Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Happy Harvest

Today will be a few more ideas for those wonderful garden harvests or those great finds from farm markets or straight from the farmer.

PEPPERS
BELL PEPPERS - are so sweet and yummy.  I often chop and freeze them for the winter months.  Many I chop in small pieces for soups and chili.  I lay them on a sheet pan and flash freeze then place in baggies.  I can take out and use exactly what I need.  Others I chop in larger pieces, as I use them in my 'stuffed pepper skillet' dinner.  It is just all the ingredients used in stuffed peppers except you fix it on the stove top not the oven.
You can also dehydrate them
Here is my one tip for dehydrating them!!!!
Place one sliced or chopped pepper per tray or per half of tray.  After they have dried completely - measure how much ONE pepper is!!  It may measure a half cup - a quarter cup - etc..  I suggest this as dehydrated 'anything' is so small and you may OVER add to recipe.
I do this with squash as well.  One small/medium squash sliced per tray.  Bag accordingly.  That way I get the right amount of veggie per recipe!

Think about stuffing your bell peppers with whatever you like (ground meat, rice, tomato sauce, cheese, etc.) and freeze them.  They are ready to thaw and pop in the oven for a great dinner treat this winter.

JALAPENO PEPPERS
I like to stuff these with cream cheese mixed with shredded cheddar and some garlic powder.  Then I bread in a combo of egg wash and bread crumbs/cornmeal and bake.  POPPERS!!!!  These are so good.  You can stuff and bread and flash freeze as well.  Place in bags until you are ready to bake them in the winter!  Take out what you need - do not thaw - bake.

LETTUCE
Lettuce is pretty much done in our area for the moment.  It has been so hot - that it seeded and became bitter.  It can be grown again for fall months as well.  Great in salads and you can dehydrate as well and grind into a powder for a healthy additive to add to smoothies.
Here is a recipe for my favorite way to eat lettuce!!!!  Oh my so good!


ZUCCHINI
Think about dehydrating for use later in soups and stews.  It works great.  Like I said above - make sure you  measure them out and know what you have so you don't over add to your cooking.
These are also good if dehydrated and add a bit of onion salt or garlic salt before hand and eat as 'chips'.  I have eaten plenty like that as a good healthy snack.

Don't forget zucchini boats!  Oh yum.  Kind of like stuffed peppers.  Fill with whatever stuffing is your favorite and bake.  First cut in half lengthwise, scoop out all seeds and stringy stuff and fill.  I like to stick a fork or knife in a couple locations before filling - it just seems to help the squash cook better.
You can also cut in half, de-seed and place plain in baggies in the freezer to fix later on in the year.  I usually use smaller or medium size squash for this and I place one squash (2 halves) per bag and vacuum seal.  They taste fresh in the middle of winter.


Hope this gives you some ideas on ways to extend that summer harvest for those dreaded days of no yummy fresh garden produce.  Veggies bought at most grocery stores in the off months tastes nothing like fresh.  You also have no idea if it is really fresh or not or how it was grown.

Extend you harvest and have good and yummy eating all year long.
HAPPY HARVEST


12 comments:

  1. Cheryl, so timely! I was just looking for these ideas, thanks for the tips! Many smiles and hugs I am sending your way, dear friend!

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    1. You are extremely welcome. Glad to see you stop by.
      I think sometimes we just know what someone needs!!!
      Have a good one!

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  2. Great ideas. I think I will try the zucchini boats. They look yummy.

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    1. You won't be sorry. I have fixed them like the stuffing for peppers and I have also made popper boats - cream cheese, cheddar and diced jalapenos as the stuffing. Tope with some bread crumbs! YUM

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  3. Those zucchini boats do look wonderful. And I have some I need to use soon. I love all the fresh produce around this time of year.

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    1. They truly are the yummiest! Try them - you won't regret it.
      Love all the produce as well!

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  4. I do miss having the fresh courgettes (zucchini) but I managed to get some from a local allotment which were nice. The stuffed ones sound good.

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    1. I think you would really like them stuffed. They are so good. It is such a versatile veggie - so many ways to fix them. I still haven't gotten any from my garden - so may be purchasing some myself from the farm market.

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  5. Hi, Cheryl, just discovered your blog and love it!

    A question about dehydrating - how do you keep moisture from getting into your containers? I tried dehydrating onions and I really think they were completely dry, but when the summer humidity set in and I pulled the jar from the pantry, I found they were rehydrating. TIA!

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    1. I have never had that problem. I usually let things go until they are crispy. I let them set out for a few hours before packaging as well.
      I put some things in jars and vacuum seal others.
      I am sorry that I can not offer a lot of help. Just try leaving them out for a few hours (room temp) before packaging.

      I am glad to have you on board. Hopefully you will find many things you can use!

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  6. Oh, I love all the summer produce. Tomatoes are our favorite!

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  7. Thank you! Great tip on measuring the peppers after they have dehydrated.

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