If you’re anything like me, your garden harvests have started to become a bit stressful. Suddenly, you have to figure out what to do with 20 fresh squash a day, containers filled with beans and a ton of tomatoes. What on earth are you supposed to do with more produce? Well, I don’t really like canning. I will make jelly and can a few tomatoes, but I’d rather take the easy way out and package up my produce with my FoodSaver. I love this thing. It really takes no time at all and it is a lot less hot and steamy than canning during hot weather. I freeze fresh fruit, too. The good thing about the FoodSaver is that it keeps my frozen food from being freezer burned. I just finished using last year’s peaches the other day and they tasted nice and fresh. Anyway, if you don’t have one, get one. I’ve seen them at Kohls and Overstock.com, but you can order direct from the manufacturer right now with some nice incentives.

A few tips:
* Don’t overcook. Follow the manufacturer cooking instructions exactly.
* Drain off as much excess juice as possible because sometimes the juice gets in the seal and messes it up.
* Sometimes pre-freezing things that are especially juicy helps me get a better seal. I just pop them in the freezer for about an hour. I don’t know how that affects the freshness of the fruit or veggies, but they taste fine to me.

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