This post is sponsored by Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Home Canning products however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
When we moved into this house, less than 6 months ago, we had no idea that we were gaining so much more than just a roof over our heads. The home belongs to friends of our family, that we’ve known and loved for years. Just steps away, live their parents, in a home on the same property.
The day we met, they introduced themselves as “Grandma and Grandpa” and insisted that our daughters call them by those names. It didn’t take long before the girls got attached to them. I often find them helping Grandpa in the garage or sweet talking a snack out of Grandma. Watching them learn, grow and really bond with them has been such a blessing for our family. Last week, Falynn even mentioned that her favorite part of this house is that it came with a free Grandma and Grandpa.
While we have created a few family traditions already, this Summer, I wanted to make a new one, with our new family. So last weekend, Falynn and I spent the day small batch canning in Grandma’s kitchen and made spicy mixed dilly beans. I love that the recipe includes lots of dill, which was my Nana’s favorite fresh herb. It was like having a little piece of her in the kitchen with us.
Spicy Mixed Dilly Beans
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Spicy Mixed Dilly Beans
Description
A twist on classic dilly beans, this version calls for mixed string beans and spices with a strong bite. Use any variety of beans your garden or farmer’s market offers, keeping in mind that red and purple beans lose their color once cooked.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs mixed yellow wax and green beans (rinsed, stem ends trimmed, cut into 4 inch lengths)
- 2 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp Ball Salt for Pickling and Preserving
- 8 red Thai chili peppers (optional) (a small slice lengthwise down the middle, leaving pepper intact)
- 1/2 sweet onion (sliced thin lengthwise, divided into 4 portions)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp crushed black peppercorns
- 8 dill sprigs
Instructions
- Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use, do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.
- Combine vinegars, water, sugar, and salt in a 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar.
- Place 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 teaspoon each mustard seeds and black peppercorns into a hot jar. Pack beans cut side up, add onion slices, 2 Thai chilis, and 2 sprigs dill into jar.
- Ladle hot brine over beans in jar, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
- Process jars 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid, let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.
Small batch canning is a lot easier than I thought and has turned into a summer hobby for us. We made mixed berry jam and pasta sauce last year and this year, I knew I wanted to pickle something! While we had to purchase the ingredients from our local market, I’m hoping that next year, we’ll have a garden full of fresh veggies to pickle.
We use our Ball® jars for so many things.. gift giving, crafts, canning and even use them as cups! I was excited to use our new 135th celebration Ball® Aqua Vintage jars. They are so pretty and come in a variety of sizes. It’s no wonder that Ball® Home Canning remains the #1 consumer choice for mason jars in North America.
While the jars of mixed dilly beans were processing, Grandma decided to cut out pieces of fabric and Falynn picked fresh flowers from our yard, to add to the top of the jars. It’s an easy and fun way to dress them up, for gifting purposes.
While we probably should have waited a little longer, the following day we just had to open one and see how they tasted. We wound up leaving the Thai peppers out, since we aren’t huge spicy food fans. The girls said they tasted like green beans, salt and vinegar chips and pickles, all mixed together. It might be hard to imagine that flavor combination, but I can tell you that they tasted great! We gave one jar to Grandma, to thank her for helping us and we’ve been trying to save the other two jars for a few more days, to see if they taste any different. It’s taking all of our will power.
If you’ve been wanting to try pickling, preserves, or any type of small batch canning, I really encourage you to do so. Maybe you could share the experience with someone you love! You can pick up the Ball® Preserving Starter Kit and these collectible 135th celebration Ball® Aqua Vintage jars, at your local Target. There are all sorts of deals running in-store, and on Ibotta! Don’t forget to check out the Ball® Home Canning website for lots of recipe ideas!
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Valerie
July 24, 2019I’ve never made dilly beans before, I’ve only even heard of them maybe twice. They sound flavorful, I’m wondering fi they’d work in a cold salad.
