Do you ever go away on vacation, come home and wonder if the food in your fridge and freezer is still good?  Other than asking your neighbor, there really is no way to know if your power has gone out and for how long when your not home.

I was recently on a vacation with my family in Maine and I was getting some food out of my parents freezer when I spotted a plastic container with a  block of ice, frozen sideways.  I had to ask what it was doing in the freezer.  I was told it was there so they would know if the power went out, and for how long.  If the ice was on the bottom of the container, than the power had gone out and the ice had melted and froze again.  But if the ice was still sideways, the ice had not melted and the food had stayed cold.

I thought that this was a brilliant idea, so as soon as I got home I did the same thing in my freezer.  This is so easy to do, and worth doing, especially if you go on vacation a lot or have a second home where you leave food in the fridge and freezer.

To do this, just follow these simple instructions:

1) Get a small plastic container and lid

2) Fill the container half way with water

3) Place the container with lid in the freezer sideways

4) Once the water has frozen to ice, turn the container right side up.  The ice will be sideways in the container, and it will stay that way until the freezer gets warm enough to melt it.

Now, just check your container when you come back from vacation, or go on a trip to your second home.

Note: This idea came from my Step Mother, Virginia.  While I was on vacation in Maine, she gave me tons of great frugal tips and ideas that I will be using on Frugal Cape Cod.  She always has great ideas, and tips that I have never heard of before. Thank You!!!

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Last Christmas my mother in law gave my husband and I a cooking pan that makes what I call “pancake balls”.  I think the real name of this tasty treat is “Ebelskiver ” danish pancakes, either way they are mighty tasty!  I like to make pancake balls on the weekends and my kids love them too!

The great thing about pancake balls are that you get to pick what filling you want to put into the middle each time you cook them.  Each pancake ball is made with pancake batter and you fill the inside with the filling of your choice ( jelly, berries, chocolate, cheese and more).

What you will need is the pancake ball pan, which my mother in law purchased at Williams Sonoma.  You can buy the pan through their website or at the Williams Sonoma shop in Mashpee Commons.  Then, you will need to purchase pancake mix and your fillings.  The balls are very easy to make and only takes a few minutes per batch.  My daughter Stella likes to help me make the pancake balls every time.  In the slideshow below are photos of us making and eating some pancake balls.  There is also a great video on the Williams Sonoma website that shows neat recipes.

What you will need to do:

1) Buy the Ebelskiver Filled Pancake Pan (Williams Sonoma)

2) Buy pancake mix and ingredients (eggs, milk..)

3) Buy fillings (jelly, strawberries, blueberries, cheese, chocolate chips, etc.)

4) Mix your pancake batter and set aside.

5) Heat your pancake ball pan and place a tsp. of butter in each pancake ball hole.

6) When the butter melts add pancake batter 2/3 full

7) Place your fillings on the middle of each pancake ball

Flip ball over once bottom is cooked

9) Cook till done

10) Sprinkle with sugar and top with whipped cream and maple syrup

11) EAT and ENJOY!

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