Broccoli was on sale for 99¢ at my local grocer yesterday. Since that is a decent price for this time of year and because I use it for a lot meals I bought extra. It was incredibly simple to prepare and freeze, not to mention a great money saver too.
Here are the easy steps:
1. Chop it.
2. Steam it for 2-3 minutes, or until you can pierce it with a fork then drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Blanch it by shocking it in a bath of ice water.
4. Remove excess water and place in a ziploc or food saver bag, then toss into the freezer.
5. When you are ready to use, just put it directly into the dish you are preparing. You can also resteam it and serve.
I've read that broccoli will stay good for around 9 months in the freezer prepared this way.
There are lots of other veggies you can do this with too and save money, including asparagus, carrots, cauliflower,celery, peas, sweet corn and more. I found a great guide here.
5 comments:
Thanks for this great tip! I didn't realize I'd need to put the ice on it to cool it off, but that makes sense. I'll have to try this! I've frozen peppers (like bell peppers) before. I chop them up and seed them. I like to put them in baggies that are enough to use for one dish of eggs.
Jane
Alltogetherbeautiful.blogspot.com
Thanks for commenting Jane! Sometimes I don't know if these tips are as useful to others as they have been to me :)
Great tip, Kim! I've always wondered how you freeze veggies - I'm definitely not a cook, so don't know all these little tips!
Great idea! I'm going to have to try this. :D
I love freezing veggies when they are fresh and local and cheap in summer, then eating them well into the winter! One of my favorites to freeze is kale because you don't have to cook it before freezing and there are so many ways to use it--click my name for about 14 ideas--and it's very nutritious, too!
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