I also made a lot of jams/jellies with my fresh fruit when I first became so "inspired" - thanks to so many helpful folks here. As time wore on, we found we ate fewer of them than anticipated. So what to do with frozen berries, fruits? Make juice. I use a stainless steel pot (for acids), bringing fruit to boil, using half fruit pulp to half water. When fruit has released juices, line a collendar with cheese cloth and strain juice into a new stainless steel, plastic or ceramic vessel. Cool. Wrap the cheese cloth around the pulp tying into a bag and allow pulp to drain, until the juices are extracted - save the pulp for later. You can hang the bag and catch drips - avoid contact with metal though, use non-reactive containers to hold dripping juices. I bottle the juice into plastic individual water bottle containers (after thorough washing and disinfecting with bleach water - (my GD uses a lot of these small water bottles in her "exercise" routines - and she will drink most of the juice as well). Taste the juices (GD drinks em, she usually tests em for flavor, sweet, etc.) I like added lemon or lime juice here to our liking with less on the sugar. I fill the bottles about 2/3rds full - mainly because they will expand when frozen, and sometimes like to add soda water to the juice after thawing or sometimes add it to teas (I know that sounds funny, but it tastes good on hot summer's day). These fresh-tasting fruit drinks are well-received and I can add more sugar or not - as preferred, rather than accepting the bottled commercial drink status quo. (Ack). I reserve the pulp - either freeze or use immediately for an addition to a sweet bread recipe. I use my zucchini bread recipe - here it is - so versatile: Zucchini Bread: (or Pumpkin, Hubbard Squash, Banana, Apple etc.) 3 C zucchini (or whatever pureed pulp you have) 1-2/3 C sugar (usually less). 2/3 C oil (soybean) 2 tsp vanilla (might try almond?) 4 eggs (beat slightly) 3 C flour (sometimes use a little whole wheat - sub about 1/3 C +- for white flour - other idea - brans,? etc.) 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 C nuts (toasted and ground) I used macadamias, almonds, walnuts - depending on whatever is available). 1/2 C raisins (sometimes use my own dried fruit - cut to size - fruit that I pureed and dried - fruit leathers, dried apple, pineapple - whatever I have lots of - and doesn't detract from recipe). Mix first 5 ingredients, then add flours, etc. Don't overbeat (it's not bread you know). Bake 350 degrees, 2 large buttered loaf pans. 50 to 60 minutes or when finger poke springs back when pressed to top of loaf. Cool on rack, run knife around edges before removal. Not too bad! My last effort involved cranberries with toasted - I think either almonds or macadamias - because that was what was in the freezer - and needed "using" at the...

I've never frozen it, but I canned a strawberry/lemonade concentrate when the girls were still at home and they loved it. I'd probably start with something like half lemon juice/half sugar, add the amount that would fill one cube of an ice cube tray to a glass, add water and taste it. That way you can adjust the sugar to more or less sweet, depending on how you like it and how sweet the lemons are. I freeze plain lemon juice and if you freeze it there's nothing needed to "preserve" it, so other than getting the ratio of sugar to lemon juice correct there's no issue. What a delicious problem to have! Annie

LOL Lindac, guess the naked thing is the common thing! I remember Fresca and Tab from the olden days....Mom had it the back of the frige. I'm guessing the Fresca was for a cocktail. We were allowed one coke a week back in the olden days....that and popcorn. In the living room of all places...a real treat for sure! I'm thinking this will be the cocktail for the 4th this year. BB, I have had and have made Nancy's pie crust with the vodka. Had the pleasure of seeing her do it first hand a couple of years ago. I'm not a huge fan of wine so we can trade...I'll take your vodka and give you my wine...unless it's that ice wine from Canada that Sharon (Chase) turned me onto. I'd fight ya for that bottle! LOL! Like Woodie mentioned, some of us like to party now and then : ) It's all good and I love when a post goes off topic and all over the place....now I want pie and a drink! Popcorn too! David

I've done a little of all of the above with success. We eat pies at Thanksgiving and then in the summer when the berries start coming in. My favorite is a Fresh Strawberry Shoney's Pie. But I abhor making the crust. So around Thanksgiving I make up a couple dozen crust and freeze them in the pans. I put wax paper squares between them and put about 5 into each 2 gallon size zip lock. I make up all my pies for Thanksgiving a week or two ahead and freeze them. Then all I have to worry about being in the 2 ovens is the Turkey and Ham and side dishes, many of which I have made the night before and just pop in the oven the last hour or so before dinner. That way I can spend time with the rest of the company. I have also frozen disks but use those mainly for top crust. Handling pie crust once is usually enough for me. But the store bought ones just don't appeal to me so I do freeze my own. I've found if you find it in the store, you can do the same thing only better tasting yourself.