Pickles 'n Vinegar

I grew up eating pickles 'n vinegar. My mom made it, as well as my aunts and my grandmas. For me every bite is one of those go-back-in-time memories. I figured with the growing season happening all around us, I would share this homemade goodness with you all seeings how all those fresh cucumbers are becoming available in our gardens and at local farmer's markets.

So, so easy!

As always the printable recipe will be at the end of this post.

Mix 1/2 cup brown vinegar...

...with 1/2 cup of water.

Allow to dissolve with one cup of sugar.

Set aside.

I used a 1.75 quart bowl and filled it with peeled sliced cucumbers - I used about 7 medium sized cucumbers, not the pickling size. Then I sprinkled on 1 teaspoon of dill. 

Cover with the dissolved vinegar mixture.

Stir it up and place it into the refrigerator for several hours or overnight allowing it to chill before serving.

Enjoy on your hamburgers, as a side dish or all alone (like I do).

Here's the printable recipe. Enjoy! Happy Summer!

Pickles 'n Vinegar

So easy as a side dish or salad!  Every bite says summer I love you! PRINT RECIPE Prep: 10 minutes                                  Level: Super Easy Chill: several hours                              Serves: 10 Ingredients: 7 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon dill Directions:         Mix 1/2 cup brown vinegar with 1/2 cup water. Add sugar and mix allowing it to dissolve. Set aside.         Slice and peel enough cucumbers to fill a glass bowl.  I used 7 cucumbers to fill a 1.75 quart glass bowl which held 7 cups of sliced cucumbers. One medium cuke makes about 1 cup sliced. Cover the cucumbers with vinegar mixture and mix in the dill. Allow to chill several hours or overnight. The cucumber slices will get soft and shrink somewhat.

Black Bean Corn Salsa with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I love, love this versatile black bean and corn salsa. I use it as an appetizer, side salad with chicken, and I even used it to make stuffed peppers. (Stuffed Peppers recipe to come next!)

But there is a link to print this salsa recipe HERE or below.

My cherry tomatoes were abundant and beautiful this year and oh-so-sweet eaten raw and even sweeter when I roasted them.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

There is more here in the picture than needed but I roasted extra for another dish. All you need is about a dozen. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over them.

Place them in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

After 30 minutes, turn them over with a spatula and let them bake another 25-30 minutes.

Yum! You want them a little bit charred.

Drain and rinse the black beans.

Add a can of drained whole corn.

Squeeze juice from a lime.

Add a can of Rotel tomatoes.

Add cilantro, pepper, parsley, chives, garlic, salt, and red wine vinegar.

Once the cherry tomatoes are cooled, add them to the mixture.

Cover and place the salsa in the refrigerator to let them flavors mix. Mmm mmm...

Serve with tortilla chips!

Link to Print Recipe

Description

A versatile salsa that can be used alone as an appetizer with chips or as a side salad.

Ingredients

• 12  Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 15 ounces, weight Low Sodium Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 15-¼ ounces, weight Whole Kernel Corn, Drained
• 10 ounces, weight Rotel Chopped Tomatoes
• 1  Juice Of One Whole Lime
• ⅓ cups Fresh Cilantro, Chopped Fine
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley Chopped Fine
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chives, Finely Chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian Or Jalapeno Pepper, Chopped Fine
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Preparation

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Wash and dry cherry tomatoes. Prepare a baking pan with foil. Spray with non-stick spray. In a medium size bowl, toss the cherry tomatoes with one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Spread the tomatoes in an even layer on prepared foil. Place in oven. After 30 minutes flip tomatoes over with a spatula. Bake another 25-30 minutes until cherry tomatoes are slightly charred.
While tomatoes are roasting, place drained and rinsed black beans in a medium sized bowl. Add drained corn. Add Rotel tomatoes. Mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
When tomatoes are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool. Mix them with the salsa mixture and refrigerate. Serve with tortilla chips.

Homemade Cole Slaw

Now that the Fourth of July holiday is over (sniff), maybe you indulged in wonderful flavorful salads during you're cookouts with family and friends, but now you are ready to try something new. Homemade Cole Slaw is quick, easy, and oh, so versatile! Use it as a side dish to fish or pork, in your turkey reuben sandwiches, or as a hamburger topping.

And all credit to this recipe (except the orange Bell pepper) goes to my mother-in-law. She introduced me to her cole slaw (the cabbage came out of my father-in-laws awesome garden) when I was sixteen years old and I've loved it (and her son) ever since!

As always, the printable recipe will be at the bottom of this post.

Start with a medium size head of green cabbage. Shred it to make (give or take) around 8 cups. I like to mince mine. I'm not fond of big pieces of shredded cabbage.

So after I cut it all up, I use this handy tool to mince it into smaller pieces.

Perfect!

I then mince the onion and orange Bell pepper and toss them into the cabbage.

You can use any color Bell pepper you wish. I use the orange for color. Or instead of pepper, you could throw in a couple of minced or shredded carrots. I think the cabbage and the sauce are the main characters.

Mix it all up.

Now for the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing,

sugar,

vinegar,

celery seed,

mustard, (I used dry but you can use soft if you want),

salt and pepper to taste, then mix it all up.

Ohhhh, so creamy.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture, and stir or toss to coat. Whatever tickles your fancy.

Yum!

Grab a spoon and dig in!

Happy summer salad!

Homemade Cole Slaw

Print Recipe or Print Recipe from Tasty Kitchen By Debi | Cabin Cleaver in Sandwich Toppings, Salads, Side Dish Prep: 20 minutes + Refrigeration       Level: Easy Cook: 0                                                    Serves: 10 Ingredients: 8 cups  shredded green cabbage 1 onion, minced 1/2 orange Bell pepper, minced Dressing: 1 cup salad dressing 2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar 1 tsp. Celery seed 1/2 tsp. mustard (I use dry) salt & pepper to taste In a large bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, minced onions, and minced orange Bell peppers. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Mix well. Pour over the cabbage mixture, toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. ********************************************************************************