about 4 minutes on 60% power or heat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly add the mixture to the egg and milk and butter

Homemade Goulash

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar

Dad's Homemade Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler fresh from the oven! One of our favorite desserts is Dad's peach cobbler. This is a recipe that I use when I need a quick dessert. I always have the ingredients and it only takes a few minutes to mix it up. I modified it for gluten-free by making a change to the flour type, just in case you're looking for gluten-free. You can use fresh or frozen peaches, or even canned peaches work. I usually freeze enough Colorado peaches to take me through the seasons so I use those. This recipe makes about 6 servings. Ingredients : 1/3 c butter, melted 1-2 cups peaches, peeled and sliced 1 c sugar (white or organic cane) 1 c all-purpose flour ( or white rice flour for gluten-free ) 1 tsp cinnamon (this is optional, my family loves cinnamon!) 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 c milk (I use organic 2%) Directions : Melt butter and pour it into a baking pan, a 9x9 square glass pan works great. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and sa

Natural Homemade Living

Search This Blog