Clothed in Strength and Dignity

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Love is patient...

Pickles...the old-fashioned way!

Never in my life have I "pickled" anything.  I've only canned once before...9 years ago.  I am not an expert by any means.  Almost two months ago my husband and I decided to try our hands at making homemade sauerkraut.  In order to do this we needed a Harsch Crock, which is a German crock-pot.  We decided it would be best if we did some research, so we watched some videos on You Tube.  If you're familiar with You Tube (which I'm sure most of you are) you know that off to the right-hand-side of the screen are "suggested" videos for you to watch that are similar.  We found this video:

 

 Did you watch the video?  At first I was a little skeptical.  Could pickling really be this easy?  I have been toying with taking on this project ever since I first saw the video...two months ago.  I finally decided to get together everything I was going to need...today.  There was no way I could put this off any longer.  We already had the canning jars...so, why not?

I am very happy to say that I have officially canned my first pickles.  I only purchased enough pickling cukes to make 4 quart-size jars...since I am still learning (and I have no idea if these are going to turn out or not).  This way, if they don't turn out...no big deal.  I pray that these turn out as delicious and crunchy as they did in the video.

My pickles!  Don't they look delicious?

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

These are SO GOOD!  I actually found this recipe on Pinterest, which was originally posted on The Skinny Fork.  These cookies contain NO FLOUR, NO ADDED SUGAR, and NO EGGS.  I do not feel guilty about these...AT ALL!

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup nuts (I didn't use any, but the original recipe called for unsalted peanuts)
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I didn't use any...I didn't want to go to the store)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350* F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Mix together the bananas, peanut butter, applesauce, vanilla, and spices.  Add in the oats, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut; stir until well combined.

Spoon about 1 Tbsp. of the cookie mixture onto the lined baking sheet, leaving an inch or two between each cookie.  Bake for 20 - 30 minutes (it only took 18 minutes for mine to bake...my oven bakes fast) and allow to cool slightly.

For I Know The Plans I Have For You...