It seems I use lots of bell peppers and onions during the Fall and Winter months more than any other time of the year. One problem I find in buying bell peppers during this time is that they are more pricey. That’s why I love stocking up on different colored peppers whenever they go on sale in the Summer. I like to buy 2 of the 3 pack peppers with the red, yellow, and orange ones at Aldi when they are under $2. I also grab a 3 pack of green peppers because they are always under $2 anyway. I wait to make
stuffed peppers until this time when I get them that cheap. That’s not all I do with the peppers.
Have you ever bought a bag of cut up peppers at the grocery store? They are great to have on hand to cut down on the time it takes to prepare a meal. They are known by different names like Tri Colored Peppers, 3 Pepper and Onion Blend, or Pepper Stir-Fry. Did you know you can make your own peppers and onion blend for a much cheaper price? I have done this for years and wanted to share with you how I do it.
I use a green, red, orange, and a yellow bell pepper along with a few onions. I dice up each pepper and put each color into separate bowls. I measure out 1/4 cup of each color pepper to get the equivalent of 1 whole cup of diced peppers. I add that to a labeled quart sized Ziploc freezer bag. I do this for 3 more bags until the peppers are all used. I dice up around 4 small onions measuring almost 1 cup portions to add to each bag of pepper mixture.
From here I’ll either lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet to freeze or pour the peppers and onions out in a single layer to flash freeze. When flash freezing I don’t mix all the contents of each bag together. I use different pans for each bag so that I keep the same ratio I measured. Once they have been in the freezer for 30-45 minutes I add the mixture back to the individual Ziploc bags. Whenever a recipe calls for 1 cup of diced peppers and 1 cup diced onion, a prepared bag of my diced pepper and onion blend comes in handy. They can be used for omelets, skillet meals, casseroles, soup, stews, chowder, or sautéed with other veggies.
Another thing I like to do with my peppers is to slice up each color and divide between 4 (depending on size of peppers) labeled Ziploc bags. I then slice up 2 large onions to divide up and add to this as well. These are like the Stir-Fry Pepper blends you see in your grocer’s freezer section. They are great to use in things like stir-fry's, Fajitas, Quesadillas, as well as Philly Steak and Cheese sandwiches.
Sometimes I do freezer bags with what the Cajuns and Creoles call the “Holy Trinity”. That’s your green bell pepper, onion, and celery blend. I love using those in different meals. I will write up a post on that soon. All in all I have saved time and money prepping meals when I have taken time to slice and dice ahead of time. I know many people may have already done this too, but I hope to have helped someone who had never thought of this before.
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