Lemons and Limes

I just had to share this idea.
I was at the store and saw these lemons and limes in the bin for fast sale. At first I past them by because the bags were too big to use before they'd go bad. There were about 20 lemons and 25 limes in a bag. And each bag was only 99 cents!!

I couldn't leave them.  So I brought them home and washed them, then zested and juiced them all.

I froze the juice in ice cube trays and the zest in ziplok baggies.  A little elbow grease and I'm ready for any recipe that calls for juice or zest of lemons or limes!

Individual Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake

If you want to stretch the summer strawberry season, make some of these shortcakes to eat now and freeze a few more so you can enjoy them a little later on.

1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 - 8" vanilla cake, cut in cubes
3 cups Cool Whip topping

Using either a store bought cake or homemade, cut in 1 inch cubes and set aside.

Slice the strawberries into a saucepan and add sugar and balsamic. Warm on medium heat 2-3 minutes to let the juices release. Mix together the cornstarch and cold water and stir into the berries. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium and cook another couple of minutes until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and cool. I stuck the saucepan in the freezer a few minutes.

I used clear plastic 9 oz cups. Start with a layer of cake then a layer of Cool Whip. Add berries, cake, berries and top it off with Cool Whip.

Now if you are planning on using these right away by all means use whipping cream, but I planned on freezing some so Cool Whip was the better alternative.

Don't garnish the ones you are going to freeze.

Simply wrap the cup in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer. To use, thaw in fridge and then garnish with a fresh strawberry when ready.

We've got to stretch summer out any way we can!

Household Hint - Defrosting the Freezer

What does this have to do with defrosting a freezer?

The lid !!
It fits perfectly in the bottom of my upright freezer.

It also fits in the freezer part of my fridge.  Just empty your freezer, turn it off and place a fan inside.

Sit the lid on an old towel. The lid will catch chunks of ice and water while the towel will catch the runoff from the sides.

You'll be done defrosting the freezer in about an hour (depending on how much ice you've accumulated of course)