★★★★★
Angelica Sereda
May 20, 2019My girls would love this. What a fun tradition.
Megha
May 15, 2019i always have pickles in my kitchen. i would love to try out your version. it looks so unique!
REESA LEWANDOWSKI
May 15, 2019We LOVE Dilly Beans!!! Never made them ourselves! I will have to add it to our canning to-do list this summer!
★★★★★
Shivranjani Rathore
May 15, 2019I love the combination of this recipe. It’s great that you are doing it with your girls.
Shannon Graham
May 15, 2019I used to can a lot when I was younger. I definitely miss this tradition from growing up.
★★★★★
Clair
May 15, 2019How much fun is this? And such a great way to engage everyone in the family, besides the fact that these would be so delicious! We need to get to canning over here 🙂
aileen adalid
May 15, 2019I’ve never tried to can before. I would love to give this a try soon.
ricci
May 15, 2019I havne’t canned anything in years but I rememebr doing it with my grandmother when I was a kid. I love that you are making these memories with your kids!
Aditi Wardhan Singh
May 15, 2019Always wonderful to start new traditions with the kids. This seems like a wonderful memory.
Maria Lyn Bernaldo
May 15, 2019I find this pretty and amazing! I am always a fan of cans and pickles. A great combination indeed!
The Globewanderin
May 15, 2019I will definitely try this out! I love to do things like that myself, it´s so fun
Lauren Ash
May 14, 2019What a great thing to do as a family! Especially with such a delicious result 🙂
Alexandra Pilo-Torrijos
May 14, 2019This is a great idea for the girls to do with you. Such a fun way to get them excited about gardening.
★★★★★
Fatima Torres
May 14, 2019I love that you’ve started this tradition with your family. Great idea for your girls.
★★★★★
Tiffany La Forge-Grau
May 14, 2019I absolutely love creating new traditions like this. I don’t have kids yet but, I can’t wait to build traditions with them.
★★★★★
Joanna Clute
May 14, 2019I love canning but haven’t done it in so long. What a fun new tradition to start with your family.
★★★★★
Beth
May 14, 2019How lucky you are to have found a house with a Grandma and Grandpa! I always wished that I had grandparents (or stand-ins) nearby when I was a kid. My mother-in-law used to can a lot of food from their giant vegetable garden. Perhaps one day I’ll give it a try.
Bethel C Esmillarin
May 14, 2019Traditions like this creates a special bond among the family. Liike when children grow up they would remember how their mum taught them how to hold a knife to make that dilly beans jar. They would recall that they had the best childhood ever! 🙂
Aria | Blogs by Aria
May 14, 2019I like that this is something you can do with kids, it seems easy enough for me 🙂
Nichole Arnold
May 14, 2019I have never heard of this before. I would definitely give it a whirl though!
Rachel
May 14, 2019I have hoping to move so next summer we can have a big garden and be able to start canning.
Krystel | Planning The Magic
May 14, 2019I’ve never tried this but I am a pickle fan! Need to try this
Lavern Moore
May 14, 2019I’ve had green beans pickled in Mason jar’s before. But I’ve never had pickled chili beans. Is that just the addition of dill?
Heather
May 14, 2019Check out the recipe! There is dill but you can also add thai peppers if you like spice!
Sheereen | Cups of Coco
May 14, 2019Wow, I love spicy. This would be a perfect thing to do as a family. Thanks!
sara lafountain
May 14, 2019What a beautiful story. The fact that you got a free grandma and grandpa is amazing. We can only hope we move to a neighborhood as lovely as yours.
Ruth I
May 14, 2019This is interesting! I’ve never tried something like this before but I’m pretty sure my niece would love to help me when I try it.
★★★★★
Claudia Krusch
May 14, 2019These would be amazing cold at a summer night, on our deck! So many great memories canning! You’ve reminded to try to do it again!
★★★★★
Lynndee
May 14, 2019As per my husband, my late MIL was into canning for many years. I haven’t tried canning before, but I’d like to give it a try.
