Always-Ready Red Peppers

It is no secret that I put red peppers in just about every savory recipe I make.  Red peppers can add a lot of color and nutrition to a dish.  Here in my area red peppers sell at anywhere from $1.00 to $2.00 each.  This can make them somewhat expensive to use.  That is the bad news.  The good news is, that most summers, I can get them at produce stands for as little as .50 each.  That is when I stock up and freeze them.  Since we are in a drought situation this summer, I don’t know if I will be able to get red peppers for .50 this year, but I hope so.  If I can, I will be stocking up again.

Freezing red peppers is very easy and requires no additional work beyond chopping them up.  I chop mine into about 1/2-inch pieces, place the pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze them overnight.  I then transfer the pepper pieces to a zip-top bag and remove whatever amount I want for the dish I am making.  This makes it so quick and easy.  I even toss a handful of the frozen red pepper pieces into salads just before serving.  They will thaw just enough to remain crunchy when the salad is eaten.

If you have never tried freezing red peppers, give it a try.   Of course, you can freeze any other color of bell pepper this way, too.  I just happen to love the red ones.