dill pickles!

this is the cheater's way of making pickles. there is no processing involved. we all think they taste MUCH better than pickles that were processed in the canner.

also, there is NO special equipment! :)

this is the book i got the recipe from. there are a bunch of good ones in here. also, for every recipe it has 4 copies of it to tear out and give to your friends.

page 16
ingredients:
3lbs - 4" cucumbers (i'm using regular ones from the grocery store, slices up)
1/2 cup - salt (as per my note to myself, i'm using less salt)
4 1/2 cups - water
1 1/2 cups - white vingegar
1/2 tsp - mustard seeds
4 heads - fresh dill (i'm using 1/2 tsp dried for each jar)
4 cloves garlic (i'm using 2 cloves of canned garlic per jar)

it says that it makes 4 pints. this recipe made 5 for me and there was enough brine left for a 6th.

get your ingredients and assistants together.

prep your jars. put them in water until it starts to simmer, then turn the stove off until you need the jars.

do the same with the lids. don't forget to put them in the pan up, down, up, down, so they don't stick together.

wash and slice your cucumbers. i washed them with soapy water to get as much of the waxy gunk off as i could. then slice off the ends. i cut them between 1/4 and 3/8 of an inch thick. we like thick pickles though. you can cut them how ever you want. i ended up cutting some in spears too.

i started by only cutting half because i didn't want to waste any cucumber that i didn't need. i cut them as i needed them to pack later.

you can use your food processor with the slicing plate for this too. they turn out way too thin for us though.

a mandolin would be good for this also because you can adjust widths. but the knife worked just find for me.

make the brine:
bring the water, vinegar, salt and mustard seeds to a boil until the salt dissolves.

take the jars out of the hot water and put the dill and garlic in each jar.

pack the jars with cucumber. now, when i say pack, i mean PACK. get as many in there as you can. just make sure you leave 1/2" to the top of the jar. try not to touch the rim of the jar.

wipe off the rim. center the hot lids on top. screw bands down to finger tip tight. turn upside down until cool.

i don't know why they tell you to turn them upside down. but i do know that i forgot to this time and only 2 of the jars sealed.

any of your jars that don't seal should be kept in the fridge.

they should be ready in a few days. ours will probably be all eaten before then. :P

brocolli and cheddar soup for colleen!

i don't have any pics yet but i will update with some next time i make it.

ingredients:
1 stick butter
2/3 c flour
1 onion
1qt 1/2&1/2
1 qt stock (i use chicken, but use what you like)
3 lg carrots
2 heads of broccoli
16 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese block (pre-shredded doesn't melt the same and is yucky)
1/2 tsp nutmeg


4 basic steps:
1.) make a roux
2.) mix the stock and 1/2&1/2
3.) cook the veggies
4.) blend


- chop the onion, in a small pan sweat the onion with about a 1tbsp of butter
- while the onion is cooking, make the roux (turn the stove on LOW and leave it there until the soup is ready.)
- melt the rest of the butter in a big soup pot. when the butter is melted, stir in the flour.
- pour in the stock and 1/2&1/2. stir
- set your timer for 20 minutes, stir once in a while
- while you are waiting, peel and shred the carrots and chop the broccoli
- when the timer goes off, dump in the cooked onion, shredded carrots and chopped broccoli, stir
- set your timer for another 20 minutes
- while you are waiting this time, shred the cheese.
- when the timer goes off, use your immersion blender and chop up the veggies.
- then mix in the cheese slowly so it has time to melt. (if you blend after you put the cheese in, your blender could get gunky.)
- stir in the nutmeg (ew. nutmeg? yes. trust me.)

this recipe makes enough for about 10 servings. we eat half and freeze half. the frozen half is poured into a 12 cup and a 6 cup muffin tin. i put the muffin tins in the freezer over night and in the morning i pop them out and put them in a ziplock.

churning butter

ok, making homemade butter is the easiest project i've posted about yet. really. easiest project.

