Dill Pickles

My husband LOVES pickles. Specifically, dill pickles. This year from our garden I was able to make 15 quarts and 1 pint of dill pickles. (Okay, if you count them in the picture, you'll see we're one quart short... that one is in the fridge being eaten. ;) )

Dill Pickles

Cucumbers (sliced lengthwise for spears or across for slices for sandwiches & burgers)

Dill (1 head per jar)

Onions, quartered (1 quarter per jar)

Fresh Garlic (1 toe per jar)

Peppers (hot or sweet optional)

Pickle Crisp (1/4 teaspoon per quart or 1/8 teaspoon per pint)

For the brine (makes about 5 quarts):

1 quart water

3/4 cup sugar

3 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)

1/4 cup canning salt

Prepare the brine in a pot and bring to a simmer. Prep your jars in your water bath canner by sterilizing for 10 minutes in boiling water. Add pickle crisp to sterilized jar and layer in dill, onion, garlic, peppers, and cucumbers. Add the brine leaving 1/2 inch head space. Wipe the lip of you jar clean with a damp cloth to be sure nothing will prevent the jar from making a good seal, put on lid and ring, then return to the water bath canner. Once all jars have been returned to the canner, bring the water to a boil and process for 15 minutes, then remove to cool and seal (the *ping!* sound you hear... Love that sound!). Allow to sit for at least 2 weeks, but over a month is better, for the flavors to really be infused into the pickles.

This recipe is well suited to a refrigerator pickle as well. Just combine all your above ingredients in a large container, I used an ice cream pail, and store in your refrigerator once it has cooled down. You will still need to wait at least 2 weeks for the flavors to develop. When making multiple batches be sure to mark the date you made each batch so you know when each is ready. Refrigerator pickles are a great way to make a home 'canned' pickle without the investment in canning supplies which can lower the initial canning investment significantly. These pickles can be bottled up in recycled jars and kept in the refrigerator or given as a hostess gift during the holidays. In this batch I added lots of red ripe jalapenos and plenty of onions which are great on those burgers or sandwiches. I also added some small yellow summer squash which is a great addition to those refrigerator pickles.

This year I spent about $7.31 for 15 quarts and 1 pint of pickles. To buy that equivalent in the store would be about $40. That means I saved over $32 on pickles.

Here's the break down of approximately what I spent on each item. 

Sugar $1.49

Vinegar $1.78

Canning Salt $1.18

Garlic $1.95

Pickle Crisp $0.96

Cucumbers Free from the garden

Dill Free from mom's garden (mine didn't grow so well this year)

Onions Free from the garden

Peppers (I used banana) Free from the garden

Cucumber Chips

What do you do with garden cucumbers too large for pickles and too many to eat before they go soft? Make cucumber chips in three flavors...garlic herb, ranch and sea salt vinegar... a healthy no guilt snack that is easy to make.

Slice your cucumbers approximately 1/8 inch thick either by hand or with a mandolin into a bowl. Add just enough olive oil to just barely coat the cucumber slices and toss gently. The olive oil can be optional, it mainly aids in keeping the cucumber chips from sticking to the trays for easy removal but is best if you plan on eating the chips in a short amount of time the oil can soften the chips again over time. For longer term storage, omit the olive oil, any seasoning you add will cling to the damp slices and stay once dehydrated. ( I personally prefer them without the addition of the olive oil.) Place the sliced cucumbers on your dehydrator trays (to prevent sticking you can very lightly spray the trays wiping off any excess with a vegetable oil like Pam) and lightly sprinkle with your seasoning of choice. I made two trays each of three different flavors.

The first was ranch using Hidden Valley powdered ranch seasoning and dressing mix.

The next two trays were made using the Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning, this seasoning is great on any vegetable.

Lastly, before placing the last of the cucumbers on the dehydrator I added some balsamic vinegar and after placing them on the trays I sprinkled lightly with Morton sea salt however a kosher salt or any larger grained salt would also work well.

I have also experimented with a light basting of Frank's Hot Sauce for a buffalo version that is simply amazing with humus as a dip...or even a blue cheese dressing dip.

For a little sweeter version try brushing with a balsamic vinegar reduction and sea salt a less tangy version of the straight balsamic vinegar sea salt.

Place your trays in your dehydrator and set at 125 degrees and dry for approximately 4-6 hours or until they are crisp. Times will vary due to temperature and humidity levels in your area and the moisture content of the cucumbers being dehydrated.

If you plan on storing the chips long term, omit the olive oil as it can soften your crisp chip to a more leather like chip over time. If you have a Food Saver vacuuming system for mason jars it helps to vacuum seal the jars. Another option is to use oxygen absorbents instead or in conjunction with the Food Saver vacuum system.

