Broccoli

My broccoli plants were gorgeous this year!  Each plant produced a big giant head...and all at the same time!  And they happened to be ready just before my husband and I were heading to North Carolina to meet our first grandchild.  So I had to do something with all this broccoli...and quick.  I only photographed one head, but I picked 4 heads of broccoli this size:

So the best thing to do with it all was to blanch and freeze it.  Easy enough.  Chop broccoli, boil a big pot of water, thoroughly salt the water, throw the broccoli in for 3-4 minutes, remove and plunge into an ice water bath, drain well, and place in freezer bags.  

 (As an aside, I "love" my FoodSaver at this time of year!)

 

And voila...blanched broccoli, ready to be frozen for future use.  I kept some out for dinner that night and some for my sister to eat while we were gone...she loves broccoli.

Now I have all this fresh broccoli to use this coming winter, mostly in soups...think Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese, Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Garlic Crostini, Broccoli Soup Pureed with Onions, Garlic, and Potatoes...anyway, you get the picture; there are some good meals to be had with the frozen broccoli from my garden :)