Minestrone Soup for Crock Pot

2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups chicken broth or beef broth
28 ounces diced tomatoes
2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 large celery ribs, sliced
1 large chopped onion
3/4 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
grate parmesan cheese

*  In a 6 quart slow cooker, mix together the chicken or beef broth, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, celery, onion, potatoes, dried basil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper

*  Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the poatoes are tender

*  Stir in fresh basil and olive oil

Makes 4 pint size freezer containers & 1 medium container for the fridge
15.5 ounce servings

Favorite cucumber recipes

Refrigerator Pickles (Unique Cafe, Boscobel) These pickles are more sweet - I was getting to the end of the gardening season and didn't want to make a trip to the store to try the dill pickle recipes.  Maybe next year :)

When the Unique's regulars bring in mounds of surplus cucumbers to share, these sweet refrigerator pickles are the result.  "These go on the salad bar," says cook Annette Wagner.  "We use both the small pickling cucumbers and the regular ones.  The store-bought ones don't keep too well."

Although these could hardly be easier to make, Annette does specify that canning salt should be used.  Regular table salt typically has anticaking additives that don't dissolve as easily as canning salt and can cloud the brine.  If you like your pickles tangy, use less sugar.  Keep cold, the pickles will keep up to a year.  "But of course they don't last that long!"

7 cups sliced,  unpeeled cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced onion rings
2 tablespoons canning salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspon celery seed

Mix cucumbers, onion rings, and canning salt well.  Let stand two hours.  Drain well (don't rinse, just drain).  Divide into 2 or 3 pint glass jars, if desired (avoid containers that are metal, as they can react with vinegar - - I actually used plastic containers)  Meanwhile combine sugar, white vinegar, and celery seed in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Pour this over the pickles.  Refrigerate the pickles.  Makes 2-3 pints.

Cucumber Mix

1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery seed

Cucumber & Tomato Salad
One of my favorites of the summer - and honestly I really don't even love cucumbers

Peeled and cut cucumbers into smaller pieces
Grape tomatoes - cut into half
Italian dressing - I used fat free
Feta cheese - I used tomato and basil flavor
Green olives cut into pieces

Garden Pics

Before

After - as everything was growing like crazy

We might have went a little overboard for our first garden - but most everything grew awesome!

This year we had:

potatoes (red and brown), two different kinds of onions, red & green lettuce, romaine lettuce, green beans!!, carrots, cucumbers, snap peas - we planted too late though, soybeans (edaname - NUM!), celery, broccoli, acorn squash, tomatoes (cherry, grape & early girl)

We didn't do any canning this year, but I got some canning jars and lids at a garage sale.  Next year we will also do some canning and not everything in the freezer.