A Summer Staple- Homemade Pickles

A few years ago my grandma gave me a crap ton of baby cucumbers- her garden was over run and she was giving them away like parting gifts. Not knowing what to do, I did a quick google and got the idea that I was going to make pickles. 

Now, let me preface this by saying I do not like pickles, at all. I don't eat them, and I think they smell weird. The hubs (who at the time was just the boyfriend) liked them and ate them with almost everything, so I figured I would do something nice.  I ended up making 6 jars of pickles, and gave two jars to my stepdad- who ate them in one week. Ever since then Ive been making pickles all summer long.  They're insanely easy, and from what I hear, delish, so enjoy!

1. Slice up a pound of pickling cucumbers and place them into a large bowl. If you have a mandolin this goes a lot quicker and you get the same size chips. As you fill up the bowl, place a few sprigs of fresh dill in between the layers. You can also chop the dill if you prefer, but I just toss it in whole.

2. Into a saucepan on the stove pour about 3 cups of white vinegar into the pan and turn it onto medium heat. Add in 1 1/2 cups of sugar and stir. Crack open 6-8 garlic cloves and add to the pan. Also add a pinch of red pepper flakes, a teaspoon of salt, and 5-6 bay leaves. Continue to stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.

3. While still warm, pour into the bowl of pickle chips and dill leaves.

4. Cover tightly with tin foil and place in fridge, stirring every 1-2 days.

The pickles usually take anywhere from 3-4 weeks to go from tasting like vinegar to actual pickles, but they can be eaten after a few hours.

You can also place the chips and dill into mason jars and fill with the vinegar mix, just make sure the liquid is above the level of the chips and shake every few days to mix up.

Enjoy!