During the week of May 8 to 15, green pepper went on sale 3 for $1 at Fresh Thyme Grocery store. That was the only item on sale that I intended to stock up on. To my request, my husband purchased $5 of green pepper.

After dinner in the same evening, I washed them with my lye soap, rinsed and dip them in vinegar water for few minutes.  I removed the top and seeds and put them in a zip bag. I stored it in the freezer. I would make vegetable broth later during the year.

I chopped the green pepper up, packed loosely in zip bags, and froze them flat in my smallest freezer.

In the past, Aldi has sales for green pepper 3 for $0.99 may be once or twice a year. However, last year I didn’t see it so I didn’t buy green pepper. I tried to grow pepper but it didn’t do well in the garden so I cooked without.

After the green pepper froze, I moved them to the bottom of the freezer and moved last year vegetables on top.

I could use my chopped green peppers when cooking in winter. I generally use a little in my cooking just for flavor. I could add it to my stir fry and more.

Green pepper can be frozen whole as well. To use it, I run it under water for few seconds and break a piece which I grate in the food. However, freezing green pepper whole occupies space. Something to consider if the freezer space is scarce. Buying green pepper on sale allows me not to pay full price for it this year. That is how I stock up on vegetables with my low food budget. When the food budget is low, it is good whenever possible, to put few dollars on the side to be spent on sales. I usually aim for $20 at the beginning of the month. I would put $20 in an envelope from my food budget so that when certain vegetables go on sale during the month I have the chance to stock up. I usually do that in spring and increase it a little for summer. In the mean time I set goal to put $100 from the food budget in an envelope every month for year-end grocery haul when my husband and I shop for my pantry food staples. Once I stock up on these staples the first few months of the year I don’t need to shop much during spring and summer unless a vegetables is on sale.