Not Your Grandma's Green Beans!

A couple summers ago, my husband brought home a "Seal-a-Meal" to use for some of our garden produce. We have learned a few things and have it down to a science with what we like to keep in the freezer from our summer harvest. Since we weren't too fond of canned corn or beans, now all I can the regular old-fashioned way is tomatoes, salsa, tomato juice, and jams and jellies.

The rest of the time, we are using this handy little thing for some of our favorite freezer vegetables. It works wonderfully for:

• Green beans (we freeze these whole, if they're broken up, they seem not to cook as nicely and get way too soggy), we prepare these by snapping off the ends, washing them well, then laying them out on cookie sheets with paper toweling underneath so they'll dry completely. These are frozen in quart size bags.

• Corn on the cob, this is steamed, drained and cooled, then frozen with 6-8 pieces per package for our average meal size. They taste great, just slightly more soggy cob than if fresh and keep for at least a year, perhaps more.

• Summer squash or zuchinni: we slice it thick for either frying or using in potato packets on the grill. Zuchinn can also be shredded, drained, and then frozen in packages just the right size for your zuchinni bread recipe! No preparation, just wash, chunk up (or shred!) and freeze in quart size bags.
  

• Blueberries: just wash, lay out on cookie sheets with paper toweling, and dry completely, then freeze in the size you need for your favorite recipes...usually 2 cups each for us.

My husband usually does all the sealing after I get things ready to go, because he actually enjoys using this "power tool"...it's just a man thing, I guess but I don't mind at all! They are very simple to use, and the machine isn't a high-dollar item. Where they make their money is the heavy bags. I've found them at Sam's in a big bulk-sized pack that lasts us a long time at a fairly reasonable price.

The nice thing about this is it's a quick way to fill the freezer and preserves the food you grew to "almost fresh" standards!

I would LOVE to hear what you use your SEAL-A-MEAL for!