Freezing Vegetables

Now that it's Spring (although it is supposed to snow today and tomorrow...ugh), lots of vegetables went on sale. I might have gone a little crazy and bought more than we could eat before they go bad. Solution? Freeze them! Last night, David and I froze our bell peppers, mushrooms, and snow peas. Did you know you could freeze these things??? They will last about 6 months frozen (I believe I read that the peas will last up to a year) Of course you can eat them after this, they just won't taste as good.

To freeze bell peppers, simply cut them up (however you will be using them. We did strips) and either freeze on a baking sheet then put in an air tight container (so they don't freeze together) or just put them in the container with extra room.

To freeze mushrooms, you have to cut them up and saute them first. Then put in an air tight container with room. (I drained them first since mushrooms are so juicy when you cook them but I don't know if I was supposed to or not.) Also, they will come out of the freezer a little different color so don't be alarmed.

To freeze snow peas, you have to blanche them. For those of you who don't know this method, you boil water (really really hot) and add the peas. You cook for exactly 3 minutes then you put them in ice cold water until they cool. Then put in your air tight container (with extra room again).

There you have it! Of course they are vegetables you shouldn't freeze, like lettuce (it gets so mushy and slimy) but for these kinds of things that are in season right now, it's perfect!

Also, I recently found out you can peel oranges ahead of time and then keep in an air tight container (and use within 3-4 days). This is great because I hate peeling oranges and always make David do it for me so now he can do a bunch at once and I don't have to wait anymore! Isn't this great?