From the Old Fashioned Living Forums

FREEZING BANANAS

Yes, you can freeze bananas. Just peel, wrap in plastic wrap, and stick in the freezer. They are great to eat just that way. Or, you can dip in melted chocolate, roll in nuts, and freeze and eat. They are so sweet. The plain bananas are fine to thaw out a bit, mash and make banana bread. They make great smoothies, too. Just add frozen chunks in the blender. If you have a dehydrator, you can slice and dehydrate,too. They are not like the commercial banana chips, though, which are deep fat fried and coated in sugar solution. ~LindaLou

I take a banana, split in half, run a Popsicle stick through each cut end, wrap in waxed paper and freeze. Whenever you want a really good snack, eat one!! I you'll think you're eating a fattening treat, and it's only a banana!! Try it, you'll like it!! ~Judy

BUG'S BANANA BREAD

All I do is put 3-4 bananas in a small bag and squish! That is all, and it works great for muffins or bread. My recipe is:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 bananas mashed

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup walnuts or 1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter,sugar and eggs with bananas. Mix in dry ingredients till just combined. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 F. degrees for 1 hour till tooth pick comes out clean. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Take out of the pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf. ~bug

PEACHES & APPLES

Here in Utah we have wonderful peaches and apples in the summer and I can and freeze a lot of them. Try lining a pie pan with Saran Wrap or foil, leaving enough room to totally wrap around the contents when full. Fill the pan 3/4 full with your favorite fruit pie filling and freeze. Remove the frozen filling from the pan, wrap well and store in the freezer. That way it is all ready to put into the pastry and bake any time of the year. This can also be used for pears, nectarines, cherries and berries. You can have a bit of summer even if there is snow on the ground. ~Pat in Utah;)

FREEZING SUMMER AND WINTER SQUASH

Winter squashes all freeze well, but they may lose their original texture. Summer squash is best suited for soup after it's been frozen, but freezing is the only way to keep it for any length of time. To freeze pumpkin and other winter squashes, wash, halve and remove seeds. Leave squash in halves or peel and cube it. To make a puree, bake the pumpkin and winter squash halves in a 350 degrees F. oven until soft. (Steaming is also possible but will make a moister puree). Scrape the meat out of the shells and mash thoroughly or run through a food mill. If preparing cubes, peel and steam the cubes until soft. Leave the cubes whole or run a food mill or processor. Pack into containers. Seal, label and freeze. ~Linda Lou