Freezing Strawberries and A Nifty Trick For Hulling Them

Strawberries are a favorite at our house, so I have been taking advantage of the great deals on strawberries this week. The only down side to strawberries is that they don't stay fresh for very long (even in the refrigerator). Even though my family has been happily trying to keep up with influx (strawberry jello, strawberry shortcake, strawberries on their cereal, strawberries after school, strawberries on ice cream, strawberry smoothies) I decided to freeze a bunch. That way we can enjoy them later in the season when they aren't so readily available (and cheap!). Freezing strawberries is very easy to do, and if you flash freeze them individually you can store them in gallon plastic freezer bags (using fewer plastic freezer bags). When you need strawberries you can take out only as many as you need. To freeze strawberries:

1. You will need a large cookie sheet covered with wax paper (make sure wax paper is 2-3 inches longer than the cookie sheet on both sides), a straw, and gallon plastic freezer bags.



2. Wash strawberries under cold running water. Place in a colander to drain.

3. Hull the strawberry. I read this method in a magazine several years ago, and it makes hulling strawberries so fast and easy (plus there is less waste) that I have been using it ever since.

A.Push non flexing side of the straw through the bottom of the strawberry.



B. Push up through the strawberry popping the stem out of the strawberry. If you don't get it all the first time, just pull back on the straw a little reposition and pop the rest out.



4. Place hulled strawberries on the cookie sheet.



5. Place cookie sheet on a flat area in the freezer. Let the strawberries "flash" freeze for about two hours. They should be firm, but not frozen to the cookie sheet. If you let your strawberries freeze over night, and they are frozen to the wax paper, let them sit on the counter for 15 minutes before removing them from the tray.

6. Remove from cookie sheet by lifting the corner of the wax paper and loosening the strawberries.



7. Place in a gallon plastic freezer bag. Write the date you froze the strawberries on the bag with a permanent marker. Place in the freezer for storage.



Now your strawberries are ready to enjoy. Use them to:

• Make smoothies.
• Make milkshakes
• Use them in place of ice cubes in lemonade or punch.
• Chop them up semi frozen and throw into pancakes, muffins, cake, or quick bread batter
• Thaw them whole and make fresh strawberry pie
• My kids like to eat them frozen like a popsicle. Just thread them onto a straw for a handy handle.

What are your favorite ways to eat strawberries?

Cold Cereal Stretchers

Yesterday, I was downstairs in my storage room organizing my cereal stash. At last count I have 75 boxes of cereal (there have been some VERY good cereal sales lately!). I try to buy the healthiest option, but sometimes the only choices are pretty sugar laden (those of course are the favorites). The funny thing is that my family really doesn't eat it for breakfast! It is our after school, second dinner (I have teenagers; after all), late night, or I'm craving something sweet (and at least cereal is lower calorie and higher fiber than cookies, brownies, ice cream, etc.). My family (and assorted neighbor children) can go through a regular size box of cereal in a day (my 17 year old son can do it in a sitting). To help cut down on the amount of super sweet cereal they consume, I have started combining a sugary cereal with a similar healthy option. For example:

• Rice Krispies with Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Krispies
• Kix with Cocoa Puffs
• Plain( or Fruity) Cheerios with Fruit Loops
• Plain(or Multi Grain) Cheerios with Lucky Charms
• Corn Pops with Puffed Rice cereal
• Corn Flakes with Frosted Flakes
• Bran Flakes with Total

There was some scoffing at first (child #3 is a purest. Cereal intermingling is a sin in his book.), but after the initial shock; it has been business as usual.

If your house is like mine, and there are always several containers (or boxes) of cereal with a minuscule amount of cereal left in them. I have been dumping those remnants in a gallon plastic ziploc bag. When it is full I make "Krispie" treats with it (who wouldn't eat leftover cereal covered in butter and marshmallow goodness?). Other great ways to use up cereal:

• Stir shredded Wheat crumbs into muffin or quick bread recipes.
• Stir shredded Wheat crumbs into oatmeal before microwaving it.
• Stir in crushed Shredded Wheat, Bran Flakes (or any flake cereal crumbs) into the dry ingredients when making bread.
  
