Candied Dill Pickles

1 quart dill pickles (hamburger sliced, or you-slice whole)
1 tbl pickling spice
2 cups sugar
¼ cup vinegar

Drain pickles (slice, if you're using whole), then cover with cold water and soak for 10 minutes; drain again.

Put pickling spice in a triple layer of cheesecloth or a square of sturdy paper towel and bind with kitchen twine or a new rubber band.

Place pickles in a jar with a tight fitting lid, nestling the spice parcel in amongst them.  If you remove a few pickle slices (store separately for burgers), you can re-use the original jar.  You want enough space within the jar to allow for movement of the contents.

Pour sugar into the jar.  Pour vinegar over all.

Cap the jar and gently shake and roll to distribute the sugar and vinegar.

The sugar won't dissolve at this point, and there will be crystals stuck to the sides of the jar.  This is fine for now. 

Refrigerate.

At least once-a-day, gently shake and roll the jar to redistribute the undissolved sugar.  I recommend the shake-and-roll be done at least 3 times per day until all of the sugar is dissolved.  The original recipe for these candied dills suggests they are ready to eat on the 11th day, but we've eaten them on the 5th with no discernible difference.

Notes:  I usually make a double batch, because we're pickle pigs.  These photos result from using ¾ of a gallon of pickles, packed into two 2-quart pickle jars.  The original recipe called for 3 cups of sugar per batch, but I make it with 2 cups, and the only difference is in the amount of juice the pickles produce.  This requires that I do the shake-and-roll more than once daily, for a few pickle chips are above the liquid line, but saving a cup of sugar is, to me, worth the extra tending.  I use apple cider vinegar, because it's more healthful than white — not so much as to offset that dump truck full of sugar, but there you have it. Ü  These are no-fail pickles.

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Springerles

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps anise extract

In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy-light and thick, about 5 minutes.

Stir in flour, soda, and anise extract, blending well to form a stiff dough.

Roll out, a half at a time, to about 1/4" (or less) thick. Cut with cookie cutter.

Bake on greased cookie sheet, 15 minutes in 300º oven. Immediately and carefully remove to racks to cool.

Notes: This is Grandma Boo's recipe, slightly amended. Hers were white, wonderful, and authentic, as she had a springerle rolling pin. Just as tasty, though, with dough colored according to one's whim and cut with cookie cutters of choice. These don't spread much on the sheet, tending to rise more than spreading. The thicker you roll your dough, the softer will be the cookies at the end of the baking time. A toothpick or blade can be used to mark unbaked cookies (veins on leaves, faces on people-shapes, feathers on turkeys), and markings will remain during baking.
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Oatmeal Cake

1½ cups water
1 cup quick oats
½ cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

In large saucepan, bring water to boil. Remove from heat. Add oats and butter. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour thin batter into greased and floured 9-cup bundt pan or 9" tube pan. Bake at 350º for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out on serving plate.

Prick hot cake with fork and pour hot topping (recipe follows) over cake. Serve hot or cold.

Topping: ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup butter, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Combine all ingredients in small saucepan; heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Pour over hot cake.
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Cabbage Salad

1 bag shredded cabbage and carrots (cole slaw mix)
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced (opt)
1 tomato, diced (opt)
1 can corn, drained (opt)
3/4 cup (approx) bottled Italian salad dressing
1/3 cup (approx) granulated sugar

Mix and refrigerate; stir well and serve. The sugar will pull moisture, so the measure of "dressing" will increase. [We serve this salad in ramikens, so the dressing won't run all over our plates. ºÜº]

Since this came out of my head and into a bowl one day, I've never measured ingredients, and it should lend itself well to whatever additions, deletions, or adjustments may sound good to you and yours.
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Rat on a Stick

Marinate in teriyaki sauce for a few hours boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Thread each thigh lengthwise onto a water-soaked (so they won't catch fire), wooden skewer. Cook on the barbecue grill. Moist, tasty, tender and can be served and eaten on the skewer.

You can eliminate the skewers, in which case I guess they're just grilled rats.
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Taco Trick

If you'd like your taco meat to be like that of a Mexican fast food restaurant chain, after your meat is cooked and seasoned, run it through the food processor. Pulse until you get the consistency you want.

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Mother's Walnut Fudge Brownies

½ cup butter (1 stick)
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp vanilla
¾ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
½ cup broken walnuts
Fudge Frosting

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat; cool slightly. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake in 8" x 8" greased pan at 375º, 25-30 minutes. Cool and frost.

Fudge Frosting: 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, 4½ tbls each of cocoa, very soft butter, and warm, strong coffee. Mix well. Spread over brownies and top with ¼ cup chopped walnuts.

Note: I double the brownie recipe and use one batch of frosting to frost both pans of brownies. There's plenty 'nough, and the brownies then aren't quite so gucky.

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