Citrus Surplus? No problem!

One of my favorite things about living in Arizona is the beautiful “winter” weather we have here and all the fresh fruit we get from our family’s citrus trees during the season. We almost always have to take bagfuls into work, over to friend’s houses, or anywhere else we know will welcome some citrus because we simply can’t use it all.  But this year, we have so much that we can’t even seem to give it all away! Normally, I donate our extra citrus to food shelters, but they currently aren’t accepting donations due to the risk of spreading Asian Citrus Psyllid, which can cause serious damage to crops.  (Good news though – it hasn’t been found here yet, but food shelters are taking every precaution.) So, since I am not one to let things go to waste, I had to get a bit more creative; I’m excited to share ways to put your citrus to great use!

Potpourri
Okay, before you laugh and call me crazy, this isn’t actually that hard to do. Believe me, if I can do it, you can too! You just have to be patient. If you intend to make potpourri by drying your citrus in the oven, it can take 6-8 hours since you have to use a super low temp. But if you have a food dehydrator, you can make the potpourri in half the time. Once you have dried your citrus, you can display them in a pretty bowl or vase and enjoy the fresh citrus scent for months! If you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can also add some spices or herbs to take it up a notch; think dried cranberries and cinnamon sticks for a wintery scent, or dried rosemary for a crisp spring scent. The possibilities are endless! You can also cut up the citrus and simmer it with spices for a decadent aroma that will fill the whole house (great for when you’re hosting a party!)  Here are some great simmering potpourri recipes.

Cleaning
Slice a lemon in half and you have an awesome tub/sink cleaner. Just swirl around and scrub, then rinse well. Works great and smells so good. And when you’re done scrubbing, take those rinds and squeeze any leftover juice and pulp down your kitchen garbage disposal to deodorize. (Depending on your disposal, be careful with grinding the rinds though). Check out other great citrus cleaning ideas here.

Citrus Cubes
Get yourself a good citrus press and this one will be a breeze! (We found ours at Marshall’s for only $30). Cut fruit in half and squeeze into a bowl, then pour into ice cube trays and freeze, voila! Couldn’t be easier. Once frozen, pop the cubes out of the trays and store in gallon freezer bags. Our freezer is full of these! Then, when you’re making a pitcher of iced tea, thrown a cube of lemon juice in there. Have a recipe that needs fresh citrus juice? Take one out and thaw (most ice cube trays make cubes that are just about 2 tablespoons.) Try these Orange, Lemon & Poppy Seed Muffins – so good and perfect for citrus cubes!

Cheers
By far, my favorite way to use citrus is to make cocktails. Here are some of my favorite recipes. You can sweeten these with honey, agave nectar, or simple syrup. I’ve tried them all, I just happen to prefer agave nectar.

Moscow Mule
– 1.5 oz vodka (Tito’s Homemade Organic is my go to vodka!)
– .5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
– 6 oz ginger beer
Shake and serve over ice

Grapefruit Margarita
– 1oz tequila
– .5 oz grand marnier
– 1oz fresh lime juice
– 1oz fresh grapefruit juice
– .5 oz agave nectar
Shake and serve over ice

Sangria
– 5 oz favorite wine (red or white works)
– slices of favorite citrus fruits
Serve over ice
(This one wins in the quick and easy category!)

Blueberry Lemontini
– 1.5 oz vodka (again, Tito’s is my fav but if you want extra flavor, Smirnoff makes a yummy blueberry flavored vodka that is perfect for this)
– 1 oz fresh lemon juice
– .5 oz agave nectar
Shake with ice and top with frozen blueberries for garnish (can use fresh too but the frozen ones help keep your drink chilled – bonus!)
If this is too strong, add 1 oz water to tone it down

What other creative ideas do you have to use your extra citrus?  I’d love to hear your ideas below!