I LOVED this mix and it was so much less intimidating for me than a recipe calling for all the spices(and of course going and buying the stuff.) I get intimidated by long lists of ingredients (it doesnt matter that I KNOW i can do it either, it the list is long I tend to shy away from it completely.... ) like the pickle spices so this worked great. It said let sit for 6 weeks for best flavor. I cracked one at 2 weeks and have been eating those darn pickles like candy. I remember eating pickled carrot sticks as a kid and want to make some, I plan to pick up more mix and carrots this weekend if life stays calm. I like the Splenda idea soo much, sucks that I cant eat that stuff.. It makes me oh so sick. The 6 ish cups of Sugar was a LOT for me... But yum yum. I cant wait for the green beans to produce so I can try those too! I have a couple pretty red cayenne peppers I picked from the garden yesterday that I could add.. I bet that would add a nice zing!. Hmmm cauliflower... yummm... Maybe I will put that on my list of things to pickle... along with the bread and butter garlic I want to make.... Mmmm garlic..... I wonder how thick slices of onion would pickle?????? anybody know...

Actually, the best way to deal wit this would be to either use a Ball prepackaged Bread & Butter pickle mix, or one of the same mixes offered by Mrs. Wages. Zucchini isn't going to end up as crisp as cucumbers though, as they are less dense compared to a much more watery cucumber. These mixes have the necessary seasonings and salt, and you add your own sugar. Essentually the bread & butter pickles are usually slices, and are seasoned with mustard seeds, celery seeds, tumeric (for the yellow color), salt, sugar (or your own sweetener preference), vinegar, and water. Very basic... I like to add a few pieces of dried sweet red pepper flakes to the jars prior to filling with the cuke slices (or in your case the zuke slices). In mine, they are sliced with a crinkle cutter which gives them a nice ripple texture. In the last hour, I just made 8 quarts of the same thing, but instead of the B&B mix, I used a Kosher dill mix, and added a few whole peppercorns to each quart, as well as a couple of cloves of garlic cut up, and a few pieces of dried sweet red pepper pieces (for color), along with a few green and brown dill seed head pieces. In your case, a few mustard seeds and celery seeds added to each jar. The end result is a decent B&B you can enjoy. If you plan to make these using an alternative to regular sugar, the use of Splenda makes them very tasty and I find that I don't need the several pounds of sugar needed, as just a cup of Splenda will sweeten these just as much (has something to do with the vinegar reacting with the Splenda that makes it stronger sweetening power). Your taste goversn the sweetness, and if you do use Splenda, start out with about half a cup of the 'puffed up' type, and you will soon realize that it offers you quite a lot of sweetening power without getting cloyingly sweet. Enjoy.. With this method, there is no presalting, you just cold pack the jars and pour in the boiling brine, cap, and process, quarts for 10 minutes, pints for 5 minutes, this is, according to the "quick process" mentioned on the Mrs. Wages pickle packages.