These make a great, guilt free healthy snack.

Enjoy!

Actual Homemade Laundry Soap

I've seen so many recipes for homemade laundry soap where you're just taking other store bought soaps, grating or melting them, and mixing them all together. I never quite understood that. If you want to make laundry soap, then let's actually make laundry soap!

I'm not sure how long this recipe has been around, but I remember my grandpa making it when I was a kid. When he couldn't make it anymore, my dad started making it. And when a friend posted about wanting homemade laundry soap, I asked for the recipe to share with everyone.

Here goes...

First you need rendered lard. My grandpa and dad would always do this outside in the garage on a camp stove with an old pot. You'd think it's because they're guys and need to be in a "man cave" of sorts while cooking or something, but it is rather stinky, so I would suggest doing it out there. (I'm pretty sure grandma made grandpa do it out there!) Here's a crock pot tutorial I found online. You wouldn't have to do it in a crock pot though.

#3 coffee can filled about 1/2 full with rendered
1 quart of cold water
1 can of lye

Soften the lye with the cold water, then pour the lard over and stir. Stir until it begins to set, then pour it into paper milk or half and half containers to harden. When it has fulled cured and hardened, grate with an old cheese grater.

When you use it, you either have to use it in hot water wash, or fill your washer partially with hot water, let it dissolve, then put your clothes in and finish filling with cold water, since it needs the hot water to dissolve.

Next time my dad makes soap, I'll try to take pictures or have my mom take some, so you have a visual to go along with it! Good luck, and happy laundry day!

My Best Buy Buys 3/30/12

Guess how much the hubbs paid for this out of his allowance...

Go ahead, guess!
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Did you guess $1.90? (If you did, you're right!) We have a Best Buy Rewards Zone card where he had a $5 credit, then using his Shopkick app on his phone (see below for more details on Shopkick), he had earned another $15 credit to Best Buy. The game was $19.99, and to use all $20 credit, the total before tax had to be $20 or more, so he bought a Sprite to go with it.

With ShopKick, you earn points by "checking in" at various stores like Best Buy, Target, Old Navy, Macy's, American Eagle, Aeri, and others. ShopKick also offers you the chance to scan certain random items to earn more points (10 to 25, and even up to 100 points). When you get to 500 points you have earned a $2 gift card (though not all stores offer the $2 amount). You can get gift cards in various amounts ($2, $5, $10, $20, $25, $50, and even $100), and for the most part once you redeem points for a gift card, you are given a code or barcode to give to the cashier at checkout. You can get gift cards to stores like Best Buy, Target, Starbucks, iTunes, Macy's, Old Navy, Toys R Us/ Babies R Us, Lowe's, CVS, and more!

Use the link below to download the app to your smartphone 
http://get.shopkick.com/hornet9061

Make Your Own Hand Soap

Back a while ago, I found, what I thought, was a really good deal on Dial Foaming soap refills for $1.94 (with coupons, of course!). Turns out if I read the package, it wasn't foaming. So I was trying to find pump bottles laying around our house that would work when I came across a recipe to make foaming hand soap out of liquid hand soap. Well, I tried it, but wasn't too impressed. I liked the concept, but figured I could improve it. So, I did!

I didn't think it was foamy enough, so I used more soap. So, here's my improved recipe... (though I don't pull out my measuring spoons when I make it, I just eyeball it!)

Fill your foaming soap pump to about 1/4 inch below the "fill here" line with warm or hot water. Add about 1 tablespoon of liquid hand soap. (I've also heard using dish soap works, but haven't tried it.) Put the top back on and shake to get all of the soap dissolved in the water. Viola! Done!

Cheap Clothes for Ender!

Being as we don't have a ton of money to spend on little boy clothes, I'm trying to get this one dressed as cheaply as possible. Since it's summer/ fall and garage sales abound in the Midwest this time of year, I'm in luck! 

I went to one well before we knew it was a boy (though I already thought he was!), and found lots of boys' outfits. The lady doing the garage sale had them all nicely hung up, the outfits put together, and everything was organized by size. I ended up spending $10 on the clothes & several outfits below.

One weekend was our city-wide garage sale, so I bought a book to check out which ones had baby stuff and which ones didn't. (It was a whopping $1, but I think it was money well spent!) I went out two days to about 10 sales each day. I was a little disappointed that the vast majority of the clothes I could find at sales were little girls' clothes, but I did manage to find two sales that had plenty of clothes! 

