Getting in the Groove

How is it almost time to head back to school? 

During the school year, I scour sales, buy in bulk & make multiple servings of meals to cut dinner prep to a minimum on our busiest nights. Why make a mess in the kitchen for the same meal 3 times, right? 

We cook a variety of foods seasonally, from scratch & on a budget. Once the weather cools, I get busy in the kitchen, sous chefs in tow and we're nice and toasty in the house without bumping up the heat. I've done this since college so it certainly works for singles & couples...we're just prepping on a larger scale these days. 

It's so nice to come in from work and not have to scramble around cooking at the last minute. It just takes a little planning, really.

While I'm home all summer, the kids enjoy the remaining meals with lots of fresh fruits and veg from the farmer's market and our garden. Once the deep freezer contents begin to dwindle, we have a terrific time following directions and practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division & fractions as we begin restocking. baking.

I start with breakfast and lunch items to help our mornings run a little smoother as we transition to early mornings of what seems like pure chaos the first month or two. 

The kiddos bring their lunches to school most days and are responsible for packing their own this year-----I'm pretty excited about that! 

I thought stocking up on some low cost snacks for the freezer would go over well with munchkin & our middle. Our oldest was happy to do some taste testing. Thumbs up, seal of approval.

Munchkin decided on oatmeal raisin cookie dough. She is not a fan of mixing without the Kitchen Aid. I hear you, girl. Exhausted after all the laborious mixing (with help, mind you) she graciously allowed me to bake all 8 dozen. I think we'll all sleep well tonight.

Best Wishes,

Heather