Sweet Mustard Pickles

                   

{SPECIAL BLEND} Mustard Pickles

I love to experiment with pickles… I thought about how chocolate and peanut butter together make an awesome candy bar, putting my two favorite pickle recipes would be the same ~  but different.  These are very sweet and very sour and very YUM!

12 cups cucumbers, sliced ¼” or so

2 cups chopped onions

5 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

1½ tsp turmeric

1½ tsp celery seed

2 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup white vinegar

¼ cup water

2 Tbsp cornstarch

½ cup Dijon mustard

Brine:  2 Quarts water and 1 cup canning salt

Brine the cucumbers overnight (cover with salt brine); drain and rinse. 

Prepare preserving jars.

In small bowl combine cornstarch, white vinegar, water, cornstarch and mustard and mix well.  Set aside.

In large preserving pot bring vinegar, sugar and spices to a boil.  Add cucumbers and cook till boiling again.  Once you have a nice rolling boil pour in cornstarch mixture and cook just until thickening.  Ladle into hot sterilized jars leaving ½ inch head space.  Wipe the rims clean; adjust two piece covers, process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Yield: 7 pints.

© Crackerberries 2011

Summer Squash Parmesan

This is the time of year to find innovative ideas to use the over abundance of summer squash.  Here’s just one of the many ways to put that summer delight to use.

2-3 lbs summer squash

1 cup flour

1 egg

½ cup beer

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

2 cups marinara sauce

¾ cup parmesan cheese

Oil for frying

Wash summer squash and cut into ¾ inch rounds. 

Combine flour, beer, egg and Italian seasoning in medium bowl and mix well.  Dip squash in batter and coat well. 

Heat oil in cast iron fry pan to 375º; cook battered squash 2-3 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels. 

Pour half of sauce in greased casserole dish.  Layer squash in dish and top with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake in 375º oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and parmesan cheese is lightly browned.  Serve with a side of pasta.

© Crackerberries 2011

Grill Fried Chicken

I had this idea in the middle of the night and when I tried it, WOW!  It was good.  Tall Cool ☺ne loves this chicken.  My friend, Jody, said the Redeye Rub was not recommended for chicken, but those are the kinds of things that I like to try…

2 TBSP Redeye Rub (from June 2011 Women’s Day magazine)

·         3 Tbsp paprika

·         2 Tbsp brown sugar

·         2 Tbsp ground coffee

·         2 tsp kosher salt

·         1 tsp black pepper

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1½ lbs chicken legs & thighs

Combine Redeye rub and flour in zip lock bag.  Shake each piece of chicken thoroughly.  Place on greased grilling pan (I used aluminum foil, but next time I am just going to use my cast iron fry pan).  Drizzle with olive oil.  Cover with aluminum foil tightly.  Place on grill on low heat, cover and cook for 1 hour.  Serve with your favorite summer time side.  Here it’s served with grill roasted veggies in basil and sage.

© Crackerberries 2011

S'More Brownies

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup buttermilk

1½ tsp vanilla

1 cup black coffee

6 whole graham crackers

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cups chocolate and peanut butter morsels

1 cup white chocolate

1 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease 13x9x2 brownie pan.  Layer graham crackers in bottom of pan, breaking one or two to fit along the sides (cracks are okay); set aside.  In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a medium sauce pan, combine Crisco, cocoa and coffee; bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add mixture to flour, slowly.  Beat with electric mixer on medium until thoroughly combined.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat on high for one minute.  Pour into prepared pan and bake 25 minutes.    Remove from oven and cover with marshmallows, chocolate/peanut butter morsels, white chocolate and peanuts.  Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until marshmallows are browned and puffy.  Let cool in pan completely before cutting into squares. 

© Crackerberries 2011

Flipside Pie

20-25 garlic herb flipside pretzel crackers, crushed to crumbs

¼ cup butter, melted

1 cup mayonnaise/salad dressing

¼ cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp horseradish

1 large tomato, sliced

½ large Vidalia onion, chopped

1 small zucchini, sliced

3 slices American cheese

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350º.

Combine the crumbs and butter together and press into the bottom of a greased pie plate.  In a small bowl blend the mayonnaise and salad dressing (you can use all of one or the other, I used equal portions of Duke’s light mayonnaise and light Miracle Whip), parmesan cheese and horse radish and mix well.  Start with a layer of chopped onions, then tomatoes, then zucchini and spoon dollops of sauce over top.  Place one slice of cheese over that and then repeat the layers ending with a little sauce and the last slice of cheese. 

Place in bottom rack of oven and bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes.  Cool slightly before serving.

© Crackerberries 2011

Big Boys Breakfast Casserole

This is also known as Moo-Chi-Pig Casserole that was posted two years ago. With the garden growing weeds faster than the veggies, my time spent in the kitchen is not as often as I would like.  I do plan to get some canning recipes on as soon as I start harvesting.  Stay tuned and enjoy this favorite recipe that hubby takes to share with his co-workers.

1 lb mild bulk pork sausage
1 16 oz pkg. cooked cubed ham
1 26 oz pkg. shredded hash browns
8 oz shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cup milk
1 tsp celery salt
1 Tbsp Texas Pete
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp bacon bits
1 dozen eggs

Cook the sausage in large skillet until no longer pink; drain grease and cool completely. Spray large baking dish or lasagna pan with cooking oil. Spread uncooked hash browns in bottom of baking dish, spreading them up the sides to create a crust if you will.

Lay cubed ham over hash brown, then top with cooled sausage. You might also add cooked onion and green pepper (optional). Top with cheeses.