The first sale I hit with boys' clothes (actually they had twins, one girl, one boy), was selling the clothes for $4 for anything you could stuff in a bag! It was a lot of onesies, sleepers, and well-worn clothes that I can use as play clothes for Ender. I even found a cute purple Reebok windbreaker jacket for my niece that I stuffed in the bag.

The next day I went out, I found, again, lots of girls' clothes, but not so many boys' clothes... until my last stop! They had a large snowmobile trailer they were using as a table with bins of boys' clothes lined up along the edges, sorted by sizes, with a sign that said 50 cents each. Jackpot! I got 66 pieces of clothing, and asked if they'd take $30 for it, and they did! Most of their clothing was nicer stuff to begin with, and was in better shape (not so many onesies & play clothes), so I didn't mind paying more for it. There were several things I can put Ender in to wear to church, and two swimsuits. I even found a pair of dress pants with a vest, sweater vest, and button up shirt (on the right side of the picture)... that alone would probably cost me $30 in the store, and it looked like it had been worn maybe once.

The other place I love to find clothes for kids is at consignment sales. I went to the Munchkin Market, and spent $41.50 on clothes for Ender (plus another $10 for a winter jacket & matching snow pants for Big Girl E). Granted it wasn't as many clothes, and I spent more, but the lowest price you see at a consignment sale is usually $1 (unless it's a discount day). Plus you're not wasting gas driving from garage sale to garage sale in hopes of finding what you need. It's all baby stuff, and there's A LOT!!!

I've also been lucky enough to get clothes from two different friends who have had boys. (With Big Girl E, the vast majority of her clothes were either hand-me-downs, or bought by grandma. So we still haven't had to spend to spend much money on her clothes.)

Now I just have to wash it all, and go through to see what sizes I'm going to need to fill in more, and which ones I should stop buying! But for $86.50 (including the cost of the garage sale listing booklet), I have a pretty good start on a wardrobe for him for the first year. Not bad, if I do say so myself! :)

How to Freeze Sweet Corn

I love sweet corn on the cob in the summer! It's hard to get year round though, but if you buy some now, and freeze it for later, it's just about as good. My mom and I did just that today. She stopped by a local farm stand, that she's been going to for years to get corn, and picked up 4 dozen ears of corn for $20 (about 42 cents an ear). So, today I helped her freeze it. Here's how we did it, so that you can enjoy sweet corn off the cob all year round too!

1. Husk the corn. This is best done outside, as it get pretty messy! We threw the husk in the garden compost to make great soil for her garden next year.

Cute helpers always help get the job done!

2. Cut the corn off the cob. I saw a pin on Pinterest about using a bunt cake pan and an electric knife. We tried it out, and it worked great! Having tried it, I have two suggestions though. If you have your choice of bunt cake pans, choose the one that all once piece (I used the one that was two pieces, and the corn juice leaked out the bottom). Also, if you have the choice, I think the one with the smaller hole in the middle would work better than the bigger hole (I had an ear of corn slip right through it at one point!). Either way the electric knife makes it go WAY faster, and the bunt pan is great for catching all the kernels.

3. Clean the cob off. Some might say this is an optional step, as you have all the kernels, but you don't always get it all when you slice it off, so my mom took the cobs and held her knife perpendicular to the cob and ran it down all the sides. I guess we like to get every little last bit of the yummy stuff!

(Want to know what to do with the empty cobs? Check out this jelly recipe!)

4. Cook the corn. You're not cooking it entirely, but kind of like blanching it before you freeze it. This is the recipe we've been using for years. For the amount that we did, we had to use my mom's stock pot. If you're doing it on a smaller scale, you can use a smaller pot. Or, if you're doing a large amount, and don't have a stock pot, you can use several pots or do it in smaller batches.

8 cups raw sweet corn 
3/4 cup water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 to 3/4 stick butter or margarine (we probably used less than this, because when we're ready to eat it, we add more butter)

Bring to a boil, cook 3 minutes. Cool.

5. Package, label, & freeze. If you follow my blog, you know I always use empty sour cream, yogurt, butter, or other containers for freezer meals. Corn is no different! If you're not going to fill it all the way full, I would suggest putting a layer of cellophane right on top of the corn so there's less air around it to cause freezer burn.

(The ones in the box mom sent home with me!)

So from our 4 dozen ears of corn, we got 17 - 16 ounce containers, 3 - 12 ounce containers, and 14 - 8 ounce containers, or about 26 - 16 ounce bags that you would buy in the store. That's about 76 cents per bag, which is more than what I typically pay for frozen veggies, but I think the taste is totally worth it!

EDIT: We did this again this year (2015), but did 6 dozen ears of corn. Here was our results this year! We had 80 cups of corn!