ranch pickles

 A food trend from Tick Tok - Ranch flavored pickles.

This one didn't seem to have the staying power of the tomato and feta pasta recipe, but this one was easier and therefore more interesting to me.

See if you can keep up.  

Get a jar of dill pickles.  Get a package of ranch dressing.

Mix them together.

Let it sit in the fridge for a day, them eat them.

One thing I did was to cut the whole pickles into spears before I added the dressing mix.  I thought it might help the flavor soak in a bit more.

Verdict - they tasted like....pickles.  So, not a bad thing.  But I personally didn't think it added a lot of flavor.  The Mister however, really liked them, so maybe it's just me.

If you like pickles, this could be a fun snack to try this summer.

Pickled Beets

I have a love/hate relationship with beets.  

For a long time there was only hate.  My mom would make borscht every fall.  Pots and pots of it.

Not my favorite.

I like them better now, although I mostly like them grated into veggie pancakes or diced in salads.

What I don't like is the mess.  The mess!  The red fingers.  The stained cloths and towels.  Grabbing my white cutting board instead of the black one.  The juice splattered everywhere from little dye bombs masquerading as vegetables.  

I am horribly messy in the kitchen without the added fun bonus of beet juice.

I'd bought a bunch of beets recently to use in a pork recipe, and the rest sat in the fridge ignored.  I didn't want to put off using them too long, but nothing was inspiring me to use them.  And then I thought - pickles!  Easy and guaranteed to be eaten by my husband, who has never met a pickled vegetable he didn't immediately devour.

I used this recipe at My Recipes.  With 6 ingredients and less than an hour we had a jar of pickled beets in the fridge, a happy husband, neon pink fingers, and another stained shirt.

Recipe: Easy Pickled Beets

Bread and Butter Pickles

I have written about these pickles before, but they deserve to be mentioned more than once. These are Alton Brown's Bread and Butter Pickles, I think, the most wonderful B&B recipe I've tried.

Why is this photo 2 toned?

I also made a jar of no-can dill pickles, and 3 jars of pickle relish.  I'll let you know how they turn out. 

Ab's B and B's

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon pickling spice

Combine onion and cucumber slices in a clean spring-top jar.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 4 full minutes to wake up the flavors of the spices.
Slowly pour the hot pickling liquid over the onion and cucumber slice, completely filling the jar. Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature before topping off with any remaining pickling liquid. Refrigerate.
Refrigerate the pickles for a week to ripen. They will keep for about 2 months in the refrigerator.

Freezer Pickles Part Two

Back a few posts I shared with you that we'd made some freezer pickles that would be ready after chilling out for 3 weeks.

Time's up and I've pulled a bag out of the freezer.


These are really nice, turned out better than I expected. The texture is good, and the taste is a combo of sweet and salty. Interesting and delicious. This recipe is a keeper!

Freezer Pickles

8 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tb salt
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar

Toss the cucumbers onions and salt together in a large bowl. Cover and let sit for 2 to 3 hours.
Rinse the cucumbers very well. Squeeze handfuls of cucumber to remove excess water.
Put the cucumber/onions into freezer bags or freezer containers. Stir the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved, and pour over the cucumber/onions.
Freeze at least 3 weeks before eating. The longer the pickles sit, the sweeter they will be. Thaw in the refrigerator before eating.

Freezer Pickles

It's been a few years since we canned anything. We have a ceramic stove in our house here, and I've heard both that you shouldn't can on a ceramic stove, and also that it's safe. I don't know what to believe, but I don't want to risk the well-being and intactness of our stove to find out for myself. I don't miss canning, all that time and heat, especially this summer....blah. No way. But we bought some really nice little cucumbers at the market on Saturday because who can resist those puppy dog eyes of Scotts. I haven't yet found a recipe for freezer cucumber relish, but I did find in one of my notebooks a recipe for freezer pickles.

I don't know where this recipe came from, and I can't tell you if it's any good, because they have to freeze for at least 3 weeks before you try them.

So stay tuned!

Freezer Pickles

8 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tb salt
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar

Toss the cucumbers onions and salt together in a large bowl. Cover and let sit for 2 to 3 hours.

Rinse the cucumbers very well. Squeeze handfuls of cucumber to remove excess water.

Put the cucumber/onions into freezer bags or freezer containers. Stir the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved, and pour over the cucumber/onions.

Freeze at least 3 weeks before eating. The longer the pickles sit, the sweeter they will be. Thaw in the refrigerator before eating.

Bread and Butter pickles

This recipe makes the absolute best Bread and Butter pickles I have ever had. This takes you to the recipe on the Food Network site.

The recipe is from Alton Brown who I like very much.

Although points must be taken away for his stint on Iron Chef America.