Summer's here and we want to chill! Ann Kelly, kicking back in Kelly’s Kitchen with a tall glass of iced tea, glad for ceiling fans and AC. And equally glad for the one item in Kelly’s Kitchen that I use the most. My ice cube trays. Now, you’re thinking “who needs those” when most of us have the automatic ice cube maker with the fridge. True. But in Kelly’s Kitchen, they came in handy and help save some money.

Use those trays to save what you might have thrown away – I drink almond milk, but might not go through the entire carton too quickly. So I fill those fine plastic trays I picked up very inexpensively at a dollar-style store, and make cubes of the milk that I use to keep my smoothies nice and cold. I also take advantage of great buys on fresh fruit, puree those and also freeze for use in smoothies.

Oh, and that leftover coffee or tea? Yep, freeze that into cubes as well and make a nice iced coffee or tea and you won’t have a diluted drink when the cube is also made from your beverage of choice. And a LOT cheaper than going through the drive through for a specialty ice coffee; try adding some of those almond milk cubes for extra flavor and froth.

I’ve also use the trays for saving things like extra broth that’s leftover from recipes, filled them with fruit puree and tucked a popsicle stick into them when it was solid enough to stand up straight and made min-pops. What handy little tips can you share with me in Kelly’s Kitchen for keeping cool this summer? Feel free to share at 949comments@coxtampa.com! And don't forget to fill your fridge with freshness this summer and find some very sweet deals at Sweetbay Supermarket. I'm loving all the recipes I've found on www.sweetbaysupermarket.com. Search for some of your favorites!

Here’s another great way to save on your grocery bill. Let us give you the grocery money for the next trip to Sweetbay! We’re looking for your favorite 4^th of July recipes. Send one to by July 1^st for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Sweetbay Supermarket! We’ll choose one at random and it will be featured in Kelly’s Kitchen. For complete contest rules go to our contest section tab, and click on Sweetbay, then send your recipe to 949comments@coxtampa.com. 

And don’t forget that the perfect way to beat the summer heat is sitting inside Applebee’s on a Girls Night Out every Wednesday in June! Make sure you friend us on Facebook so you have inside dish on how to win – it’s the only way to know! We’ll have a winner every Wednesday afternoon with me during Late Afternoon Magic. Good luck!

Today’s words of wisdom from Kelly’s Kitchen…

Hey yogurt, if you're so cultured, how come I never see you at the opera?  ~Attributed to Stephen Colbert