A small counter top food dehydrator is the most versatile appliance a mom or home gardener could ever want. The bounty of fresh vegetables, you worked so hard to grow this past season, are ready to be preserved. Try setting a few of your family-s favorites aside before starting your canning this year, and pop them in the food dehydrator.

Turnips and zucchini make wonderful dippers when seasoned with seafood seasoning or even a favorite bar-b-q rub. Slice your vegetables thin, using a food processor, to get even cuts for drying. Lay them on a baking sheet and lightly season both sides. Process according to your dehydrator-s instructions, and in a few hours, you will have tasty vegetable crab chips or vegetable bar-b-q chips.

For dip choices, whether using vegetable “chips’ as your dippers, or fresh from the garden carrots; choose something fast and easy that the kids can mix up anytime they need a snack. Add bar-b-q sauce to low calorie ranch dressing, or seafood seasoning to nonfat sour cream with a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

The kids will beg for more of these flavorful “chips’ and tangy dips; and they will be getting their daily serving of vegetables.