Bountiful Harvest...another way to save a penny :}

Evan helping by cutting veggies for blanching/freezing!

Pot and strainer of boiling water

Squash and Zucchini soaking in water and vinegar

cooling in ice cold water



In my quest to be 100% debt free in 10 years or less, I am turning to the ways I grew up using.  Grow it, can it, freeze it and make your own sauces, soups and salsas! 
Saves me money, and I know what is in my food or how it was prepared.

I was lucky enough to receive some amazing veggies.  I decided to put aside some that I would eat in the next week then the rest my son and I cut, blanched and put into freezer for later use.

I know that many are a bit worried about the E-Coli that happened recently in Germany.  So first and foremost know where your food comes from and how they grow it.  If you are not growing your own and know what is in it then you need to know more about what  you are buying.  All farmers unless they specifically say use fertilizer that contains manure from an animal.  That manure is all over your veggies so if you are not washing it properly and cooking it at high temps then you will eat it.  Then you will potentially get sick from the E-Coli.  This amazes me because I grew up eating veggies straight from the ground and not washing them but then we grew them in our back yard with our own compost.

Anyways, I always wash my veggies in water with vinegar.  The vinegar helps to kill the bacteria on the surface of the veggies and helps to remove any waxy coating.

Now on with the blanching.

1. wash as directed
2. have a pot of boiling water ready to go
3. I like to have a strainer right in it making the transfer from hot to icy water easier
4. cut into 1/2 inch rounds put scraps into your back yard compost (nothing goes to waste)
5. put into hot boiling water for 3 minutes
6. then put into icy water until they are completely cooled down
7. put the cooled veggies into freezer safe bag or better yet a vacuum seal bag to suck all the air out
8. if you are using a freezer safe bag you will need to suck the air out by using a straw
9. zip the bag closed to the straw suck out the air remove straw zip closed quickly
10. put into freezer mark the bags with date and name of veggies

~Deanne

Have fun!

P.S. I have found having my son help me prepare and cook food gets him to eat the outcome a lot more often.   Especially when it is veggies!

I also received these amazing tomatoes and some jalapenos (not pictured).  So now my son and I will be making sauce, canned tomatoes and of course first thing....salsa!  Can't wait to show you what we have done.