Does anyone have any tips or knowledge garnered from their experiences they'd care to share ?

I can offer a tip on blanching veggies for freezing. We have been using the microwave and find it produces superior results producing a tastier product while saving energy, time and sweat over a large pot of boiling water during the hottest days of the summer.

After nuking the veg (times and quantities can probably found on the web, if not I have tables I can share with you) we plunge into ice H2O then shake off excess and lay out on towels to drain and dry a little. After this we simply spread in one layer on trays (we use the cardboard trays that cans of pop come on) and place in freezer. Once they freeze up we throw them into baggies and seal, this way they stay separate and you can just take out as much as you want for each meal.