How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans

Yummy note: Every summer, I always forget, how do I freeze fresh green beans again?? Between trying to grown them in our gardens and buying them at the farmer's market, I always seem to overdo the amount I have and don't want them to go to waste. So instead of eating them for like 4 days straight, I try and freeze a batch for later to enjoy. So this isn't really a recipe, but it is more of a how-to, and I always seem to have to look it up in my cookbook each summer. So I figured I should just archive it here so I have it for reference.

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans 

Ingredients: 
fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces
water

Directions:
First, trim the ends of your green beans and cut the beans into smaller pieces, if desired. The general rule of thumb I've heard about having enough water to boil, is to have roughly 1 gallon of water to 1 pound of fresh green beans. So adjust accordingly, and then bring that large pot of water to boil. Then working in batches, drop the green beans into the boiling water. Blanch the smaller pieces of green beans for about 2 minutes or for larger cut beans closer to 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water to have off to the side. Once green beans have reached your desired time, carefully remove the green beans from the boiling water and place into the ice water bath. Another tip I've heard is that they are to spend as much time in the cold water for as long as they have spent in the boiling water. Once green beans have cooled, prepare them for freezing, by using either freezer-safe containers or freezer bags.  

Trim the ends of the green beans and cut into smaller pieces, if desired. 

In smaller batches add green beans to boiling water. 

This process, also called blanching, preps your food for freezing. 

After blanching, drop beans into the ice water bath.

When preparing green beans from the frozen state, saute in a pan with a little bit of water for about 3-5 minutes or until they are tender crisp and done to your likeness.