I do some of all three each for different uses. Here is a previous thread that has my pickle recipe. I don't caan them but have them in the fridge for overa year and still great. They are also crisper since not canned

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread and Butter Jalapeno

Thanks, I will try that recipe this year!

"death by botulism" is very very rare and canning/pickling peppers is very very easy.
Check out the harvest forum here on Gardenweb for lots of help pickling things.
We pickle them in vinegar, we freeze them whole, and we dehydrate them, all three. That way we have the most choices/options open all winter to make whatever we want out of the extra pods.
Sometimes we start with one way, i.e. freeze pods in vacuum seal bags, then later we open them up and can them in vinegar as the first step in our sauce making process.
Then we also make dried sauce powder, so we make take those canned pods and puree them up then dehydrate them into a tangy powder.

kendra