The quality of the peppers would be so low for canning that I would say you will not want to use them for that, unless it is as part of a sauce or something that will be cooked down. I chop and freeze peppers throughout the season, because I use them throughout the year, to mix into recipes, I can grab just what I need. I love my hot peppers mixed in with eggs or cheese grits(with garlic and polish sausage it's hard to beat). Usually at the end of the year, just before frost, I have plenty of peppers to can in relishes, or to include in my green tomato salsa(the only kind I do now since it doesn't have the "excess water" problem of ripe tomatoes).

I freeze my peppers and tomatoes from the garden until I have the time and amount I need to make salsa. I freeze my tomatoes whole, with the skin on. When I make salsa I pour the bag into the sink filled with hot water and the skin slips off easily. My recipe uses 24 med. tomatoes so I put 12 in a gallon bag, when I make salsa I know that two bags of tomatoes makes one recipe. Works great for me.

Wish I were in your shoes! Red peppers are so expensive here. Here are the recipes I would can if I could find cheap bell peppers: Shirley's taste-alike of Harry & David pepper and onion relish Linda Lou's roasted red pepper spread Just think it over. :-) Melissa Recipes: Pepper and Onion Relish, Harry & David style recipe by Shirley (shirleywny5) My last batch today is the last try at my H&D pepper,onion relish taste alike. I've made 4 batches of this already this season and I think I have got it about where I want it. If anyone is interested or even gives a dang, here is my recipe. I used my Cuisinart to chop all the peppers. Tomatoes were peeled, seeded and diced very small. The onion was diced using the Julienne blade of my V-slicer. 12 med Red bell peppers 10 jalapenos 5 assorted green, yellow or red hot peppers 5 large plum tomatoes 1 large onion. Any kind will do. 2 cups white vinegar 3 cups granulated sugar Remove seeds and white membrane from red peppers Remove HALF the seeds from the jalapenos Remove half the seeds from the other hots. Chop peppers in food processor Place in bowl with prepared tomatoes and onion. Sprinkle with 1 Tbls. canning salt. Let stand about 1 hour. Drain off liquid. I use my quart capacity strainer with a handle. The holes are smaller than my colander. You don't want any of the small pepper pieces falling through. Place peppers, onions and tomatoes in cooking pot and add sugar and vinegar. Cook over medium heat until thick as you like. Usually 30 or 45 minutes is plenty. You can almost tell by the texture. Ladle into jam jars and seal. Process 20 minutes in Hot water bath. Note: There was more discussion on this thread so if you have any questions let me know. For example, the red pepper skins stay on. Roasted Red Pepper Spread 6 lb. large red sweet peppers 1 lb. Roma tomatoes 2 large garlic cloves 1 small white onion 2 Tbsp. minced basil 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. coarse salt 1/2 cup red wine vinegar Roast peppers under broiler or on a grill at 425 degrees until skin wrinkles and chars in spots. Turn over and roast other side. Remove from heat.Place in a paper bag, secure opening, cool 15 minutes. Roast tomatoes, onion, and garlic under broiler or grill 10 - 15 minutes. Place tomatoes in a paper bag. Peel onion and garlic. Finely mince onion and garlic. Measure 1/4 cup and set aside. Peel and seed tomatoes and peppers. Puree in food processor or blender. Combine in a large pan.Bring to a boil over med.high heat, stir to prevent sticking. Reduce heat, simmer until spread thickens. Ladle hot spread into hot jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace. Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. For healthy vegetable pizzas, use this spread as the sauce on a whole wheat crust. Add whatever veg you like and sprinkle with feta instead of a thick layer of mozzarella.

Saving whole tomato as frozen, requires TOO MUCH storage volume. But if you convert it into sauce you will reduce its volume by more than half. There is no advantage in freezing tomato as whole or as smashed. When you lightly smash it, you get the juice out quickly. Then freeze the remainder in zip bag. But as somebody mentioned, freezing them whole is easiest and the quickest way to deal with it. Call it comfort factor.