Yummy (future) Money Saver

As you probably know by now, I am - or at least I try to be - very thrifty. My latest venture with grocery thriftiness turned out so fantastic I had to share.

I love fruit but it can be pricey. I also love popsicles but they tend to be unhealthy. My solution? Frozen "cutie" mandarin oranges.

I bought a bag of "Managers Special" Cuties - there were like 15+ Cuties for $1. For those unfamiliar with Managers Specials, this is something that is available at Kroger for a quick sale for a reduced price. There was no way I was going to eat through the bag of 15 Cuties so I decided to put my favorite kitchen tool, my freezer, to work. I had no idea going into it how the Cuties would turn out.

The end result turned out delish. Because they were frozen in single layers they are really easy to eat individually and there is absolutely no issue trying to separating them when you want a few

I snack on them and use them in smoothies and I know they will be a great treat in the hot Texas summer months ahead. I am not a parent but I would think these would be fantastic, fun, healthy and easy snacks for kiddos.

Before freezing:

1. peel (these suckers are super easy to peel by hand)
2. separate them
3. lay the pieces in a single layer on a pan that fits in the freezer. Be careful that they are in a single layer, otherwise you could have some issues separating them when you move them to storage bags

Layered and ready for the freezer

4. to freeze more cuties at a time, separate layers with a sheet of wax paper and place them on top of each other

Frozen and ready for storage

Leave them in the freezer till they are hard frozen then put them in freezer bags until you need them. If you have problem with them sticking to the bottom of the pan, just use a hard spatula to pull them up.

YUMMY! Ready to eat!

What you are your favorite cost saving ideas?