~~Preserving The Harvest~~Part 2

~~~Sarah D, this is for you!~~~~
I should have mentioned how to use the dehydrated bell peppers and onions. :) Once the items are dehydrated you can store them and use them anytime you want. They can be tossed in soups, casseroles, or whatever dish you are preparing. You would use them the same as if they were fresh from the garden.

I store mine in mason jars since I have a ton of them and I like storing my items in glass. Since I've dehydrated the bell peppers, about a week ago, I've used them in dishes twice so far and they add wonderful flavor. I just grab a hand full and toss 'em into a dish.

 You can rehydrate the peppers or onions at any point by simply tossing them in a small amount of water. They rehydrate perfectly.

If you wanted you could throw the dehydrated onions in the vita-mix and make your own onion powder. You can do the same with the bell peppers. I just sliced the onions raw and then directly put them in the dehydrator.
You can blanch the onions after slicing and then dehydrate them if you want. If you choose to blanch them then add the sliced onions to boiling water. Boil for 1 minute and then remove, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Then put them in the dehydrator. One reason people blanch onions is because sometimes the onions turn pink, that is due to the sugar content of the onions being to high. HAPPY PRESERVING!