Batch Prep Work, Freezing Vegetables

With a small slot of time, do some batch prep work and have prepared and chopped veggies in the freezer just waiting to start that next pot of soup, stew or stir fry.

Judging from the drastic change in temperature from a couple of weeks ago, I think that fall is here to stay.  This is the time of year that Mother Nature really showcases her talent transforming all those leaves into bright gorgeous oranges, reds and yellows.  As much as I enjoy the fall colours, it creates a lot of work.  We live in an area with a tremendous amount of trees, so it is an ongoing job for the next 3 to 4 weeks of constant raking and cleaning of leaves.  And what better treat to warm up after a morning in these cool temps raking then to sit with a steaming bowl of homemade soup for lunch!

Now, to be honest, I can sit down to a hot bowl of soup any time of the year, but isn't it funny how we suddenly crave warm soup when Mother Nature has turned down the thermostat?

So I decided this week to do some batch prep work on all these great veggies - plus I needed to make room in my crisper!

After washing and peeling,

I chopped some yellow and red peppers for stir fry

                                                                                                           

I chopped one large Spanish onion

I chopped a bunch of celery

I diced up about six carrots

Before putting the vegetables in zip lock bags, I blotted them with paper towels to get rid of most of the moisture.  Then they each were put into freezer bags, working out the air and popped into the freezer.  As onion, celery and carrots are the start to many soups, having this work already done helps to get a great pot of soup made in no time.  Off to the kitchen to start on one now so I can enjoy a bowl for lunch!