• Crush Rice Chex, or Corn Flakes and roll chicken pieces (dip the chicken in egg first) in them to make baked fried chicken or chicken nuggets.
• Sprinkle crushed sugary cereal (like Capt'n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Krispie, or Fruit Loops) on top of cupcakes after you have frosted them, or over ice cream.
• Crush slightly and stir into yogurt (or layer between yogurt in clear glasses and call it a "Parfait").
• Mix crush cereal into cookie dough before baking. Also good in no bake cookies.
  
• Mix odd and ends of different cereals together with raisins, dried fruit, pretzels, peanuts, and chocolate chips to make trail mix.

The sky is the limit really! This way you can stretch your cereal dollar a little further.

My Hill Billy Clothesline

One of my favorite things about spring is that I can hang my laundry outside,again! I have had to get creative with a clothesline, though. We do not have any trees in our back yard to tie a rope between, and our lot is not huge, so I don't have a place to create a permanent clothes line. So, once again, I had to put on my thinking cap.

Because of the way our house sits on our lot, it is necessary to put a Quick Shade awning on our back deck to shade the French doors (which saves my poor family from roasting alive inside the house, and to keep the air conditioner from running 24/7). About every second year the canvas top on the awning begins to rip (requiring numerous duct tape repairs). By the third year the top is not salvageable. After some research I realized that it is more expensive to buy a replacement awning than to buy a whole new Quick Shade on sale. This leaves me with a supply of roofless awnings.

By now, you should know it causes me great stress to throw anything away that may have even a tiny bit of use left in it. So, I started thinking of ways I could reuse the awning frame. That's when I had my AH-HA moment!

I ran to the Dollar Store and grabbed some supplies:




Then I set the old Quick Shade frame up in the back yard:



Tied the clothesline in five sections across the frame (make sure you pull it tight and wrap it around several times. Then tie it with a triple square knot):


Add some laundry:





I made a quickie clothespin bag by sewing the bottom of one of the old kids cotton T shirts and hanging it on a hanger:


How's that for recycling? My family calls it my Hill Billy clothes line, but I call it pure genius. With the money that I save hanging laundry out to dry all summer (electric clothes dryers are one of the most expensive appliances to use); I can justify using our air conditioning (Bless modern appliances. I become very cranky when I am hot and sweaty!).

P.S. Here is a great POST from Living On A Dime.com on the proper way to hang laundry.

Ridley's (Associated Foods) Deals 4/27 - 5/3

Wow! There are some great deals at RIDLEY'S this week (check out your local Associated Foods store for similar deals)! It's definitely worth a trip. Don't forget it is Cinco de Mayo next week (May 5th), so watch for deals on Hispanic food in the grocery ads this week and next. This weeks great deals are:

1/2 flat(5 pounds) of strawberries $4.88 (time to make freezer jam!)
1 pound containers of strawberries 4 for $5.00 (if a half flat is a little too much)
W.F. (4 oz) diced green chili's $.39 each
80% lean ground beef $1.68 pound
W.F. (16 oz) sour cream $.73 each
Pasta Lougi brand dry pasta (16 oz) 2 for $1.00(this is a great deal for pasta)
Don Julio (10 count) flour tortillas $.78 each
Seeded watermelon 3 pounds for $1.00
Boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.87 pound (in the super saver pack)
W.F.(8 oz) cream cheese $.85 each
W.F. re fried beans (15 oz. can) $.69 each
W.F. (2 pound loaf) medium cheddar cheese $3.99 each
W.F. 1 pound packages butter $1.69 each (this is a fairly good price)
W.F. paper towels 2 for $1.00
Lay's potato chips 2 for $3.00 (for your first 2)
Oscar Mayer bologna 4 for $5.00 ($1.25 each)
W.F. (32 oz) container of yogurt 2 for $3.00 ($.30 per 6 oz serving)
Dole (9 oz) package of salad $.99 each
Roma tomatoes $.98 pound
Fresh cilantro bunches 5 for $1.00 (HANDY TIP: Fresh herbs freeze well. Chopped them up in a food processor. Pack them into ice cube trays, and cover with water. Freeze. When you want fresh herbs defrost in microwave and drain.)

