To Choose Joy: September 2015

Trudging through tall grass to find the reddest apples, adding cinnamon and cloves to every recipe, cool evening air breezing through the windows, unpacking favorite sweaters, and sipping pumpkin lattes.

It's officially Fall.

We took our kids on the first long-anticipated apple picking outing of the season today. They loved it as much as we always have, and it's fun to pass on traditions. The trees were just babies at the farm we picked at today, so our little ones didn't get to climb like they had hoped, but that didn't touch their lifted spirits.

Sean says it's a little too early for me to make Wassail, but the smell of autumn spices still filled our home as I buried myself in the kitchen to get another month ahead on meal-making.

Last month, I told you about Once A Month Meals, which has been an incredible resource to us. I learned a great deal about what freezes well and about how simple it really can be to get so far ahead on feeding my family. Our kids aren't quite as culinarily adventurous as we are yet, however, so I found myself feeling like all of the wonderful new recipes from OAMM were great for the grown-ups, but didn't work as well for our particular littles. OAMM works hard to make things kid friendly, but the amount of time we spent working to get our three-year-old (who would much prefer to survive on a strict diet of orange juice, peanut butter, and gummy bears) to just lick a taste of the new foods off of her spoon led me to the realization that we needed to go a different route this time around.

So, I created my own menu and recipes. I paired things with similar ingredients so I could buy most items in bulk and save more money, and I was able to shave another $100 off of our monthly grocery budget! Since I was familiar with the menu, so the shopping trip didn't seem as daunting, and I feel even better prepared for the month ahead, because I know that my kids will eat everything (well, the peanut butter and gummy bears kid might not eat it all, but there's got to be one wildcard, right?).

Because the ingredients I used were similar between so many recipes, I was able to prep and make everything in just eight total hours, spread out through the day.

Here is what's on the menu:

Cheddar Ale Soup (x3)
Irish Potato & Leek Soup (x3)
Turkey & Black Bean Soup (x3)
Tomato Basil Bisque (x3)
Butternut Squash Bisque (x3)
Honey Mustard Turkey Bacon Club Sandwiches (x15)
Mini Breakfast Egg Strata (x24)
Pumpkin Applesauce Breakfast Muffins (x48)
Apple Oat Breakfast Muffins (x48)
Pizza Dough (to thaw and roll out on the day-of; x4)
Spinach & Fruit Smoothies (x8)
Crockpot shredded chicken (to make pasta dishes, etc. easier on the day-of; x6)
Apple Crisp

We absolutely love fall soups, and they freeze beautifully, so I made those the focus of my meal plan. Another thing that we've discovered is freezable grilled sandwiches. They make awesome lunches, and they reheat really well. My kids love green smoothies, so I freeze the ingredients in individual bags to save time at the blender. All of the breakfast items are kid-favorites and so quick to reheat!

Irish Potato and Leek Soup

The smell of this one always brings me back to my childhood. My mom made the BEST cheese soup. Ask me some day about the time when my brother, James, and I tried to make our own cheese soup in an oil lamp with perfume and stickers...

Easy smoothies--just throw in the blender and add juice or water!

I love homemade pizza. Once the dough finishes rising, you can freeze it.

Toss a package of chicken breasts into the crockpot for 4 hours on high, shred, and freeze meal portions in small bags to add to other meals, like pasta dishes, on the day-of.

A few years ago, my beautiful friend Hannah Glidden taught me to freeze soups flat so that they can be rearranged more easily in the freezer. Her advice has been incredibly helpful!