Bread & Butter Pickles

This recipe made 6 quarts for me...

Ingredients- 

• 25 cucumbers, thinly sliced

• 6 onions, thinly sliced

• 2 green bell peppers, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/2 cup salt

• 1 head cauliflower 

• 3 cups cider vinegar

• 5 cups white sugar

• 2 tablespoons mustard seed

• 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed

• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric

Directions

• In a large bowl, mix together cucumbers, onions, green bell peppers, cauliflower, garlic and salt. Allow to stand approximately 3 hours.

• In a large saucepan, mix the cider vinegar, white sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, whole cloves and turmeric. Bring to a boil.

• Drain liquid from the cucumber mixture. Stir the mixture into the boiling vinegar mixture. Remove from heat shortly before the combined mixtures return to boil.

• Transfer to sterile containers. 
• Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving.
• Eat fresh from refrigerator, or process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. 

Dill Pickles

Dill Pickles (makes 8 quarts)

•                        8 pounds of 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers

•                        4 cups white vinegar

•                        12 cups water

•                        2/3 cup pickling salt

•                        16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

•                        8 sprigs fresh dill weed

•                        8 heads fresh dill weed

Directions

•               Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink (I use a large bowl) with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required. Sterilize 8 (1 quart) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.

•               In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.

•               In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic, one head of dill, then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and 1 sprig of dill. Fill jars with hot brine. Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue.

•               Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.

Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place.

Peach Pineapple Raspberry Marmalade

 First you wash and mash your peaches then you add

5 cups of those peaches

7 cups sugar (I know it's a lot!) and

2 cups crushed pinneapple (just buy a large can of them already crushed in pinneapple juice!)

Mix that all together in a big pot and boil for 15 minutes.

 Stir often and then add 1 6 oz. package of jello to the pot. (You can pick peach, apricot, orange or raspberry... I chose raspberry!)

Stir it all together on medium heat until the jello is dissolved.

Pour into sterilized jelly jars and seal. (I did a hot water bath for 10 minutes so that I could store it on my shelves, but you can skip that step and just put it in your freezer if you want!)

THAT'S IT!!! It was so easy and so yummy!

This recipe gave me 13 jelly jars of marmalade and I don't think it will last very long! :0)

Peach Blackberry Jam

Ingredients

• 3 c. Peeled crushed fresh peaches (I blanch to slip out of skins, and you can figure about a lb. per c.)

• 1 1/2 c. Blackberries (if you cannot get fresh use 1 bag of frzn berries, uncrushed, no juice)

• 1 pkt (1.75 ounce) of fruit pectin

• 6 c. Sugar


Directions

•        In an 8 quart. saucepan mix together all but sugar. (if you make jelly or possibly jam you know the importance of "when" to add in what.) Bring to a boil over high heat and stir constantly. Quickly add in premeasured sugar and bring back up to a full rolling boil stirring constantly. Cook 1 more minute. (Or boil until 210 on a candy thermometer
, 10 degrees under jelly temp.)

•        Remove from heat and skim off foam, (adding 1 Tablespoons butter as it boils will reduce foaming)

•       Fill warm sterilized (boil 10 min) pint jars, leave 1/4" head space.

Wipe threads and place on lids and bands, (not too tightly). Process in boiling water bath for 5 min. Invert and leave for 24 hrs for a good seal.