Remember these Easter egg cakes we made a few weeks ago? We had a container full of pound cake scraps sitting in the freezer that we didn't want to waste, and cake pops were too laborious for a weeknight. Enter a few frozen strawberries that had been sitting around for a while...

Trifles are like the garbage disposal of desserts (tasty analogy, huh?); you can throw just about anything in them. Leftover cake, crumbled cookies, fruit, nuts, chocolate sauce, jam... Just layer them in a glass, and the composed whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.

If you're still cleaning out your fridge, freezer, and pantry, keep a trifle in mind. You don't need cake scraps. Leftover birthday cake slices? Half a batch of brownies? Sugar cookies? Those will all work with a little fruit and whipped cream (or, in our case, half a cup of Cool Whip left over from another project).

Related: Recipe: DIY Strawberry Shortcake

(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)