Anne
May 14, 2019I bet these would be great cold at a summer picnic. So many great memories canning with my own mother!
Keikilani
May 14, 2019There is something so magical & special about cooking with family. I love this small batch canning recipe. Looking forward to making it this summer with my girls.
★★★★★
Lisa Favre
May 14, 2019So funny! I just bought mason jars this week just because! Seriously. Your dilly beans look so good and something so fun to do for the summer.
★★★★★
artchee
May 14, 2019This is a great idea. Actually, my late grandmother and my mother do these stuff once in a while.
Catalina
May 14, 2019Oh my goodness! How good this looks! I am so curious to make it!
★★★★★
Toni | Boulder Locavore
May 14, 2019That looks really easy to make! Can’t wait to give it a try!
★★★★★
Kristine Nicole Alessandra
May 14, 2019This is a great way to preserve food and enjoy it some other day. I love the recipe and I will try making some for me. It would be a nice gift to give my sisters too!
★★★★★
Berrak
May 14, 2019Traditions are so important! I’m not a huge fan of dill but I’ll definitely be passing on this recipe to friends.
★★★★
Subhashish Roy
May 14, 2019We have never tried dilly beans in this manner. Truly grandmom’s recipe. Looks inviting. Must ask my mom to try making it.
Kathy
May 13, 2019I just started practicing with some canning last year. I’m excited to start up again this year and do some more stuff. These look amazing! I may have to give them a try too.
Rhey
May 13, 2019I am not a big fan of dilly beans but my mom sure is. This will probably get her geeking for a few days.
Amy
May 13, 2019I love to make dilly beans! We made them a few years ago and they were amazing!!!
Pam Wattenbarger
May 13, 2019We have green beans growing in our garden right now and I was looking for new recipes for them. I’ve always canned them, but this is a new twist. I can’t wait to try it.
Terri Steffes
May 13, 2019I love dilly beans. They are a reminder of my grandmother who used to can everything. Thanks for the reminder of good times!
★★★★★
Bill Sweeney
May 13, 2019I love dilly beans! From my grandma is where I first had them, and I’ve loved them ever since! I think it’s a wonderful thing you’re doing by starting this tradition!
★★★★★
Kerrie Mendoza
May 13, 2019What a fun tradition to start with an extra grandma? Dilly beans are perfect to start a tradition like this!
★★★★★
Tasheena
May 13, 2019I can’t wait to make these with my veggies this summer. It looks like it’s super easy to do.
★★★★★
Vicky
May 13, 2019I have always wanted to try canning, but have been a little intimidated by it. This makes the process look very easy. What a blessing to have found a home next to such wonderful neighbors!
★★★★★
Stephanie
May 13, 2019Oh how sweet to have such wonderful people near. This recipe sounds lovely, I’ve never canned myself, but grew up watching my mom!
Tara Pittman
May 13, 2019What a great way to save all those green beans from a garden. I remember my mom growing green beans.
Jeanette
May 13, 2019This looks delicious. I have never thought about making something like this. I never knew even how to make this. I am definitely going to try it it looks good to me.
Colleen
May 13, 2019I am SO making these! I love beans. I love dill. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Yay!
★★★★★
Amber Myers
May 13, 2019I’ve never tried to can before. I might have to try this out with my daughter. She always likes to try new things and we do like beans!
★★★★★
Alli Smith
May 13, 2019I remember helping my mom can green beans when I was growing up. Looking at your photos reminds me of all the good times we had. I need to can some beans and use your recipe for dilly beans. They look amazing.
Karen
May 13, 2019Traditions are important to the family unit. And who doesn’t love dilly beans? I love that you and your daughter set out to start a new tradition with your “free grandma”.
★★★★★
Sarah Bailey
May 13, 2019What a fun idea of something to make together as a family this summer. I bet they taste delicious as well, love the fact they are just a little bit spicy as well.