Not W-S but good.... HOT CINNAMON PULL-APART BREAD 1 loaf frozen bread, thawed 1/2 c. butter 1 c. sugar 1 tbsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg Cut bread dough into 3 inch diamond shape with a cutter. Dip pieces of dough one by one into melted butter and layer into a greased 10 inch ring mold or tube cake pan. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for cinnamon filling. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon filling. Makes 3 layers ending with a sprinkling of cinnamon filling. Don't fill pan to full or dough will pop off. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve warm. PULL APART BREAD 20 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls 1 sm. pkg. butter pecan instant pudding 1/2 c. butter, melted 1/2 c. brown sugar, melted Place rolls in ungreased bundt pan and sprinkle pudding over top. Pour butter and sugar mixture over top. Let rise 6 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes or it will fall apart. BUTTERSCOTCH COFFEE CAKE PULL APART 24 frozen bread rolls (frozen food section, 12 balls per pkg.) 1 pkg. butterscotch pudding (not instant) 1 stick butter 3/4 c. brown sugar 3/4 tsp. cinnamon The night before: Arrange frozen rolls in greased tube pan. Sprinkle dry pudding over rolls. Melt butter, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook until bubbly, pour over rolls and cover tightly with foil, leave on counter overnight. Morning: Uncover and bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Carefully turn out on serving plate, pull apart, eat and enjoy. NOTE: Chopped nuts may be added to melted butter mixture. MY FAVORITE CINNAMON PULL-APARTS 1/2 c. white sugar 1 tbsp. cinnamon 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter 3/4 c. vanilla ice cream 1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed Combine white sugar and cinnamon. Pull apart bread dough and roll into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar and place in bread pan. Bring to a boil: brown sugar, butter and ice cream. Pour over bread dough and let stand 30 minutes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown. PULL-APART COFFEE CAKE 2 loaves frozen white bread 1 c. melted butter 1 1/2 c. sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 c. chopped pecans Thaw bread. Melt butter in small container. Combine sugar, cinnamon in small bowl and set aside. When loaves are thawed, shape dough into small balls (like walnut), roll in melted butter, coat with sugar and cinnamon mixture then roll in chopped nuts. Place the balls (not too close together) in tube pan. Fill 1/2 full with balls. Cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 or 40 minutes. To serve, pull balls apart. May be wrapped in foil to heat. EASY CARAMEL ROLLS OR PULL APARTS 2 loaves frozen bread dough (thawed) 1/2 c. butter 1 c. brown sugar 1 lg. box vanilla pudding (not instant) 2 to 3 tbsp. milk Cinnamon to taste Grease bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Tear pieces off one of the bread loaves and place into pan. Mix all other ingredients together and pour mixture over bread in pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Tear second loaf of bread into pieces and place on top of rest. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Let rise 2 to 3 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Invert pan onto serving plate. OVERNIGHT PULL - APART ROLLS Hot roll mix or frozen bread dough 1 stick butter 1 pkg. butterscotch pudding mix (dry) 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. nuts (if desired) Cinnamon and sugar mixture Night before: Prepare hot roll mix or thawed dough into 1 inch balls. Melt 1/2 stick butter and roll balls in it, then in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place in greased bundt pan in layers. Top with pudding mix, brown sugar, and nuts. Pour remaining butter (melted) over this. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Note: Remove rolls from refrigerator 10-15 minutes before baking. Bake in a 350 degree oven approximately 30 minutes. PECAN PULL APARTS 1 loaf frozen bread dough 1 pkg. reg. (not instant) butterscotch pudding 1/2 c. brown sugar 3/4 c. chopped pecans Dash cinnamon 1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter, melted The night before serving rolls, partially defrost bread dough and break into small pieces. Lay pieces flat in bottom of greased pan. Cover with dry pudding mix, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and butter. Cover pan and let set at room temperature overnight. Next morning preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover pan and bake 20 minutes or until done. BUTTERSCOTCH PULL APARTS 1 c. brown sugar 1 sm. pkg. vanilla pudding 1 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 stick butter 3/4 c. nuts 1 sm. pkg. butterscotch pudding 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 tbsp. cream 2 loaves frozen bread Thaw bread. Mix dry ingredients and set aside half of ingredients. Melt butter and add 1/2 of dry ingredients. Spread in dripper pan. Sprinkle nuts over mixture. Cut bread in small pieces and roll in dry mixture; place over mixture in pan. Pour any remaining dry mixture over all. Let rise. Bake at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour. Turn pan over after taking out of oven. Serve while warm. CARAMEL - PECAN PULL - APART ROLLS 2 frozen loaves of bread, thawed 1 stick butter (or butter) melted 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 tbsp. milk 1 (3 oz.) pkg. butterscotch pudding & pie filling (not instant) 1/2 c. chopped pecans Mix butter, brown sugar, pudding, milk and nuts together. Spread over bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. Cut each loaf into 10-12 pieces and arrange in pan over caramel mixture. Raise until double, about 2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes. Remove from pan while warm Optional: Can use 2 dozen frozen rolls instead of loaves. Can prepare the night before and let raise in refrigerator overnight. Bake in the morning. Can make half a recipe in 9 x 9 inch pan using 1 dozen frozen rolls. CARAMEL PULL-APARTS 2 loaves Rhodes frozen bread dough 1 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. butter 2 tbsp. milk 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 pkg. vanilla pudding (non-instant) Thaw frozen bread, then cut into pieces. Scatter bread pieces into greased 9x13 inch pan. Cook butter, brown sugar, milk, cinnamon and pudding; bring to boil. Pour mixture over bread pieces. Let set in refrigerator overnight, then bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm or cool. STICKY PULL APART ROLLS 1 (4 oz.) pkg. regular butterscotch pudding 1 c. chopped nuts 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/4 c. butter, softened 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 (16 oz.) bread dough, thawed In mixing bowl combine pudding mix, walnuts, sugar and butter and cinnamon. Mix until crumbly. Cut each loaf lengthwise then into 8 pieces (each loaf 16 pieces each). Sprinkle 3/4 mixture in greased 13 x 9 pan place pieces of dough in pan. Sprinkle remaining mix cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Bake at 350 degree oven for 20 to 40 minutes. Turn out of pan immediately.

I'm taking a Psychology of Eating course, and we just finished a section on Splenda and other artificial studies. The professor told us that in most clinical studies, the calories that a person saves by eating a baked good made with splenda instead of sugar are compensated for later in the day. In other words, most people tend to eat the calories elsewhere. I'd be very interested to know if this is also true in "non-laboratory" settings! Just thought you'd be interested :)