Dill pickles

As promised, here's my fave pickle recipe.  It's based on a mix of a few pickle recipes I've tried and liked before.  I think this one's awesome because it has just enough spice to it and the pickles stay pretty crisp.  They're not very spicy to me, but feel free to omit the red pepper.

Do you love pickles like I do?  I love pickles.  I mean I really love pickles. 

When I was pregnant with my 3 year old, my co-workers nicknamed him Pickle because I ordered one from Jimmy every day.

I really love pickles. 

This recipe makes 4-5 quart jars or 8-9 pint jars, give or take. 

You'll need:

5 large cucumbers (I just use my regular cukes from my garden)

4 cups water

3 cups distilled vinegar

12-15 dill sprigs

1 tablespoon whole peppercorns

3 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons pickling spices

Slice your cukes as thick (or thin) as you'd like your pickles to be.

Mix all of the ingredients, minus the dill sprigs, in a large bowl.  Add the cucumbers to it and let it sit for a few hours.

Add a few dill sprigs to each jar.

Tightly pack the cucumbers into the jars with the dill sprigs.

Pour the liquid into each jar and spoon in the spices.

Screw the lids on and refrigerate for 2 weeks. 

Good luck with that.  I usually last about 2 days before I start eating them.  I could wait 9 months to find out the sex of my babies, but not 2 weeks for pickles.  Go figure.

They'll keep in the fridge for a month.  Enjoy!