Four Easy Steps To Freezing Berries

Berries are expensive, especially out of season. Freezing them is so easy its ridiculous. So save money, buy berries when they're in season and on sale, and freeze those bad boys for later.



A few weekends ago, I bought all these pints of blueberries and raspberries for $1 (the 1/2 pints of raspberries were 50 cents). Besides being in season, the reason they were so cheap was because they were on the verge of going bad. I had to pick and choose through the containers to make sure I didn't grab any moldy ones.



So I ended up with 16 pints of berries about ready to go bad. The day after I bought them, I made the blueberry and raspberry rhubarb pies I just posted about, but that still left me with about 12 pints of berries on the brink of destruction. The weather was super nice, and I didn't want to waste any more time in the kitchen. No problem! I quickly and easily froze the rest. Here's how.

Berries are super easy to freeze, requiring just these four steps:

1. Wash the berries to remove any dirt and/or nastiness.
   
   
   
   
2. Lay berries out on a baking sheet.
   
   
   
   
3. Place trays in the freezer for a day or two until the berries are frozen.
   
   
   
   
4. Scoop the frozen berries into plastic freezer bags and throw those bad boys back in the deep freeze.

Easy! Next time someone comes over unexpectedly, impress them by whipping up some quick blueberry muffins or cobbler. Frozen berries are good for frozen fruit smoothies or as a replacement for ice in a fancy cocktail.



Tips:

• You may want to measure the berries when putting them in your freezer bag so you'll know the exact amount of cups you have for future recipes.
  
  
• I also suggest writing the date you froze them and the amount on the bag so you don't forget how long they've been stuck under that frozen pizza.

Scrap Dough Pie

Don't you always have scrap dough left over when making a pie? I do. I hate throwing anything away, so I'll put it in the fridge, only to forget about it and have to throw it away later. Don't do that either. Make a scrap pie!



Scrap Pie
(Yes, this is obvious, but I don't care. I'm going to blog about it anyway.)

1. Just set aside some extra fruit to use as a pie filling. When you're done with your other pies, combine all your scraps and roll them out.
   
   
2. Mix your fruit filling (I like to do something a little different with it then the other pies so it is more special) and place in the center of the dough.
   
   
3. Fold the dough up and around the pie filling to form a little rustic tartlet.
   
   
4. Brush with egg. milk, oil, or whatever you use and drizzle with sugar.
   
   
5. Throw that bad boy into the oven with your other pies.

Bam! A delicious little treat. Kids love them!

Tip: Everybody Loves Bread Bowls

I know when I think bread bowls images of Country Kitchen or other tacky diners come to mind. But all tackiness aside, there is something awesome and comforting about the idea of soup or stew served in a edible carb loaded vehicle. I made bread bowls for our Forkably Hip, of course fancifying it up with the title "pastry dish". Using my good ol' standy pizza dough recipe, brushed with garlic and olive oil and sprinkled with a bit a Parmesan cheese, my "pastry bowls were delicious, elegant and definitely enjoyed by all!

But how did I make them bowl shapped you ask?


"Pastry bowls" cooking in oven. 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Tip: Bake your dough draped over bowls to mold their shape.

• Make sure to use OVEN SAFE bowls or glassware
  
• Make sure bowls are adequately sprayed with cooking oil before topping with dough.
  

Simple and fun, these little guys can definitely give an added panache to any soup or stew. Try it out!

Eggs Cubed

How do you serve Deviled Eggs at a party? The little stinkers have a round bottom so they have a tendency of rollin over. You can use a tray if you're lucky enough to have one. My Grandma gave me a beautiful one for my birthday a couple years ago. If you're one of the sad masses without, you have two options. You can go out and throw down some money on buying one.



Or you can purchase the fabulous EGG CUBER!



For a small chunk of change you can be the owner of this little doohickey which guarantees a flat bottom and keeps your deviled eggs sittin pretty.