Easy Dill Pickles

In our house we go through insane amounts of pickles. Pickles on sandwiches, chopped pickles in salads, pickles eaten while they drip on my kitchen floor (ahem).

Despite the nearly rain-free summer we've had here in Indiana, our local farmer's market still has cucumbers, which means I can have homemade pickles. In the past I've made the kind that mirrors bread starter where you have to feed it floue every day or it dies (you know, the Ziploc baggie full of sludge your 'friends' give you to show how much their friendship means... but DOES produce dang good cake-like bread in the end.)

Anyway, this year I wanted simple. Not only has Indiana been rain-free here, it has been HOT. So the less I have to stand over the stove, the better.


Easy Dill Pickles

Prepare jars for pickles (which means make 'em clean with hot, soapy water). You decide how many jars you're making based on how thin you cut your cukes. The liquid is enough for 2-3 pint jars.

4-6 medium cucumbers    (I judge by how big around I want my pickles)
1 cup white-wine vinegar 
1/4 cup sugar
3 TBS salt
2 cups water
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 

          (smashing tip: place clove on cutting board after peeled; take a wide butcher knife and lay it flat on the clove; pound down with your fist and voila! smashed garlic)

2 sprigs fresh dill per jar

Place dill springs in jars. Set aside.

In medium saucepan combine vinegar, sugar, salt, water and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Cut pickles into desired thickness....we like ours a bit thick. Place inside, leaving 1" head space. Pour liquid over pickles in jars, screw on seals/lids tightly. Let jars stand at room temperature to cool 1 hour. Store in fridge up to 2 weeks.

Red Onion Jam

My new favorite topping for chicken or fish? Red onion jam.

Red Onion Jam

2 Tbs olive oil

3 medium red onions, peeled and thinly sliced

salt and pepper

1/2 c red wine vinegar

1/4 c sugar

Heat oil in saucepan with lid. Add onions, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft - about 20 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar; simmer over medium-low heat, uncovered,until thick and jam-like, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to one week.

Slow-Cooked Sausage Ragout

12-oz ground pork sausage

3 medium carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-oz cans diced tomatoes with their juice

1 medium onion, diced

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook sausage until well browned. Place sausage in slow-cooker along with remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

* I served the ragout over pan-fried polenta with Parmesan cheese, as in the picture. I froze the leftovers and reheated later to serve with pasta.

12 servings of ragout

134 calories

8.2g carbs

8.4g fat

7g protein

Use-Up-What-Ya-Got Bars

Every several months I tend to have random baking ingredients in only small amounts taking up space in my pantry. This is when I make a layered bar cookie! The beauty of these is you can mix up all kinds of ingredients and there are endless possibilities. Here's what I made this time. I'll call them:

Almond Chocolate Cherry Bars

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 c. sliced almonds

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. dried cherries

1 c. rolled oats

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Mix together melted butter and graham crumbs; press onto the bottom of a 9x9-inch cake pan. Mix together almonds, chocolate, cherries & oats; spread evenly over graham crust. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars. 

*Any 3-4 cup combination of nuts, dried fruit, baking chips, coconut - really any cookie addition you can think of, can be used in the "filling".  Just always use at least 1 cup of desired chocolate or baking chips. 

* Easily doubled in a 9x13-inch pan!  

Buffalo-Style Spaghetti

Several weeks ago I made an amazing wing sauce that I used as the base of this recipe, but any good hot sauce could be substituted. Just make sure it's a thicker one. This spaghetti definitely has some heat,but it's a sweet and spicy mix that just...works. If you have a wing lover in your life - this pasta will satisfy.

2 T. light olive oil

1 large sweet Vidalia onion, small diced

2 carrots, small diced

3 cloves garlic

2 c. freshly diced tomatoes, mostly seeded

1 roasted red pepper, small diced (I used jarred)

1/2 c. mild to spicy wing sauce - use your favorite

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

13.25 oz. whole grain spaghetti (I used Dreamfields), cooked according to package

In a large, high-sided skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions and carrots to the pan and gently saute until onions become translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes and peppers to the pan then cook, covered, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce. Stir in tihe wing sauce and let simmer uncovered for another 10-15 minutes until vegetables are very tender and sauce is desired thickness. Add parsley and pasta to the pan and toss over low heat then serve. 

* This pasta reheats wonderfully! My husband gladly polished off the leftovers for lunch 2 days in a row! 

8 servings

218 calories

5.1g fat

39.2g carbs 5.3g fiber

6.5 g protein

Cheddar-Ranch Baking Powder Biscuits

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
2 T. butter
1/2 c. light ranch dressing
1/2 c. skim milk
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt & parsley in a large bowl. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. Add ranch, milk & cheese and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until dough is smooth. Pat or roll dough out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet and chill in fridge for 15 minutes. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until golden and wonderfully puffed. Makes about 10 delicious biscuits!

* I made these to go with my Buffalo-Style Spaghetti!

Cookie Crumb Truffles

Cookie Crumb Truffles. 

Doesn't that sound better than Cake Balls? (hint: the right answer is 'yes')

We tend  to have extra cookies and my M.O. is to throw extra chocolate chip or sugar cookies in the freezer and use them as bases for ice cream cakes or in marshmallow treats (yes, that can be your top for the day - add crumbled cookies into your rice krispie treats and you'll never make them any other way).

I digress....

The girl made sprinkle sugar cookies the other week and we had TOO many left over so into the freezer they went. yesterday I had the idea to crumble them up, mix them with homemade icing, ball them, dip them, drizzle them and serve.





Pretty, eh?


So here's the thing (always a thing with inventive cooks). There's no official recipe to follow. This is a gut thing. Here's what I did.

Crumble up cookies into a bowl. 

Make favorite buttercream (or use store-bought). Add to the crumbs a couple scoops at a time, mixing with your hands until it's sticky enough to hold together but not nasty. Make into balls.

Melt white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli white chips) with a little shortening to extend it. Dip balls until covered.  Place on wax paper-lined trays.

I then used a little food coloring int he remaining chocolate to drizzle over the tops.  I let them firm up in the fridge before transferring to serving tray.

(At this point small fingers liked peeling and eating the hardened chocolate drips off the wax paper)