Using cucumbers, money & time saving tips

Garden Fresh Veggies

Because of tough economic times, more people are planting gardens today then just a few years ago. There are many advantages to doing so. It is fun and enjoyable providing good exercise and the pleasure of watching the seeds planted produce a crop of full grown fruit or vegetables.

You know the quality of the food you are consuming such as if it’s pesticide free, or organic, and it’s available to you at it’s freshest possible time. The money saved from gardening can be substantial when compared to purchasing it from the market. The major drawback of growing and preserving your own food is the time involved with today’s schedules.

With so much rain this year, I have had an amble supply of cucumbers this year, far more than I could use or knew what to do with. I found some quick and easy recipes to use some of them up.

Marinated Cucumber Salad

Slice how many cucumbers you desire into a bowl. Cut tomatoes according to your taste into wedges and add to cucumbers. Chop or slice onions to taste and mix together. Add Italian salad dressing to desired taste and or texture. Marinate at least a few hours, preferably over night in the fridge and enjoy!

Freezer Pickles

2 qt. pickles (sliced)
2 T. salt
1 lrge. onion (sliced)
1 3/4 C. sugar
1/2 C. vinegar

Put ingredients into a large bowl and chill 24 hours. Drain. Mix sugar and 1/2 C. Vinegar and pour over pickles. Cover and refrigerate an additional 24 hours. When you take them out of the refrigerator, pack them into freezer boxes, pouring the syrup over the pickles and place into the freezer. These are some wonderful pickles and really good and crisp.

Recipes like this one and other fun news stories photo’s, join the Amish Cook on Facebook.