1 ½ Lb. Fresh Green Beans — 4 1/2 C.
1 ½ Lb. Fresh Wax Beans — 4 1/2 C.
1 Lb. Canned Kidney Beans — or Shelled Lima Beans, rinsed and drained
2 C. Celery — sliced
1 Large Onion — peeled and sliced
1 C. Sweet Pepper — diced
2 ½ C. Sugar
3 C. White Vinegar
1 T. Mustard Seed
1 tsp. Celery Seed
4 tsp. Pickling Salt
1 ¼ C. Water

Rinse beans, trim ends and cut into 1 1/2″ pieces. Mix in large pot with celery, onion and pepper. Cover with boiling water and simmer 10-12 minutes (the recipe calls for 8 minutes, but that wasn’t enough). Drain. Bring sugar, vinegar, spices, and water to a boil. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. (The amounts are just right, only a little brine left over. Don’t boil the brine away!) Add drained vegetables and kidney beans. Return to a boil. Pack hot vegetables into hot jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Ladle hot spiced vinegar over vegetables, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim of jar clean; place hot, previously simmered lid on jar and screw down ring firmly tight. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. Do not change the ratio of vinegar, water and vegetables. This is a tested recipe for water bath canning.