Ice cube trays are the solution to all my food storage dilemmas. We have a delightful chest freezer, but defrosting blocks of frozen tupperware is not a highpoint of my day. First, it takes forever (have I mentioned patience is not my strong suit?). Second, we don't microwave plastic because plastics leach into the food, so not only does it take forever, but I also have to figure out a way to pry the frozen stuff out. The end result? A big mess.
Well, ice cube trays are the way forward. Simply freeze whatever leftovers you have into the trays and then after they're frozen put them into labeled freezer bags. When you want some, you can conveniently select however much you need, AND it heats up super quickly in the microwave.
Also, there are some things we can never eat a whole package of before they go bad: pesto, pizza sauce, hummus, baked beans, coconut milk. It's pretty fun to have all of that perpetually at your fingertips without the responsibility for finishing off a whole container.
I just finished boiling two more (big) pumpkins from our garden, and freezing them into (lots) of ice cube trays. Actually, I ran out of ice cube trays so I resorted to putting dollops of pumpkin on cookie sheets to freeze in individual portions. I think I might've just taken care of all our pumpkin needs for the year. (Incidentally, pumpkin is really good in yogurt, and in chocolate cake....)
