Food Cubes - A Frugal Friday Tip

I hate to waste food.  Often a recipe calls for a small amount of an ingredient and you're left wondering what to do with the rest of it. Tomato paste is a classic example. I've tried the tomato paste that comes in a tube and that's pretty handy.  Just squeeze out what you need, cap it and put it back in the refrigerator. But as with most things "convenient", those little tubes are pricey.  I would rather buy the small cans when they are on sale.  After using my tablespoon in a recipe, I put the rest in ice cube trays and make cubes from the leftovers.  The next time I need tomato paste, I defrost my cubes in the microwave and I'm ready to go.   I do the same thing with pesto.  These little cubes are perfect for when you need just a little to stir in soup or put on a slice of bread. Or how about on that leftover spaghetti from a few nights ago.  Am I the only one who never cooks the right amount of noodles?  What about lemons that are getting old and dried up in the refrigerator?  I juice them and make cubes.  I do the same thing with the zest.  Whenever I get ready to make chicken piccata, I pull out a few cubes and defrost them and that yummy meal is on the table in no time.  There is a definite difference in fresh lemon juice and juice that you buy in a bottle.  Fresh is always best and I try to use it whenever possible.  There are lots of other things that lend themselves to food cubes.  Chicken or vegetable broth cubes can be dropped into a pot of soup. Mashed and pureed fruits can be cubed and added to smoothies.  Can you think of others?  Each cube is about a tablespoon, so it's easy to know how many cubes you will need for a recipe.

Now, I've added another item to my cube stash.  Eggs.  Thanks to Jessica and her pinning, she found this idea on Pinterest and passed it along to me.  And I'm glad she did, because it's that time of year when the chickens are starting to lay fewer eggs.  In years past, I kept a light on a timer in the coop and the girls continued to lay eggs all winter.   But this year I've decided to let them run their natural course and that means the egg production will stop until spring.  While I have eggs now, I'm putting some in the freezer.  I don't know if I will have enough cubes to get me through the winter, but I'll be grateful for every egg I have.  I mean look at the color of that yolk!  You just can't buy eggs like that in the store.

I find that having food cubes in the freezer is a frugal way to manage my food dollars.   And with the rising cost of food, every little bit helps.   Come back next Friday and I'll share another idea to help you save money.  And please, share your ideas with me!