Landon would eat Mexican every night of the week if he could. I need a little more variety but definitely can handle it a few times a week. We’re big on fajitas and tacos mostly. I have a great fajita recipe I’ll share some day but for now, I’m showing you how easy it is to stock up on the bell peppers and onions now (hello garden and/or farmers market!) to enjoy later this winter.
Last weekend I headed out to our local farmers market with the intention of buying as many peppers and onions as I could carry to freeze for later. I usually use 3 bell peppers (almost always green) and 1 onion (white or yellow) for each fajita meal. The first place I stopped was a little Amish stand (yes! our farmers market even includes the Amish in our community) that had 2 for $1 onions. I was think of making enough for three meals but this deal turned it into four.
Right behind them was another Amish stand that had the most perfect green bell peppers to choose from. I soon realized that if I had just purchased four onions, I would be needing a dozen(!) bell peppers. They also happened to be 3 for $1 and were organic (are any Amish not organic?). So I got the most perfect peppers and onions for FOUR fajita meals for a total of $6. This is why I freeze them! I would spend at least that on one meal in January around here and the peppers would not be nearly as firm.
Ingredients & Supplies
Bell peppers (3 per meal)
Onion (1 per meal)
Cutting board and knife
Cookie sheets
Freezer space for cookie sheets
Freezer bags
Directions
First things first, put your onions in the fridge. You will tear up so much less if they are cold when you cut them! You can speed up the process by placing in the freezer while you chop the peppers if you are short on time. This time I didn’t cut my produce up until the next day.
Clean all the peppers and cut into strips. Since I had four meals worth and didn’t want to worry about measuring or weighing, I cut three at a time and placed each group on their own cookie sheet. You can line these with tinfoil or parchment paper if you’d like but they are really easy to wash after flash freezing produce so it’s not necessary.
After I had all my peppers sliced, I pulled out the onions. I let the sink run cold water and made sure to walk away and cry when I couldn’t take it. Four onions is a LOT to cut at once! After each onion, I added the slices to each cookie sheet and tried to spread out the peppers and onions for even layers.
Once everything is sliced and your tears are dry, stick the sheets in the freezer. An hour is a good amount but honestly, I typically remember they are in there about two days later. The longest was 72 hours – they still turned out so don’t worry if you forget! When they are flash frozen, place into freezer ziplock bags, squeeze out all the air, and place back in the freezer.
That’s it! No blanching or complicated processing. I’ve been doing this for a couple years now and I love that I can get good quality produce when it’s in season (and cheaper) and I cut down on prep when it’s actually time to make fajitas!
Thankyou for the great tips!