Pickles

My kids LOVE pickles.

And a big jar of fresh pickles is such a great thing to have in the fridge.  

Pickles are SO easy to make and so rewarding.

The board of ingredients is pretty simple.  

An empty jar of any kind will work.

• Sliced Onions
• Fresh Dill
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Pickling Spices...More About That Below

I forgot these are pretty important ingredients that you should also see.

• White Vinegar
• Pickling Salt

I cut up a pile of pickle sized cucumbers into 8 wedges per cucumber.

Here is my pickling spice.

I started with a basic recipe from Happier Than a Pig in Mud.
I skipped the cinnamon and cloves.

Then I substituted some fresh ginger for ground ginger to bump up the flavor profile a bit.

Fresh ginger really adds a kick to your pickles.

I really recommend it, but do not over do it because the ginger also adds a bit of heat to the pickles. 

One thin slice for this gallon sized jar made a BIG difference.
I have a little over a cup of pickling spice for the container I am using.

Lots of fresh dill and garlic is also a must for these pickles. 

I am using a one gallon glass container to make my pickles in.

It will be prefect to go from the fridge to the table on the patio.  

This is the ultimate make ahead dish.  

Anyway, start with a layer of onions and a few garlic cloves. 

Add about one third of the cucumbers to the pickle pot and sprinkle with the pickling salt.  

I went very light on the salt.

Add about a third of the pickling spices.

Add another layer of onions, half of the dill and a few more garlic cloves.  

Just keep layering until your pot is full.

When your pickle pot is full, fill it up three quarters of the way with white distilled vinegar.  

Fill the last quarter of the jar with cool water. 

Let the pickle marinate in the fridge for three to five days and then enjoy.  

:-)

They go perfectly with a messy, saucy plate of BBQ anything. 

They go perfectly with a sandwich and some chips.

They go perfectly with a burger and baked beans.

They go perfectly with any wrap you could imagine.
The pickled onions are really terrific on a hot dog.
They make a great cold snack.

The whole jar goes perfectly with summer. 

Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients:

Pickling Spices
Pickling Salt
Fresh Dill
Sliced Onions
Garlic
Cucumbers Cut into Wedges
White Vinegar

Instructions:

1. Into a clean glass vessel, layer your ingredients in any order.
2. Fill vessel three quarters of the way with white vinegar.
3. Fill rest of the vessel with cool water.
4. Cover and let the pickles marinate in the fridge for three to five days.
5. Enjoy

I am linking to Foody Friday at Rattlebridge Farms.

I was browsing this morning and came across this organizer.

It holds wax paper, aluminum foil and paper towel.
Do you know how much space this would save in my drawers???

Challenge:
Anyone have any ideas on how I could make this?

Homemade Pop Tarts

Nickolas - This one is for you!

A few weekends ago, we had a work weekend here at Willow Cottage.

Everyone had a job to do.

Kids put the dock into the water.

I planted the garden.

Hubby was trimming, weeding and putting mulch down.

 I was so excited that the kids are old enough to do the dock on their own this year.

I was also so excited about getting all this work done.

I always say that I feed my workers.

So before I went to put the garden in, I thought it would be good to whip up a little treat.

I made homemade pop tarts.
I hate pop tarts with a passion.
But homemade ones are really good eats.
Of course you can use store bought pie crust, but I made my own.

The board of ingredients:

• Extra flour for rolling out the pie dough
• Jelly 
• Powdered Sugar Glaze
• Pie Crust

- I am using the pie crust recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

The trick to a successful pie crust experience is using plenty of flour.

Once you get the crust rolled out, cut the dough.
You could certainly use a pizza cutter and make square or rectangular tarts.
I thought I would go really fancy and make round tarts.

Lay out the bottom layer of dough on the cookie sheets.
Don't over crowd the cookie sheet.

Spread a dollop of jelly around the middle of the tart.
I used a heaping teaspoon for a four inch circle.
If you add too much jelly it will just run out of the tart and onto the cookie sheet during baking.

This is how I added the top layer.

I know you can't see this, but I dipped my finger in water and rubbed the outer edge of pie dough.

Add another layer of dough.
Try not to capture a bunch of air in between the two layers.

Press the edges down with a fork.

Add a little slit to the top with a sharp knife.

Bake the pop tarts for roughly twenty minutes or until they begin to get golden brown around the edges.

Now it's time to spread a nice thick glaze over the top of the hot tarts.

I just added a little dab of glaze to the top and let it melt down the edges.
You could get fancier if you wanted to with a piping bag.
Some colored sugar would also add a bit of fun color.

Start piling them up because I promise everyone will love these guys.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Ingredients:

Jelly of choice
Pie Crust
Flour
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
Super Tiny Pinch of Salt
Drizzle of Milk

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Dust cutting board or counter with flour.  Roll out the pie crust until very thin.  Cut dough into uniform shapes of your choice and lay on cookie sheet.
3.  Add one teaspoon jelly to center of crust.
4.  Run a wet finger around the outer edge of the dough.
5.  Lay the second shape over the bottom crust with jelly.
6.  Crimp edges together with a fork.
7.  Cut a tiny slit in the center of the top crust.
8.  Bake for fifteen to twenty minutes or until golden brown.
9. Meanwhile, add powdered sugar, salt and vanilla to a small bowl.  Add a few drops of milk and stir.  Keep adding a couple drops of milk until you get a very stiff glaze.  The glaze should be so stiff you can barely stir it.
10.  When the tarts come out of the oven, spread glaze on the top and let the glaze melt onto the tart.
11.  Enjoy!  Serving sizes vary according to size of the tarts you make.

I am linking to Foody Friday at Rattlebridge Farm and On The Menu Monday at Stone Gable.