Stocking Up for School - September's Menu

September is the nuttiest time of year for me.  I'm back at school and my kids are back at school and suddenly, we need to have a routine again.  When I tell you that teachers make up for those 2 months "off" in just the month of September, please believe it.  There is so much to get ready for and figure out, it's a little crazy.  If ever there is a time that I stock up, it is now.  In fact, September used to be the only time I did freezer meals all year!  I need all the help I can get in September and not having to cook, well...that's awesome. And I like to cook!

Check it out, ya'll are gonna be so proud of me...I finally figured out how to make a calendar this summer!  So...tada!  Here is September's menu!

September Calendar Menu

Everything on here is a freezer meal but remember, if you don't want to give freezer cooking a go, you can make any of these the morning of and throw it in the crockpot.  God bless ya for having time for that.  Here's your grocery list...itemized by meal.

September Grocery List

The highlighted items are items you need on the day you are cooking, for those who are planning on freezing in advance.  This year I decided to do something a little different.  I invited several teacher friends who have been big blog supporters and very interested in freezing meals to come over and freeze with me.  This took major planning on my part and I wondered if I was going to regret it. But we had a good time and although we were exhausted, we got 21 meals done in 6 hours.  We started by having a cup of coffee and writing on all our bags.  It was looking crazy in my poor little kitchen!

 

Here is a list of what you should write on all the bags.  You should always put the date on your meals as well.  I like to know what I am going to need to add on for the meal on the cooking day by just looking at the bag.

What to write on your bags

If you'd like to freeze these meals, here is our "agenda".  I break it down by meats and then I made a note if we had to do something (like cut or cook) or if we were just throwing it all in a bag (hence the word "dump" everywhere!)

Agenda for freezer day

I start with the crappiest stuff first.  Chopping and then any actual cooking that has to be done.  Like this.

But mostly this.

Man, that's a lot of onions.  It is for three people.  But still...glad I had a back porch to put these on!

Here is a grocery list for the whole month, in case you want to give it a try!  This list does NOT include the freezer french fries or pizza (dough or sauce) on the menu.  Because making that the same day as 21 other things would have been insane.  

Itemized Grocery List

Remember to start small if you've never done this before!  Try just doing the chicken section in one day.  Being organized is clutch in freezer cooking!  Good luck!  Enjoy and if you have any questions about freezer meals, please let me know!

Happy back to school!  

K

Who Wants S'more?

Want a cheap party idea that kids and adults both love?  Have a s'mores bar!  I think the only thing more American than s'mores is apple pie.  (And I personally would rather have the s'more.)  If you haven't had one in awhile, you are in for a treat.  Take a bite and you will not only feel like a little kid again, you will remember what's so great about them.

So here's how you go from just having plain old s'mores to having a s'mores bar!  Have a variety of:

• Graham crackers (you can even use some types of cookies instead of grahams, like Keebler Fudge Stripes)
• Flavored marshmallows (Wal Mart has a good selection)
• Candy bars (you could even try using Nutella instead of a candy bar)

I simply made a tray of chocolate bars (already split up) and graham crackers (depending on how many people you have, you could do a separate tray for the grahams). We had: Caramello bars, Cookies and Cream, Symphony, regular Hershey bars and Andes Mints, as well as chocolate and regular graham crackers.

I filled bowls with the different types of marshmallows we had: plain, chocolate and vanilla swirl, and toasted coconut.  We had a jar for our "sticks" (fondue forks in our case!  Which work great!).  

And a menu or directions board!

You can get as crazy as your imagination will let you!  I think 4-5 different types is a good selection.  Believe me, everyone will feel compelled to try them all!  We honestly thought we might be sick, we just couldn't stop.  Here's what we came up with and I swear one was better than the next!

Samoa S'more (a nod to my FAV girl scout cookie)
chocolate graham cracker
caramello bar

toasted coconut marshmallow

Nutty Buddy S'more (crowd favorite)
regular graham cracker
Symphony bar

toasted coconut marshmallow

Grasshopper S'more (we considered renaming them the Thin Mint)
chocolate graham cracker
Andes mint
chocolate/vanilla swirl marshmallow

Cookies and Cream S'more
chocolate graham
cookies and cream bar
chocolate/vanilla swirl marshmallow

And of course...don't forget the classic!

I honestly don't know who enjoyed it more, the kids or the grown-ups.

Speaking of grown-ups, we went through a lot of trouble for you guys to see what kind of drink would actually work with s'mores!  We found 2 wines that we liked:

Great with Samao and Grasshopper

Liked with the Nutty Buddy and Cookies and Cream

Both can be found at Trader Joes for around $6.  You're welcome.  You know I am always here for you.

There's a little more than 7 weeks of summer left.  I'm sorry.  I should have warned you before I just busted off with that.  My point is...don't procrastinate too much longer on those summer things you want to do. Want to have a s'mores bar?  Get to it!  If you made a summer bucket list, this would be a good time to revisit it.  Remember...don't treat your bucket list like a checklist and stress yourself out about what has to be done.  That's not fun at all. Just make some decisions...what will you really regret not having done this summer?  Then, like Nike says...just do it!

Hope you enjoy S'more of your Summer!
K