3 steps:
1.) churn
2.) strain
3.) wash

ok, step 1:

you need heavy whipping cream and a mixer. some people will tell you to leave the cream out over night. but, eh, i don't bother.

pour the cream in the mixer.

turn it on. start slowly and gradually turn it up as high as it will go with out splashing all over.

it will be a little frothy to start.

see?

then it gets thicker...

and thicker.

then it starts getting a little chunky looking.

then a lot chunky looking.

then it starts to separate. you can see a little milk in the bottom of the bowl.

then you have butter! (and buttermilk.)

exciting!

step 2: straining

fish out the big chunks of butter.

and put them in a strainer.

pour the rest through the strainer into a bowl.

straining...

now the messy part. squeeeeeeze the butter. more milk will come out. pour the milk into the milk bowl. then squeeze more out. there is a lot in there.



step 3: washing

put the butter into a bowl of ice water (or really cold water) and squish it around. this gets even more milk out.

there you have it. butter and butter milk. easy, right?

1qt of heavy cream will make 2 c. butter and 2 c. buttermilk.

quarter your butter and wrap it in wax paper. i froze 3 and put 1 in the fridge.

you can use the buttermilk to make pancakes. the recipe i use is:

2c. buttermilk
2c. whole milk
2tbsp baking soda
3 c flour
3tbsp melted butter

mix the milks together. whisk in the baking soda. stir in the flour. stir in the melted butter.

2 file folder games

upper and lower case letter matching

i used: a file folder, printer paper, crayons, a sharpie, packing tape.



i realized after i taped it down that i should have laid the letters straight across instead of like pages. oh well. you can learn from my mistake.

Italian Wrap Diaper

I think they are called Italian wrap diapers. Maybe Italian tie diapers. They are Italian and diapers. *shrug*

At any rate, this is how you make one from flannel.


This is what a real one looks like.

and what it looks like on a super cute baby.


2/3 yard of flannel. open it all the way up. fold it width-wise. then fold it length-wise. cut off 1 1/2 for the tie.

sew both side of the tie

turn it.

top stitch and set aside to sew on later.

now, take the rest and sew it in half length-wise.

then turn it inside out and top stitch.

turn it outside in and center up the seam. fold it almost in half. leave about 3 or 4 inches sticking out the top.

Cut out some leg holes. it doesn't have to be perfect. just cut, kind of, approximately, somewhat where i did.

unfold it and sew the holes closed.

Turn it inside out and top stitch around the whole thing. (the top and bottom ends still have their salvages so i didn't bother turning them in.)

now take the pieces that you cut out from the leg holes to make the wings.



pin the top and bottom, then pin the middle. it will make things go a little easier because of the curve.

sew it down and topstitch around the wings.

** I forgot to take a pic but now you sew the tie on. sew it across the middle on the inside (the side with the seam).

to put it on, roll the back down as far as you need it. (if you want to stuff it with a microfiber towel for more absorbency, put it between the layers before you roll the back.)

lay your babe inside. bring the wings up around his hips. fold the center up (the front might need to be rolled in too) and wrap the ties around back and tie in the front.


He loves it!! <3

pickled garlic and bbq sauce

We've been on a hunt for good hfcs free bbq sauce for a long time so I just made some. I got the recipe from allrecipes and modified it a little. It called for melted butter and since that is a big canning no-no, I left it out. It's just as good though. It also called for way more worcestershire and liquid smoke than I used.

We love to use garlic but it always seems to go bad sitting on the counter. So when I came across a recipe for pickled garlic in the ball home preserving book, I figured I'd give it a shot.

the recipes are:

pickled garlic (makes 5 8 oz jars.)
2 1/2 c white vinegar
1 c dry white wine (I don't know anything about wine so I just used what we had.)
1 T pickling salt (I used sea salt.)
1 T sugar
1 T dried oregano
12 large heads garlic, separated and peeled
5 whole hot peppers

BBQ sauce (I made 4 recipes and it made 3 16oz jars worth.)
1 c ketchup (I used organic. Not only is it hfcs-free, it tastes SO much better.)
1/4 water
1 1/2 T brown sugar
1/2 t celery salt (I used celery seed instead.)
1 1/2 t mustard powder (I used mustard seed.)
1 T liquid smoke (I used 2 1/2 T total.)
2 T worcestershire (I used about 3 T total because it was all I had.)
3 T melted butter (I left this out entirely.)
salt and pepper to taste


ok! Let's start!

First, peel the garlic. You will probably want to employ some help. This part takes for-ev-er.

