I’ll admit, I only understand that reference because of my 17 year old cousin. Maybe that reflects more poorly on my aunt and uncle than myself... 

In any case, I have no plans to watch the super bowl. BUT I finally had a free morning for the first time in 2 months! I of course took the opportunity to make some yummy canned green beans - my canning bible calls them dilly beans. 

They are super easy to make; the hardest part is waiting 2 weeks to eat them! Contrary to popular views of canning, it isn’t an arduous process and I quite enjoy the satisfaction of stocking my shelves with snacks for future busy me. 

Here’s my recipe modified from Food in Jars (pictured above):

Ingredients:

4 pint jars or 1 quart jar + 1 half-pint jar (I use whatever is clean and fits the beans)

~2 lbs green beans 

2.5 c water

2.5 c white vinegar - I like to buy the big industrial jugs, it’s so cheap!

~50 g pickling salt

1 tsp red pepper flakes 

4 tsp dill seed

5 garlic cloves, peeled

Here’s the process:

Trim the ends of your beans and wash them. Make sure they are the right size to fit in your jars, while being able to leave ~0.5 inch of head space between the beans and the lid. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil with your jars and lids in it. Boil for 5 mins to sterilize and set aside on a clean towel. 

Side note: you can use silicone lined tongs to handle this hot glass and metal, but learn from my mistakes and just get the Ball jar kit for canning. It was less than $4 and includes those tongs for cans, a magnetic stick to retrieve lids, and a handy funnel for wide mouth jars. 

In the meantime, bring the water, vinegar, and salt to a boil. 

Pack the beans, garlic, and spices into the jars. 

Pour the vinegar mixture over the beans and spices, making sure you leave a 0.5 inch headspace. Tap the jars against the table dislodge bubbles.

Put the lids and rings on. Place the filled jars back into the hot water and boil for 5 mins. Remove and let cool on the counter until the lids pop. If they don’t pop, you can still eat the beans but just keep it in the fridge. 

Hardest part: wait 2 weeks before enjoying.