Freezing Green Beans - DIY

My family decided to start a garden this year.  We had never done one in this house so we were unsure of what crops we might be able to grow.  Well, with many blessings from above, we are proud to report that all crops have flourished thus far!  As our beans are ready for harvest (and we have more to pick yet), I thought I would get a head-start on preserving them until next harvest.

I decided this time around not to can them (as my time is limited currently).  Freezing is fairly quick and easy to do.  Once the beans are snapped and washed, the preperation for freezing took a little under 45 minutes for the quantity that I did (I had 2 large bowls to do).

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Step 1.  Get water on stove to boil.  I used 2 large pots to get done quicker (and ended up doing 2 rounds of all steps).

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Step 2. Prep ice bath.  This is for blanching.  I filled up my sink with ice water.

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Step 3.  When water is boiling in pots, add beans and boil for 3-4 minutes. Do not over fill. You want about 1 pound of beans per gallon of water.

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Step 4.  Drain pots and immediately place beans in ice bath.  This stops the cooking process that you started by shocking the beans and allows for fresher freezing and preserving the color of the beans.

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Step 5.  When the beans are completely cooled, place in freezer bags and push as much air as possible from the bags.  Make sure to label them so you can rotate your freezer stock if you have a second harvest coming on.  Frozen beans typically last up to 10 months in the freezer if not longer depending on the quality of blanching and storage container used.

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Now wasn't that simple?  I am pleased that not only am I now going to save money on veggies for my family for quite some time, I also know that I am going to have quality and wholesome food on my table (because I know how it was grown)!