We peel garlic one day and did the rest the next morning. I like canning in the morning anyway because it's not so hot.

ok, so first thing, get out everything you need so you know you have it and you don't have to go searching later.

Yes, that is a gallon jug of wine. Yes, it's fancy.

Now, prepare your jars and lids. Fill the pot with tap water until it's full to 1 inch above the jars. Turn on high. Just before the water starts to boil, turn it off. This will take a while because the pot is so huge. *See note about pots at the bottom.


A purple ring is what happens when your husband uses your canning pot as a tie dye bucket...

Put the lids in a small pot. Alternate the lids right side up and upside down so they don't stick together. You don't have to prep the rings but I like to.

Turn the stove on high. Just before the water starts to boil, turn it off.


Dump all the BBQ sauce stuff in a pot and stir it up. Set the stove to medium and forget about it for a while (except for the occasional stir).


Get the pickle brine ready. Put vinegar, wine, salt, sugar and oregano in a pot. (everything except garlic and hot peppers) Turn the burner to medium high.

Get your tongs, funnels, rings, etc. ready. I lost my jar grabber in the move. So far, it's the only thing I can't find, so it's ok. :P


Let the brine boil for 1 minute. Then dump in the garlic.

Take the jars out of the pot.

Using a funnel, pour the BBQ sauce in the jars with out getting any anywhere but inside the jars. This is difficult. :P Drop the lids on and screw on the bands. Put the jars back in the big pot.

Put 1 dried pepper in jar.

The using tongs (and a wide mouth funnel if you have one, I don't) pack ONLY the garlic cloves in the jars. THEN add the brine. Drop on the lids and screw on rings.


Put the jars back in the pot.

Put the lid on the pot and turn the stove on high. When the water starts to boil, turn the timer on for 10 minutes.

When the 10 minutes is up, turn the stove off and wait 5-10 minutes.

Some notes on the pot:
I have a pressure canner. You DO NOT need one for this project. You can use a water bath canner. They are significantly cheaper and you can can a lot of things with them. It is basically a huge pot with a lid and a rack inside for the jars to sit on. You do not want the jars to sit on the bottom of the pot.



Take the jars out carefully. The liquid inside might still be boiling. Set them on the counter and wait for the lids to pop. If one doesn't pop, use it first.

After they cool, take the rings off. They can be really really hard to take off later if you leave them on now.


Enjoy!!

denim basket

OK, I'm going to start by saying that this is definitely not a project for a perfectionist. There is a lot of fudging to make things fit, but it's worth it. Once you make the first one, you will want to make more. They are super handy.

First, get an old pair of jeans.






















Fold the jeans in half and cut around the knee-ish area. No need to measure. Jeans that have a more narrow leg I usually make a little shorter.

Cut off the bottom hem too.























Lay the 2 leg pieces end to end and sew together with a zig zag. Lay one side about an inch over and sew down. Flip it over and sew down the little flap that you made.

Make sure you sew short end to short end.



















Then sew the other side so you have a tube.

















When you have your tube, you are going to zig zag lines through the whole thing. This is for 2 reasons 1.) it holds the 2 sides together and 2.) all the extra thread makes the fabric really stiff.

Sew in a continuous line so there isn't any starting and stopping. It will go a lot quicker this way.



















When you start to get to the outside it might get a little tough to maneuver so just fold the inside to make it a little easier.


















This is what it should look like when it's done.



















Now take your tube and lay it on some of the left over jean.



















Cut it out through both sides. It doesn't have to be perfect. You could trace and cut it out but I don't. Make it a little bigger than you need. You are going to trim off the extra later.


















Zig zag in a circle starting in the center and working your way out.


















Sew the bottom to the tube. Only sew half of it though.

Now turn it right side up and trim off what you don't need. leave about a half inch around the bottom.
















Here's what it should look like.

















Zig zag around the bottom one more time so the seam is extra strong.


















Turn it inside out. You will probably need to get your finger in the seam and press it out pretty hard. Once it's turned though, it will stay.

















Cut off the back of the waist band and cut it in half. There are the handles. You don't have to sew these at all, just cut them off.

















Sew the handles on either side. Go back and for 5 or 6 times to make sure they are really secure.





















Fill your basket with things like little children. :P