Freezing Veggies

[MizNCO]

I have a question. I have never been into anything like this before and have no clue to what I am doing. This year is the first year that we have ever had a garden. It is not a very big one but we a few different things. Most of the veggies (i.e. tomatoes and squash) will be used fairly quickly. I am growing some red bell peppers. There really is one dish I make with those. The reason I decided to grow them is because they are so expensive in the store. They cost more than the chicken. What I am wanting to know is when they are ready to be picked can I chop them up and freeze them? If so, is there anything special I need to do?

[MommyofSeven]

Nothing special, chopping them up and freezing them works great. If you only need small amounts for your recipes, freeze them in ice cube trays, each one ends up being about a tablespoon.

 

Mo7

[HSmom]

FYI, many other vegetables need to be blanched (cooked briefly in boiling water or steam) prior to freezing. So if you decide to freeze anything else, make sure to ask again!

[MizNCO]

Thanks to you both for your help!!

[Dee]

For peppers I wash and remove stem ends and seeds. Since I only use them in cooking I cut the pepper in maybe 8 pieces and put in a plastic bag in the freezer. I then throw chunks in cooking meats to flavor. I cut them in smaller chunks while they're frozen to put on pizzas, in chili, lasagna, etc.

 

 

We don't grow celery here but when I buy it I save the leaves and also put in plastic bags. If there's some pieces that are ugly that you don't want to eat but aren't spoiled they go in the bag too. They flavor meats and vegetables. We don't eat the celery after the meats cooked because it look kind of ugly after being frozen. It does give nice flavor though.

 

I freeze carrots, corn and peas but blanch them first. We don't like green beans frozen but if you buy frozen from the grocery store you'll like your own frozen. Actually, I can my corn to save on freezer space but it freezes great.

 

Excess onions in the fall also get frozen. Clean them up like you do to serve, chop and freeze in ice cube trays. They stick together too badly to put in plastic bags so I use the ice trays to freeze and then put in bags. I don't use them fresh but they work great in soups, stews, chilis, meats, fried potatoes or whatever you think of.

 

Hope that's not way more than you wanted to know!

 

[MommyofSeven]

I also saute onions and celery together in butter and freeze them that way. I can do a large batch and freeze them in small enough amounts for my cream of whatever soups and for stuffing. Just make sure you get the pieces really small when you do that, I did it one year with bigger onion slices and it was terrible LOL. A zyliss type chopper works well for that, or a food processor. Saves me a ton of time at dinner time, too. I try to do it when we have colds in the house, helps clear out the sinuses LOL.

 

Mo7

[MizNCO]

Thank you for the info. It is funny that you mentioned the celery. It also goes in the same dish as the red peppers. I buy it from the store and only use like 3 stalks. Then the rest goes in the fridge until it wilts away. I will try freezing the leftovers next time. I made that dish on Friday and forgot to get celery. That is why I am not suppose to go to the store without a list.

 

Do onions lose any of their flavor if you freeze them?

[Dee]

I've found with frozen onions they lose some flavor. I probably use close to twice as many frozen as fresh.