Pickles

Brine:

3 cups water

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup pickling salt

Bring to a boil.  Will fill 3-4 quart jars

Bottom of the Jar:

1 head of dill

1/4 tsp alum

1 clove garlic

1/8 tsp turmeric

1 tsp mustard seed.

Place the above in the bottom of the jar.  Layer pickles inside.  Add Brine- fill leaving a one inch head space.  Process according to size of jar.  Water bath is fine.

No-Bake Energy Bites

from www.gimmesomeoven.com

No-Bake Energy Bites 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like.  (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.)  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 20-25 balls.

Ali’s Tip:

Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients!  Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter.  And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed.  I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.

Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:

• chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
• dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
• chopped almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds
• other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, etc.)

Update: Many of you in the comments have asked about substitutions for other ingredients.  The joy of these bites being “no bakes” is that this recipe is super flexible.  If you end up needing to omit one of the dry ingredients (such as coconut or flax), just add in some extra of whatever other dry ingredient is remaining (for example, the oats).  If you feel like your energy bites are too dry, just add in extra honey or peanut butter.  Enjoy!!!

Source: Slightly adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots.

Homemade Caramel for Apple Dipping

Our neighbor had a bunch of apples they wanted to get rid of so we helped ourselves.  I've never made homemade caramel for dipping before- but I am glad that I have.  This was so good and really fun to make.  My favorite topping was toasted coconut.  It added a fun crunch.

Homemade Caramel for Apple Dipping

Recipe from Bon Appétit, slightly adapted by ourbestbites.com

Ingredients

1 pound dark brown sugar (about 2 cups packed brown sugar)
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt

12 medium sized apples (that’s a pretty conservative measurement, this makes a lot of caramel)
popsicle sticks or chopsticks
assorted toppings for dipping (toffee bits, chopped nuts, coconut, crushed cookies or candy bars, etc.)
Optional: melted chocolate in zip-top bags

Instructions

Wash and dry apples; place sticks in cores and place on a baking sheet in the fridge to chill. Prepare all toppings in bowls and have them ready to go.

To prepare caramel, combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart nonstick saucepan (about 3-4 inches deep, at least). Stir with wooden or silicone spatula over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush or scraping with spatula, about 15 minutes.

Attach a clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236°F, stirring constantly but slowly with clean spatula and occasionally brushing/scraping down sides of pan,  about 12 minutes. Pour caramel into a bowl.  Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel.  Cool to 200°F, about 20 minutes.  If it cools too much just heat it up a little.

While caramel cools, line 1-2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or buttered foil.  Set up decorations and melted chocolates.

Holding stick, dip 1 apple into 200°F caramel, submerging all but very top of apple. Lift apple out, allowing excess caramel to drip back into bowl. Turn apple caramel side up and hold for several seconds to help set caramel around apple.  If needed, gently scrape the bottom of the apple to remove excess caramel. Place coated apple on prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining apples and caramel, spacing apples apart (caramel will pool a bit on foil). If caramel becomes too thick to dip into, gently heat in microwave, or add 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream and briefly whisk caramel in bowl over low heat to thin.

By the time you have dipped all the apples, the first ones should be ready partially set enough to add toppings.  If not, chill in fridge for a few minutes.  Lift 1 apple from foil. Using hand, press pooled caramel around apple.  Then firmly press decorations into the caramel and return to baking sheet.

If desired dip caramel-coated apples into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, then roll in nuts or candy. Or drizzle melted chocolate over caramel-coated apples and sprinkle with decorations. Chill until decorations are set, about 1 hour. Cover; chill up to 1 week or wrap in cellophane bags for gift giving.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Hot Fudge Sauce
This makes a really yummy sauce.  It is kind of chewy when put on ice cream.  I have tried a few versions and this is my favorite so far.

*Makes about 4 cups of sauce
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon distilled white vinegar (weird- but it turned out great)
4 ounces (about 2/3 cup) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped and divided- (I just used semisweet chips)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a large, heavy saucepan. Whisk in the water until well blended. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, corn syrup, vinegar and 2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) of the chopped chocolate.
Return to medium-high heat and boil. Whisk frequently until the bubbles become small and the syrup is thick and sticky, 5-7 minutes (or 225 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from the heat and add the rest of the chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Serve at once, or let cool. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Reheat over low heat or in the microwave on 50% power.
Recipe Source: from Joy of Cooking

Dumplings for Stew- Annaliese

DUMPLINGS FOR STEW-Annaliese
*For 6 med. dumplings

• 1 c. flour
• 1 1/4 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 T. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. (or so) milk; should be sticky, but not runny
• Drop spoonfulls into simmering stew. Simmer 10 min. uncovered, then 10 min. longer, covered. Tip: don't try to add more dumplings than there is surface area on your stew. If you want more dumplings, use two pots, or have a very wide soup pot. Dumplings will be fluffy on the inside.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce- for lettuce wraps, Maryelle

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup hot water
2 Tbsp sugar
1 lime juiced
1 tsp garlic minced
1 tsp red chili paste

Blend until smooth

Strawberry Vinaigrette

Brigham and I ate dinner at this delicious gourmet restaurant in West Yellowstone. We had a salad with an amazing strawberry vinaigrette on it. I came home and searched online for a good replica. Our whole family thought this was delish. This makes quite a bit. I cut it in half, which was a good amount for our family.

Strawberry Vinaigrette
1 pkg strawberries (160z)
6 Tbl lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbl olive oil
1/8 tsp poppy seeds

Put it all in your blender and blend. :)