"Making Do" in the Kitchen: 101 Uses for Your Ice Cube Trays

{Okay, so it's really more like, 8 Uses for Your Ice Cube Trays... but still... I bet you will find an idea or two here that you hadn't thought of ....}

When we moved into our house about 10 1/2 years ago, we were lucky to find that the refrigerator/freezer that came with it had an automatic ice maker, so these guys got thrown to the back of a cabinet.

Fast forward all those years later... I pulled those trays out of the cabinet, ran them through the dishwasher (yeah, all those years in the back of the cabinet had left them pretty dusty), and started of thinking of all the things I could use them for, besides making ice cubes with standard H2O.

The little "compartment" of an ice cube tray will hold about 1 tablespoon. For all of these ideas, place the food in the tray, freeze, pop them out, then store in plastic bags in your freezer.

Don't you hate it when you need just a tablespoon of tomato paste, and then the rest of the can goes to waste before you get a chance to use it? Simply put the leftovers into cube trays & freeze. Now you can use a tablespoon or 2 of tomato paste whenever you need it, without worrying about how to use up what's leftover. (I have bought the tomato paste in a tube before, and while it's convenient when you need just a small amount, it's quite a bit more expensive than buying the cans when they are on sale.)

That bunch of cilantro in the above photo was hanging out in the fridge, too, with nowhere to go. I had bought a bunch of cilantro to make salsa, but only used about half of it. A great way to use up fresh herbs is to make a "pesto" (traditionally made with basil, but it's the same idea.) Put the herbs in a blender or food processor with a little water and/or oil and make a paste. Spoon into the trays and freeze. Voila- a freezer stocked with "fresh" herbs (which taste a whole lot better than the jars of dried herbs, anyway.)

Making a recipe which calls for egg whites or egg yolks only, and don't want to throw the rest out? Place the leftover whites or yolks in the trays and freeze. Each compartment in the ice cube tray will fit one yolk perfectly, or the white of a medium egg. I found that they didn't just pop right out of the tray, so I ran the bottom of the tray under a little warm water and used a knife to loosen the edges.

If milk or cream is about to turn, place in ice cube trays and freeze- then pop one into your morning coffee or tea. (You may want to fill the trays only about 1/3 - 1/2 full if you don't use a full tablespoon of milk or cream in your coffee.)

Here is a trick I picked up from Trader Joe's- I purchased their frozen mashed potatoes and found that the potatoes in the bag were frozen little squares or nuggets. Place your leftover mashed potatoes in ice cube trays to freeze, and then you can take out exactly as many portions as you need. Great for single servings!

Make juice cubes instead of regular ice cubes for your summer iced teas and cocktails- it will flavor rather than dilute your beverage as it melts. Try the same idea with leftover coffee and make cubes for your iced coffee.

Freeze leftover broth, stock, or wine and place a cube or two in sauces and gravies or other favorite recipes as they cook.

I'm sure there are many other things to use your ice cube trays for- Please share your ideas and tips with us in the comments!