In large bowl, beat eggs and add milk, parmesan cheese, celery salt and Texas Pete; mix well. Pour over casserole. Sprinkle with bacon bits.

Place in refrigerator over night. Remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to baking. Bake in 350º oven for one hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

© Crackerberries 2011

The Awesome Turkey Reuben

4 slices bread

 ¼ lb thinly sliced turkey meat (fresh or deli)

4 Tbsp sauerkraut, well drained

2 Tbsp Thousand Island dressing

1 tsp Texas Pete hot sauce

4 slices Monterey Jack cheese

1 tbsp margarine

Drain sauerkraut on paper towels; heat griddle to medium (340º).  Combine hot sauce and dressing together and mix well.  Place one slice of cheese on each of two slices of bread; divide turkey between two slices of bread, top with sauerkraut, dressing and last two slices of cheese.  Cover with remaining two slices of bread.  Spread margarine on the outside of both sides of sandwich.  Place on griddle; grill on each side until golden brown and cheese is melted.  Serve with your favorite chips, pickles or fries.

© Crackerberries 2011

Egg Rolls

1 lb ground beef, ground pork, chicken or ham

1 tsp fresh minced ginger

¼ lb fresh bean sprouts

1 package egg roll wrappers

2 cups shredded cabbage

½ cup shredded carrot

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

3 green onions

Oil for frying

Stir fry meat and ginger in large WOK over high heat, stirring constantly until browned.

Add cabbage, bean sprouts, carrot and green onions and cook 2-3 minutes stirring often.  Stir in oyster sauce and remove from heat.

Let mixture cool for about 15-20 minutes.  Spoon 2 Tbsp into each egg wrapper and roll and seal like a present.  Deep fry at 350º until golden brown, turning occasionally (about 2 minutes per side); drain on paper towels and serve with duck sauce, hot mustard or whatever your favorite sauce is.

These also freeze well so when company shows up and you need a quick snack, pop them on a cookie sheet and bake at 400º for 10-15 minutes flipping once during cook time.

© Crackerberries 2011

Pickled Cucumbers

I know… pickled cucumbers…wouldn’t that just be pickles?  No…Actually pickles take a lot longer to pickle.  This is a quick way to have a pickled cucumber without the fuss of canning and preserving.

Ingredients

6 small pickling cucumbers

5 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 cups cold water

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp sugar

10 black peppercorns

1 garlic clove

1 bunch fresh dill sprigs (optional)

Large lidded jar (mayonnaise jars work well for this)

Directions

Cut each cucumber lengthwise into 6 spears.  Mix the wine vinegar, water, salt and sugar together.  Crush a few of the peppercorns and leave the rest whole – add to the liquid.  Cut garlic clove in ½.  Arrange cuke spears in the jar.  Pour liquid over the spears and add garlic and dill sprigs.  Make sure spears are completely submerged in liquid.  Cover and store in fridge for at least two days before eating.

© Crackerberries 2011

Fig Newton Cake

Fig Newton Cake

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

1 cup brown sugar

1 extra large egg

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 cups fig Newton filling

1¾ cups all purpose flour

Cream shortening and sugar together; add egg, spices, salt, baking soda and fig filling and mix well.  Add flour, just enough to create a thick cake batter.  Spread into greased 13x9x2 baking dish.  Bake 350º 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

1 cup of raisins can be added to batter before baking to add more substance. 

Try using apple sauce, peach preserves or blueberry jam in place of the fig filling.

For an added treat, top with ice cream or vanilla sauce

Vanilla Sauce

½ cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup boiling water

2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

In saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch.  Slowly stir in water; bring to a boil over medium heat.  Boil gently for 5 minutes; remove from heat.  Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour warm sauce over cake.  Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

 Crackerberries 2011

Devilled Eggs

An appetizer that I make different every time depending on what I have for ingredients; Miracle Whip always makes them taste better, but you can use just plain old mayonnaise too. 

1 dozen eggs, hard boiled, peeled and halved length-wise

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup Miracle Whip (more or less)

1 tsp horseradish

1 Tbsp spicy relish

1 tsp dry mustard

¼ tsp celery seed

½ tsp turmeric

Fresh ground pepper

Paprika and olives for garnish

Pop the yolks out of the center and mash yolks.  Add onion, miracle whip, horseradish, relish, mustard, celery seed, turmeric and pepper to the yolks and mix well.

Spoon mixture back into eggs and sprinkle with paprika and dot with slice of olive; makes a great healthy snack.

© Crackerberries 2011

"Natural" Steak Salad

Steak Marinade

8 oz Sirloin

4 oz Natural Lite Beer

¼ cup olive oil

1 heaping tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

Salad ingredients

½ head iceberg lettuce

½ yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 red potatoes, quartered and cooked

8-9 radishes, sliced

8 romaine lettuce leaves, torn

½ pint grape tomatoes, halved

Dressing

3 Tbsp white wine vinegar

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Prepare the marinade for the steak ahead of time and let steak marinate in fridge for one hour and 15 minutes … give or take a few.  Grill to desired doneness.

Prepare the dressing and keep in fridge until ready to use.

Place the salad in a large serving bowl in order of ingredients given.  Drizzle with dressing, top with grilled steak.  Toss just before serving.

© Crackerberries 2011

Melvin's Hot Dog Pizza

Pizza crust

Pizza sauce

Hot dogs

Mozzarella cheese

Onions

Colored sweet peppers

Roll out pizza dough on pizza stone.  Spread with pizza sauce.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Top with slices of hot dogs, onions and sweet peppers.  Dust with parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.  Bake in 400º oven for 23 minutes.

© Crackerberries 2011