We are so sick of green beans. I am picking two pounds every two days. My kids are tired of steamed green beans with butter. It's simple, but we've eaten it too many times for any of us to care anymore. I decided to look around for something new - and I found it, but it's not new, it's sort of a combination of two different vegetable cooking methods I use.
Green Beans with Crouton Crunch
1-2 cups of croutons (depends on how much crunch you want!)
Onion, chopped
Beans (about a pound, ends snapped off, or cut into pieces - your call)
Butter
Chicken stock or water (about a cup - maybe more)
Crunch up the croutons in a big zip-top bag until they're bread crumb size. You could use bread crumbs, but they're not as crunchy. Melt a tablespoon or two of butter in a big skillet. When it's melted, add the crunched-up croutons and stir constantly until the butter is soaked in and the crumbs are slightly browned. Put the crumbs in a bowl and wipe out the skillet. Melt another tablespoon or two of butter in the pan over medium heat, and when it's melted, add the onion and sweat the onion until it starts to turn a little brown. Add the beans, saute a little bit, until they start to brown. Add a cup of stock or water, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook until the beans are just about done. Took me about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, and let the liquid cook off. When the pan is just about dry, sprinkle the buttery crumbs over the top and serve.
Simple and yummy! Although, I think I'll still have to can some beans to keep up with the overflow!!
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Friday, August 14, 2015
Pickles
Yowza, I haven't blogged in a while. So very sorry about that. Not like I haven't been cooking or anything. My family would have a fit if I wasn't!
This summer, my garden overfloweth with cucumbers. Of course, I now am having a cucumber beetle infestation, but that's okay. We have been picking 10-15 cukes a DAY. What do I do with them? Glad you asked!!
I found a "Claussen Kosher Pickle" copycat recipe online and tweaked it just a bit. These are very garlicky and pretty salty, but we love them. If you're more a Vlasic fan, you probably won't like these as much.
Cucumbers (of course!)
Sliced onions (1/2 an onion or so??)
One head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
1 Tbsp mustard seeds (not powdered mustard or mustard you find in the condiment aisle!)
1 bunch of fresh dill (very flexible - just split what you have between your jars)
1 1/2 quarts ice water (that's six cups)
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup salt (I usually use kosher, but this year I used canning salt and used a little more than 1/3 cup)
jars (I like wide-mouth quart size, but you can use whatever you want)
Bring cider vinegar and salt to a boil. This stinks. Put on a fan and do not put your nose over it. Whew!! While it's coming to a boil, clean your jars (I just wash them) and prepare your cucumbers. I clean them, slice off the ends, then cut them in half length-wise, then in half again, then half again (so...eighths, right?? I hate public math!).
Stuff the jars very tightly with cucumbers, a few slices onions, and a handful of dill, up to the top, leaving some room for the brine to flow around the cukes.
When the vinegar boils and the salt has dissolved, remove from heat, add the garlic and mustard seeds, stir, then add the ice water. The original recipe had you boil the water with the vinegar, and pour the resulting brine over the cucumbers, but I found that made the pickles soft. I like crispy pickles, so I changed it up.
Pour the brine into the jars over the cukes. Make sure you get a few cloves of garlic and some mustard seeds (usually around a teaspoon) in each jar. Fill right up to the top, put a lid on it and let it sit on the counter for three days. Label the top with a permanent marker so you don't forget! THEN REFRIGERATE!! They are still edible if you happen to forget, but I think they're much better after only three days.
Enjoy - and we eat the onions and garlic when we finish a jar. They've become so deliciously pickle-y, even the kids eat 'em!
This summer, my garden overfloweth with cucumbers. Of course, I now am having a cucumber beetle infestation, but that's okay. We have been picking 10-15 cukes a DAY. What do I do with them? Glad you asked!!
I found a "Claussen Kosher Pickle" copycat recipe online and tweaked it just a bit. These are very garlicky and pretty salty, but we love them. If you're more a Vlasic fan, you probably won't like these as much.
 |
| These are the seven jars I made a few days ago...and a couple jars of leftover brine ready to go! |
Sliced onions (1/2 an onion or so??)
One head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
1 Tbsp mustard seeds (not powdered mustard or mustard you find in the condiment aisle!)
1 bunch of fresh dill (very flexible - just split what you have between your jars)
1 1/2 quarts ice water (that's six cups)
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup salt (I usually use kosher, but this year I used canning salt and used a little more than 1/3 cup)
jars (I like wide-mouth quart size, but you can use whatever you want)
Bring cider vinegar and salt to a boil. This stinks. Put on a fan and do not put your nose over it. Whew!! While it's coming to a boil, clean your jars (I just wash them) and prepare your cucumbers. I clean them, slice off the ends, then cut them in half length-wise, then in half again, then half again (so...eighths, right?? I hate public math!).
Stuff the jars very tightly with cucumbers, a few slices onions, and a handful of dill, up to the top, leaving some room for the brine to flow around the cukes.
When the vinegar boils and the salt has dissolved, remove from heat, add the garlic and mustard seeds, stir, then add the ice water. The original recipe had you boil the water with the vinegar, and pour the resulting brine over the cucumbers, but I found that made the pickles soft. I like crispy pickles, so I changed it up.
Pour the brine into the jars over the cukes. Make sure you get a few cloves of garlic and some mustard seeds (usually around a teaspoon) in each jar. Fill right up to the top, put a lid on it and let it sit on the counter for three days. Label the top with a permanent marker so you don't forget! THEN REFRIGERATE!! They are still edible if you happen to forget, but I think they're much better after only three days.
Enjoy - and we eat the onions and garlic when we finish a jar. They've become so deliciously pickle-y, even the kids eat 'em!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)