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