Q: What Do I Do With All of These Blueberries?!?

A:  Freeze them!

     Bake something with them!
     Preserve them for the winter!
     And of course, eat them!

When one goes to a blueberry patch and returns with six and a half pounds of blueberries, one has to figure out a way to keep them fresh for a while.   I decided to freeze my blueberries.

You can also can blueberries, but I like the freshness that freezing gives.  I rarely make fruit pies, and when blueberries are canned, it creates more of the blueberry pie filling-type preserves instead of a fresh, whole blueberry.  I did, however, use quart canning jars to keep the berries in during the freeze.  If you are interested in canning blueberries, here is a great website with all sorts of informative instructions: Pick-Your-Own.  I just wanted plain, fresh blueberries that I can pull out of the freezer and use in cobblers, crisps, muffins, etc...or just eat as a lunch side in the middle of winter.

Freezing blueberries is a really easy process. The longest part is waiting for them to freeze!

First, don't wash the berries.  Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  I lined my sheets with wax paper, to prevent any sticking to the metal and keep from having to wash the baking sheets.

Then, make some room in the freezer, and pop the baking sheets in!

While waiting for the berries to freeze, wash and dry your canning jars.  You want to make sure there isn't any water left in the jars when the berries go in, or you'll get a lot of ice, which will melt when thawing.

Once the berries are frozen (allow them to sit in the freezer for at least two hours), pour them carefully into the jars.  Leave a bit of room at the top.

Store them in the freezer until you need them!

So, now we have a good supply of blueberries for the winter.  Yay!  My mom was nice enough to send me a recipe that she has tried.  I haven't made it yet, but it looks simple and delicious.  Go ahead and give it a try, and let me know what you think!

BEST EVER BLUEBERRY COBBLER
4 cups fresh blueberries
4 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 - 1/2 cups orange juice
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cups softened butter
1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
**Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
**In an 8 inch square baking dish mix blueberries, 4 tablespoons sugar, and orange juice.  Set aside.  In a small bowl thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.
**In a medium bowl cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla extract.  Gradually add flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are combined.  Drop batter by rounded tablespoons over blueberry mixture.  Try to cover as much of the filling as possible.
**Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

"This is really good, especially with vanilla ice cream!!"--according to my mom.  :)