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Southwestern Style Saute for Freezing

If you need new ways to use up your zucchini, corn, and peppers – this recipe is for you.  I got access to fresh local corn being sold 4 for $1 and had to take advantage.  I bought 80 ears – I froze 9 pints of plain blanched corn, made and froze 5 pints spicy corn chowder, and froze 5 quarts of summer vegetable soup with corn.  But I still had a lot left.  This is what I did with it.  I made this last year and added it to pots of bean chili in the winter – it was a great way to make a chili with very little prep work.

I was cooking up a few batches of this saute the other day when I needed to come up with a quick dinner.  I made a Southwestern style pasta salad using this recipe, whole wheat rotini pasta, and a cilantro dressing with lime juice – my family ate it so fast I barely got any of it myself.  But I got enough to be able to tell you it was so good I can’t wait to make it again.  (I’ll be making it again so I can post the recipe for you!)

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Southwestern Style Saute Recipe (for Freezing)

Southwestern Style Saute Recipe (for Freezing)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 Hungarian wax peppers
  • 8 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2" pieces
  • 3 zucchini, diced into 1/2" thick pieces
  • 4 cups corn

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan on med/high.
  2. When olive oil is shimmering, add the onions, green beans, and peppers. Saute until onions are translucent.
  3. Add the zucchini. Keep sauteing on med/high heat until zucchini start to brown at edges.
  4. Add the corn and saute just until some of the kernels have started browning. Take off the heat.
  5. Once completely cooled - put the sauteed vegetables in a 1 gallon Foodsaver bag and freeze it.
  6. When contents are completely frozen - seal the bag using a vacuum sealer and label before returning it to the freezer.

Notes

I always freeze the contents of my Foodsaver bags first so that when I'm using my vacuum sealer it doesn't suck the juices out and a) prevent a perfect seal and b) collect messily in the drip tray.

This sauteed vegetable dish can be defrosted, heated, and eaten as a side dish. It can be added to chili or soups. And it can also be defrosted and added to pasta with a cilantro dressing.

When frozen in a vacuum sealed bag this will stay good in the freezer for about 8 months (possibly longer - we used ours up within 8 months). If you store it in a ziplock freezer bag - make sure you get as much air out of the bag as possible before closing it and use it up within a couple of months.

If you are cooking for less than 4 people you may wish to halve this recipe.

https://stitchandboots.com/2012/09/19/southwestern-style-saute-for-freezing/