Five Easy Ways to Feed Your Family: The Back to School Edition.

Here we go guys.  Back to school time seems to coincide with back to crazy busy season.  It's not just heading back to school.  It's all the sports and events and busyness that accompanies it that makes us feel a little overwhelmed.  Add to that a house filled with people who, oddly enough, expect you to feed them.....  well it can make you not so nice.

Here's some ideas on how to get food on the table.

• Slow cooker love.   Seriously, I love my slow cooker.  It makes life simple.  Just dump in your ingredients and walk away.  It's like magic in my kitchen.  Try my layered dinners, awesome chili, lasagna and even lazy rice crispie treats.

• Big batches.  If you have to cook (and you do), make double or triple and save it for another time.  I always make double or triple of taco meat, sloppy joes, grilled chicken, chili, hot dog sauce and soup beans.  I use one serving for dinner on the night I make it and freeze the rest in labeled freezer bags for use on a night that I know I'll be busy.  With most of the meals, I just throw a frozen lump of meat (especially tacos, sloppy joes and chili) into the crock pot in the morning and turn it on low.  By the time I get home the majority of my work is done.  Add a veggie or two and dinner's on the table. 

• Quick and easy meals.  These are my go to's when I have nothing.  No time, no energy and no money for takeout.  There's quick, cheap and easy - my perfect trifecta of a recipe.  Some of my go to's are keilbasa & potatoes, the big sandwich, quick potato dinner, and Uncle J's dish.  And of course, if you're really in a bind there's always breakfast for dinner.

• Freeze and grill it.  This is my main way to do chicken.  When you come home from the store (or in our case the farm) take a few minutes to separate out your chicken into freezer bags.  Throw in a great marinade and toss your labeled bag in the freezer.  Pull it out to thaw before work or after breakfast on the day you need it.  It's just a quick grill from there to dinner.  I usually add baked potatoes done in the microwave and a veggie.  Some of my favorite marinades are sweet suprise sauce for chicken or pork, honey grilled chicken, and this amazing chicken and steak marinade from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. 

• My final tip is Leftover love.  We have leftover night just about any week that we actually have leftovers.  It's simple.  Just warm it all up and put it on the table.  Why waste what you've made, right?

And there you have it.  Now get to it!

Pictures from Anne Taintor.