#3867 - Pickled Green Beans

(by Shirley McNevich)

3lbs. fresh green beans
3/4 cup white sugar
3 garlic cloves (halved)
2 tsp. dill seeds
2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup fresh dill (chopped)
3 tsp. salt
water (see directions)

Snip off the ends of the green beans. Cut the green beans into 2" pieces. Fill a large pot with 5 quarts of water and 1 tsp. salt--bring to a boil. Add the cut green beans--cook/stir about 7 minutes or until green beans are tender but still crisp. Drain the green beans and rinse them with cold water and drain again--set aside. In a saucepan add the white sugar, garlic cloves, dill seeds, mustard seeds, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 2 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup water--stir to mix. Turn heat to medium--cook/stir until boiling. Once boiling, cook/stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat--add 1 1/2 cups cold water and 1 cup cider vinegar--stir well. Place drained green beans into a large Ziploc bag. Carefully pour the vinegar mixture into the bag over the beans. Press the bag closed while carefully pressing out as much air as you can. Place the bag in a bowl and refrigerate at least 1 day. When ready to serve, drain/discard the liquid, place the beans in a serving dish and add the chopped dill--toss to coat.

#3416 - Microwave Pickles and Onions

(by Shirley McNevich)

1 cucumber
1 large onion
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. mustard seed

Wash the cucumber and cut it into thin slices. Wash and peel the onion, then slice thinly and separate into rings. In a bowl add white sugar, white vinegar, salt, celery seed and mustard seed--stir to mix. In a microwave safe bowl add the cucumber slices and onions--pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumber mixture and stir to coat. Place the bowl in the microwave--microwave on high for 3 minutes, then stir the mixture. Microwave on high for 3 more minutes or until cucumber slices are tender but still crisp. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.

#3073 - Green Pepper Cabbage Slaw

(by Becky Lynn Mohr)

1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 head of cabbage (shredded)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed

In a bowl add shredded cabbage--sprinkle the salt over the top. Let it stand for one hour, then drain off any liquid. Add the chopped green bell peppers and chopped carrots. In a saucepan add the white sugar, water and cider vinegar--bring to a boil and stir. Remove from heat and cool it to room temperature. Sprinkle the mustard seed and celery seed over the cabbage mixture. Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the cabbage mixture--stir well. Divide the cabbage mixture into plastic containers and place them in the freezer. When you're ready to eat it, remove one container at a time and bring it to room temperature.

#1086 - Microwave Pickles

(by Aunt Janie [McNevich] Baronowski)

2 cucumbers (washed and sliced into coin shaped pieces)
1 onion (sliced crossways--separate into rings, and slice rings in half)
1 TBSP salt
1/2 TBSP mustard seed
1/2 TBSP celery seed
1/2 TBSP turmeric
1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup white sugar

In a microwave safe bowl add salt, mustard seed, celery seed, turmeric, white vinegar and white sugar--stir until mixed. Add cucumber slices and sliced onions--stir. Cover with a piece of Saran Wrap--microwave on high for 8 minutes (stopping every 2 minutes to stir them). Pour the whole mixture into a large glass jar--put the lid on and let it sit on the counter until room temperature, then refrigerate until cold. You can eat them the next day. You MUST use a glass jar--any other container will get stains.

#771 - Stuffed Ham (Oven Cooked)

(by Joyce Ann Schirmacher - friend)

1 - 10lb. or 12 lb. CORNED ham
3lb. kale, chopped finely
3 heads of cabbage (chopped finely)
6 to 8 large onions (chopped finely)
1 stalk celery (chopped finely)
1oz. ready mixed mustard
3 TBSP salt
2 TBSP red pepper
2 TBSP black pepper
2 oz. celery seed
3 oz. mustard seed

In a large container, add all ingredients except the ham--mix thoroughly. With a sharp knife, cut vertically through the top of the ham to make between 6 and 8 "pockets". Fill each of the pockets with the kale mixture--pack in as much as you possibly can. Put any remaining kale mixture on the top of the ham. Use enough extra heavy duty aluminum foil to wrap the ham TWICE. Pour 1 cup of water into the foil. Place the ham in a large pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours for every 5 pounds of ham. Cool the ham, then slice thinly. Serve cold.

#632 - Chow Chow

(by Shirley McNevich)

(besides the vegetables listed, you can add any other vegetables EXCEPT corn--corn will make it spoil)
2 medium chopped onions
3 green tomatoes (cut into bite sized pieces)
3 tomatoes that are just starting to ripen (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 chopped green peppers
1 chopped red pepper
1 head of cauliflower (OR 1 - 16oz. bag frozen cauliflower)
1 small head of cabbage (cut into bite sized pieces)
3 large cucumbers cut into bite sized pieces (DO NOT peel them)
4 chopped ribs of celery
1 - 9oz. package frozen lima beans
1 - 16oz. package fresh or frozen baby carrots
1 - 40oz. can kidney beans (drained)
1 - 40oz. can great northern beans
1 pint cider vinegar
5 cups white sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. mustard seed
5 cups water
salt

Get a 12 quart pot or canner--sit it on the counter for use later.

