It's time to start making pesto. My basil plants are bursting forth and I have no other choice - LOL!

Seriously I love this time of year. But I cannot possibly consume the homemade pesto any faster than I can consume the fresh basil so here's what I do:

Spray a plastic ice cube tray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the leftover pesto into the holes of the tray, leaving a bit of room for expansion. (Each tray section holds 1 to 2 tablespoons nicely.) Stick the tray into the freezer.

After the contents are frozen solid, remove the tray and pop out the cubes. Stick these into freezer-weight plastic bags, label it with date and contents name, and put the bag back into the freezer.

Next time you need a bit of pesto to smear on pizza or toss with noodles, pull a cube out and place it in a dish at room temperature until it thaws, about 10 minutes. (When tossing with cooked, still-hot pasta, you can skip this part.)

This also works with pizza sauce, peanut sauce, hotdog chili, wine (for cooking with later, not drinking), and probably a lot of other things I’ve never thought of. Let me know what ice cube tray tricks you find!