Peaches:
I have never canned peaches successfully. Never. They always turn mushy and brown. I like the freezing method much better. I just skinned and sliced the peaches, sat them on a cookie sheet, flash froze then overnight, and then threw then into a bag. Easy peasy. Now they are ready for smoothies, oatmeal or cobbler this winter.
Peppers:
We had an abundance of green peppers and banana peppers at the garden this year. I roasted them in the oven with a little olive oil, let them cool, skinned them, flash froze them overnight, and threw them into a bag. Theses are great on pizza, in pasta, in fajitas, etc.
Green Beans:
There was also an abundance of green beans this year. I just blanched them for 2-3 minutes, and flash froze them. Again, I put them in freezer bags once they were individually frozen. These can either be steamed or sauteed and added to almost any dinner.
Zucchini:
Jonathan is not a fan of zucchini, but will eat zucchini bread. I shredded it and froze it in 2 cup increments. Most zucchini bread recipes call for 2 cups of shredded zucchini.
Tomatoes:
My dad planted 28 tomato plants this year. Between my sister and I, we canned around 75-80 pints of a combination of the following:
Tomato soup
Roasted Tomatoes w/Garlic
Spaghetti Sauce
Tomato Puree
Fancy Ketchup
I also have bags of frozen blueberries and frozen strawberries in my freezer. The website http://www.pickyourown.org/ is a great resource for preserving almost any produce.
Here are a list of other veggies and fruits that are fairly easy to preserve:
Potatoes
Apples
Pears
Corn
Peas
Carrots
Cherries
I prefer to preserve what I can for two reasons. The first is that if you buy the produce while it is in season, or better yet plant your own, then it is very cheap. The second is that you know that it was preserved fresh without any additives.