Bowl 1 - add chopped onions with 1/2 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 2 - add chopped green tomatoes and chopped tomatoes starting to ripen with 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 3 - add chopped green and red peppers with 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 4 - add chopped cabbage and 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

Bowl 5 - add cucumbers with 1 tsp. salt, stir and set aside.

In a saucepan, cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces--cover with water and add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil--boil for 3 minutes, then drain water off and dump cauliflower into the large pot/canner.

In the saucepan add the baby carrots--cover with water and add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil--boil for 7 minutes, then drain water off and dump baby carrots in the canner with the cauliflower.

In the saucepan add the lima beans--cover with water and add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil--boil for 10 minutes, then drain water off and dump lima beans in the canner with the cauliflower/carrots.

Chop the 4 ribs of celery and add to the cauliflower/carrots/lima beans.

Dump the drained kidney beans and drained great northern beans in with the cauliflower/carrots/lima beans/celery.

In the 5 bowls that you prepared and set aside, hold each over the sink, use your hand to catch the contents, and drain the saltwater off. Once you've done this to each of the 5 bowls, dump the contents of each of the 5 bowls into the large pot/canner. Pour the cider vinegar, white sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed in the pot on top of the other ingredients. Finally, pour 5 cups of water into the large pot/canner. Use your hand to stir up everything until mixed--do NOT use a spoon or it will pull the beans apart.

Place large pot/canner on the stove over medium heat--cook and stir until hot but not boiling. Once hot, taste the juice--if too sour add more sugar, if too sweet add more vinegar. Wash your canning jars, place them right side up on the bottom rack of your oven, set oven to 200 degrees. Place the center part of your canning lids (not the rings) in a saucepan on the stove with water--heat until boiling, then turn heat back to low. Take 1 jar out as a time and pack it with chow chow and fill within 1/4" of the top of the jar. Use a soup ladle and cover the the top of the chow chow with chow chow juice. Use a tableknife and shove it down the sides of the jar 4 times around to get the bubbles out. Use a dishrag to wipe any juice off of the top of the jar. Use a fork to get a canning lid from the boiling water--place it on top of the chow chow jar. Place the canning ring on top--tighten lid as tight as you can. Repeat until all chow chow is gone. Set finished jars on a heat proof surface. The lids will pop after a few hours. If there are any jars that have lids that have centers that didn't go down (and are still raised), use them first. Chow chow will keep for about 2 years. Makes about 16 pints.

#617 - 24 Hour Bread and Butter Pickles

(by Kenneth Miller - friend)

9 cups thickly sliced cucumbers (washed but not peeled)
2 cups thickly sliced onions
2 cups white sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed

Place sliced cucumbers and sliced onions in a 1 gallon glass jar OR a stainless steel pot OR a granite pot--set aside. In a saucepan add white sugar, cider vinegar, salt, celery seed and mustard seed. Turn heat on high--stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, pour this juice over the cucumbers. Place Saran Wrap over the jar/pot--let stand for 24 hours. The next day using a large pot, empty the cucumbers and juice into the pot. Heat just until very hot (not boiling). Put pint jars in the oven on the racks and set temp. to 200 degrees. Take the jar lids and rings and cover them with water in a saucepan--bring them to a boil. Put cucumbers/onion/juice in each jar until you run out of the mixture. Take a tableknife and insert it all around the sides and middle of the jars to get the air bubbles out. Put the ring and center piece on each jar and turn tightly. Put the jars on a surface that can safely stand heat. Let them cool and as they cool they will seal themselves. If the jars seal properly, they will last about 2 years. Once you open a jar, refrigerate it. If any jars have buttons that don't go down, use those jars first because they didn't seal.

#157 - Frozen Cabbage Slaw

(by Harriet Weaver - friend)

1 head of cabbage (medium sized)
1 heaping tsp. salt
2 cups white sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
celery
carrots

Shred cabbage on shredder into a bowl. Add a heaping tsp. of salt. Let is sit for 1 hour. Drain off the juice that has accumulated. In a 2 qt. saucepan, combine white sugar, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil, then let it boil for 1 minute. Let it cool. Pour the juice mixture onto the cabbage. Add celery seed and mustard seed. You can also add chopped celery and chopped carrots, as many as you wish. Stir with a spoon completely. Scoop into containers with lids and freeze it. When you want to eat it, take out a container and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.