Green Bean Canning...oops, I mean, Freezing ;)

Not only is learning how to can a wonderful way to save money and food, but it's so much healthier than buying store bought food.  I love to can.  My husband was not fond of the idea at first.  He thought it was a little bit old fashioned.  But, now that I've started he LOVES it.  We have more food in the house and it all tastes exactly the way he likes it - especially the salsa.  Well, most of the time... So you might say the taste is what changed his mind.  I have a few other reasons.

My favorite reasons to can: 1) It's so much healthier.  You don't have the preservatives, additives, chemicals or the aluminum can to worry about.   2) It's so much cheaper.  If you grow your own food you pay little to nothing for it.  Or, you could buy in bulk at a local farm and pay a little more, but still get the the healthy qualities of home canning.  3)  You can make your food taste exactly the way you like it.  4) I love to go to the grocery store and skip whole sections because I already have everything I need at home in my pantry or freezer.  It's such a relief to know that I can spend the money in my grocery budget on stocking up on other healthy things because I have all (or most) of the veggies I need in my freezer, pantry or garden. 

Today my dad bought a bushel of green beans...so we got busy...

A bushel of beans = Lots of work. 

We called in the re-enforcements.  Enlisted the draft.  (Working green beans is fun when you are watching "The Incredible Mr. Limpet".)

It's so exciting when you get to the bottom of the box.

24 jars all sterilized and ready to go...until I realized that I was supposed to be FREEZING all those beans.  =D   I, personally, prefer canned green beans.  The good thing about freezing, is the beans are more nutritious and it takes a whole lot less time to freeze.  So, it was a win-win situation. 

So, we started washing.

Then, we laid them all out on a towel to dry.  (we skipped the blanching step oh, ya, and the flash freezing. :)

We (Meghan, Mom and I) bagged up 23 quarts of fresh green beans and put them in the freezer.  It's as easy as that (when you're freezing. ;)  And totally worth it. These green beans will last up to a year.