Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Whimsical Wednesday ~ 20 things to do with Ice cube trays!

I stumbled upon this list of uses for Ice cube trays. I never thought of a few of these!

1. Pesto: Fill each cube with pesto, seal and freeze. For easy preparation, place cubes in a stainless steel mixing bowl and rest the bowl over a Dutch Oven pot of cooking pasta (for a makeshift double boiler). The heat from the boiling water will melt the cubes
just in time to toss with the hot pasta.


2. Lemon & Lime Juice: Fill each cube with lemon/lime juice, seal, and freeze. Remove as needed for adding that zing or lemons/lime flavor to cooking or baking.


3. Homemade Baby Food: Freeze small amounts pureed fruits, vegetables, starches, and meat in each cube. Fill each cube, seal, and freeze for fresh, unprocessed baby food. To use, take out the desired number of cubes and thaw or reheat before feeding.


4. Fresh Herbs: Chop fresh herbs. Transfer 2 tbsp. of herbs into each cube, fi ll with approximately 1 tbsp. of water per cube, seal and freeze. Store until you are ready to add them to sauces, soups, stews or salsa.


5. Leftover Wine: Fill each cube with any type of wine, seal, and freeze. Perfect for adding to sauces. There may be a small difference in color of the sauce but will not affect the taste.


6. Juice & Pudding Popsicles: Fill each cube with juice or pudding, seal and freeze. When ready to eat, remove from freezer, place in a snack cup and let it slightly thaw until it becomes the consistency of an Italian Ice.


7. Frozen Fruit Chunks: For the perfect garnish for a sparkling summer drink, place assorted fruits into each cube including strawberries, lemon/lime zest, raspberries, pineapple, or grapes. Fill the remainder of the cube with water, seal, and freeze.


8. Buttermilk: Fill each cube with buttermilk, seal and freeze. Buttermilk can be frozen to be used in baking. If you would like to use it to make salad dressing, place in a chopper and blend it till it returns to its original consistency.


9. Egg Whites & Egg Yolks: Fill each cube with egg yolk/egg white, seal and freeze. Use for recipes that call for egg white or egg yolks.


10. Pancake, Waffle, & Crepe Batter: Fill each cube with batter. Seal and freeze. Place a cube on a hot fry pan, let it spread out then cook as normal without the fuss.


11. Coffee & Tea: Don’t water down your drinks. Fill each cube with coffee or tea, seal, and freeze. Use in place of ice for iced coffee or tea.


12. Tomato Paste & Tomato Sauce: When all you need is a small amount for a recipe, fi ll each cube with tomato paste or sauce, seal, freeze and use as needed.


13. Leftover Gravy: Fill each cube with leftover gravy, seal and freeze. Remove and use as needed.


14. Flavored Cubes: Fill each cube with your favorite fruit flavored drink or juice, seal and freeze. Use to flavor ice tea or other beverages or to add
flavor to water in your favorite re-usable bottle.


15. Onions, Garlic, Chilies, Carrots, & Celery: Chop vegetables, and transfer 2 tbsp. into each cube, fill with approximately 1 tbsp. of water per cube, seal and freeze. Perfect for adding to casseroles, sauces, soups, stews or salsa.


16. Chocolate Molds or Fudge: Prepare chocolate or fudge according to directions. Fill the cube with the chocolate, seal and freeze until firm. To loosen run a small knife under hot tap water and loosen the edges.


17. Leftover Condiments: Fill each cube with leftover condiments like mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce, salsa, or relish, seal and freeze. Thaw and use as toppings or in recipes.


18. Cookie Dough: Always have fresh baked cookies on hand. Fill each cube with a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough, seal and freeze. Thaw slightly, place on cookie sheet and bake as directed in recipe.


19. Stocks, Broth & Sauces: Fill each cube with stock, broth or sauce, seal, and freeze. Remove and use as needed.


20. Gelatin Squares: Prepare gelatin square recipe on packaging. Refrigerate until firm. To loosen, run a small knife under hot tap water and loosen edges.

Ok your turn, what other uses can you find for Ice Cube Trays?

Wanted to add, I found a great blog post for a 21st idea! Go check it out. Yum http://www.thetidynest.com/2010/09/freezer-smoothies.html

1 comment:

  1. Great list, Elizabeth! Thanks for featuring my blog!

    ReplyDelete