Fabulous Baking Tip

I came across this handy tip in a cook book I was reading this weekend (call me weird, but I like to read cook books at bedtime. They help put me to sleep!). It suggested that you place a shallow dish filled with warm water (a glass pie plate works great) on the rack underneath your muffin pan or loaf pans of quick bread when you place them in the oven to bake. Since I had my inevitable black bananas to use up; I thought I would give it a try. Wow! What a difference it made. My muffins came out taller with a nice rounded crown (just like the pictures in food magazines), and they were light and fluffy (not always the case when I make muffins or quick bread). I baked the first batch for the normal time called for in the recipe,and they were a little too brown. The second batch I baked for 3 minutes less, and they were perfect!

Tightwad Mom's Frugal Book Pick Of The Month

Happy Earth Day! Baking soda is one of my most favorite things (strange I know). I consider it one of nature's wonder products! It is cheap, earth friendly, non toxic, and versatile! So,in keeping with my week of green tips, I thought I would review "Baking Soda" by Vicki Lansky (who is a contributing editor for Family Circle magazine). I checked this book out of our local library (in fact, I have checked it out so many times, the library should probably start charging me rent!). In the book is gives over 500 uses for baking soda. Everything from a kitchen deodorizer to a first aid staple! Did you know:

1. To ease sore throat pain dissolve a regular aspirin (crush it up)and 1 level teaspoon of baking soda to 1/2 cup very warm water, and gargle with it.
2. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into a new vacuum cleaner bag to help eliminate stale odors.
3. Make a paste of baking soda and water, and apply it to mosquito bites to relieve itching.
4. Sprinkle it on vomit on carpets. It will absorb the moisture and clump making it easier to clean up.
5. Add it to litter boxes to absorb odors.
6. Sprinkle it in stinky shoes. Shove the shoe full of wadded up newspaper and let sit for several days. It will absorb the smell (I swear by this one!).
7. Mix a teaspoon in cold cream to make a facial exfoliater.

Each chapter is categorized, for example, home maintenance, cooking tips, kitchen care, etc.; making it easy to find solutions for a particular problem. It's a fun and informative read. In fact, it would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift this year (Hint! Hint). Go grab a box of Arm and Hammer, and check out your local library A.S.A.P!

Go Green (It's Frugal)

Thursday (April 22nd) is Earth Day, and while I will admit I am not a totally "green" person I am trying. I do enjoy modern luxuries; like laundry soap, cosmetics, air conditioning, clothes dryers, and cars; just to name a few. I have come to realize, that we can use all of those things, we just need to use them conscientiously. I like being green, because it is also frugal. Gardening (even growing a few tomatoes in five gallon buckets, and some herbs in pots on the window sill) is healthier for both you and your grocery budget. Hanging clothes outside to dry, turning off lights when you leave a room, turning the thermostat down in winter and up in summer, watering flowers and lawns in the evening (or overnight if you have a sprinkler system) conserves resources, and saves on utility bills. Walking, biking, or carpooling to work saves on gasoline (which is suppose to increase in price as summer progresses), and the first two will make you healthier. Even categorizing errands according to area will help save you money and time. Washing out and reusing plastic storage bags,food and deli containers (check the underside of all containers if there is a #1,2,or 5 they are safe to reuse. Most food containers will fall into those categories)lessens the amount of trash that will end up in a landfill. Recycle items designated for the trash if at all possible. Hand down, mend, remodel, or repurpose clothing (check your local fabric stores they may offer sewing classes, and there are tons of tutorials on the Internet). This week I am going to gear my posts towards frugal ways to be green. With a little thought and effort we can be a littler kinder to our world, and our budgets.