"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Back to school time! I think all mothers (particularly those who are at home with the kiddos all summer long) should get the first day of school off for a huge kid-less party. Most of the moms I know, however, go back to school with the kiddos, as teachers, aides, college professors, etc. So there really wasn't anyone to party with yesterday!

Thankfully, our whole family of three share the same rhythm of the school year schedule, though I start a little later than the two of them. Brian's a chemistry professor, Katie's in middle school, and I substitute at local elementary schools. Once September hits us, life comes at us hard with school, studying, exams, sports, meetings, etc. It really helps to have some pre-made meals ready to defrost and cook.

So instead of partying by myself, I cooked. I've been cooking up a storm, trying to re-fill the freezer from the Big Thaw of '08. Over Labor Day weekend chicken was on sale at Albertsons...at the best price I've seen all year: $1.69 for regular boneless, skinless breasts OR $2.69 for the hand-trimmed ones. *I* get the hand-trimmed ones. It is SOOOOOOOOO worth it not to have to de-gunk all that chicken. I buy it and use it as is. It's a laborious chore that I am happy to pay someone else to do. I made three trips to the store, buying 30-50 breasts at a time.

What did I do with all that chicken? I stocked my freezer with:

• Barbequed Herb Mustard Chicken
• Sesame Chicken Bites (new recipe)
• Chicken in Asian Marinade (new recipe...all ready for stir frying)
• Chicken Sate
• Grilled Herbed Chicken (with fresh herbs from the garden)
• Jerk Style Chicken
• 2 C bags of cooked, shredded chicken (for enchiladas, casseroles, etc.)
• Bags w/4-6 chicken breasts in each (ready for new recipes)
• Beer & Brown Sugar marinade w/sirloin steaks (OK, not chicken, but found this at a decent price as well...)
  

I had planned to also make Cajun Curry Chicken and Chicken Kiev, but ran out of freezer space. Someday I need to figure out where I can fit a deep freezer chest. I could really fill that baby up!

Next post...the whole plan....so you can shop one day, prep the second, and assemble & freeze on the third.