Back to School Freezer Cooking!

That time of year will be upon us before we know it, back to school, life is always busy and heading back to school doesn't make things any easier. Last year I made a few freezer recipes to help with the back to school lunches and they were so handy! This year I really want to stock that freezer and make sure I have lots of nice homemade goodies for all those mornings when I have nothing to send to school. So here is my list of goodies I plan to make before school starts. Hopefully, I can accomplish all of them, but whatever I accomplish I am still ahead of the game, as long as I get some done I will be happy. So this time I thought I would share my list ahead of time, in case any of you would like to do this along with me. 

Here is my list of recipes:

Chocolate chip zucchini mini muffins:

I like to make mini muffins cause they go a really long way, I always send two of them in each lunch and I individually wrap them to make them an easy on the go treat!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip muffins!

1 c oil

4 tbsp cocoa

½ buttermilk (You can use regular milk and add 1/4 tsp vinegar)

1 1/3 c white sugar

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 ½ c flour

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag of hersheys milk chocolate chips

2 cup shredded zucchini or squash

Mix ingredients in order they appear.

350 degrees 20 mins makes 24 muffins can also be made into a 9 x 13 cake and bake 35 to 40 mins! Good luck, enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini or Regular Muffins:

I am not sure yet if these will be mini's or regular, we will wait and see what I feel like doing at the time, mini's take a long time, you can make 300 mini muffins out of one double batch, without a convection oven it can take a long time to cook them all.

Best Ever Banana Chocolate Chip muffins

2 cups flour

1 c rolled oats

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ c sugar

2/3 cup oil

6 mashed bananas

2 eggs

1 bag Hershey chocolate chips

Fill muffin paper ¾ full

Bake at 350 for 25 mins makes 24 muffins

I have turned banana chocolate chip muffin haters into lovers with this recipe! Try em!

Small ham and cheese quesadillas:

There really isn't a recipe for this, but I plan to get the small tortilla's and make ham (of course you can use anything you like, the sky is the limit) and cheese quesadilla's and sneak in some veggies in there too if I can! Warm them in my panini press, or you could bake them in the oven, wrap them individually and then put them all in a big ziploc bag.

Easy Pancakes bites:

I got this recipe off of Pinterest, here is a link to it here.

http://afewshortcuts.com/2014/07/easy-pancake-bites/#_a5y_p=2015556

I plan to make them in a regular muffin pan and I plan to use raspberries and make raspberry pancakes, I think these will be so handy for those days when you don't know what to serve! 

Crepes:

I did this last year and what a hit! My daughter loved getting crepes in her lunch with fruit and whipped cream! I plan to make a big batch and toss them individually wrapped in the freezer, super easy for those mornings with nothing to send.

Grandma's Crepes (not my Grandmas but someone's Grandma)

1 cup flour

dash of salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk

splash of vanilla optional

whisk by hand till smooth (I use my kitchen aid, my momma didn't raise no fool!)

Batter should be thin, fry in a hot griddle or frying pan, until golden brown, use oil to cook, margarine will burn to fast! Enjoy!

So best of luck filling your freezer, I chose these recipes cause they are simple, they freeze well and are totally do-able! I have all of August to get these done, so wish me luck! I hope some of you follow along and fill your freezers too, it sure makes life easier! I plan to post updates as I go along. And if you don't have back to schoolers these would all be nice for adult lunches too!

***UPDATE***
So I decided to tackle the "easy pancake bites" recipe, this was a first for me, but I thought it would be perfect to have lots of little pancakes ready to go for the school year. Now I am not sure what happened but they rose up high like muffins lol, they were supposed to stay flat like a pancake does, lol oh well, not a total fail as they still taste great, I guess we will just cut them in half and use them that way lol.  I topped each one with a raspberry/rhubarb jam. I will be freezing them individually, when it is time to use them just top them with maple syrup and some whipped cream if you have it!

The final result looks like a nice muffin lol! I greased my pans well but they all still really stuck, probably cause of the fruit, maybe I will try something different next time! Super handy to have in the freezer, we made 60 of these today! 

Thanks for tuning in, I will continue to update as I get these recipes accomplished! 

***UPDATE*** #2

I decided to make these pizza muffins here is the link to the pinterest page I got them from: http://inspiredbyfamilymag.com/2013/09/02/pizza-muffins-freezable-recipe/

I decided to make these instead of making crepes, after making 60 pancake bites yesterday, I figured I had enough Pancake/crepe type foods for now lol. Today I made a little over 60 of these pizza muffins, they are so delicious and my house smells like a wonderful Italian Bakery! Who doesn't love pizza right?! I think these will be a lunch box hit! I will freeze them in baggies with 2 muffins per bag, I think that would be a nice lunch size for my daughter. These were so simple! I quadrupled the recipe to get over 60, 

Here is the original recipe: (my changes are in the brackets)

Pizza Muffin Recipe

• 2 cps flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbl baking soda
• 2 tsp of Italian herbs (I used parsley, basil and oregano, enough to make up 2tsp)
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 2 tbl olive oil (I used canola cause it is what I had on hand)
• 1/2 cp of milk
• 1/2 cp pizza sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
• 1 tbl honey
• 1 cp of mozzarella
• 3/4 cps diced pepperoni (I used Ham, my daughter likes that better)
• 3 tbl parmesan (I omitted this and added a little extra mozza)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a muffin pan with non stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients up to the garlic powder.

Then whisk in the wet ingredients up to the honey.

Finally, add in the mozzarella, parmesan and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake 10-12minutes, or until puffed and golden.  Eat plain or use pizza sauce for dipping!

Perfect for freezing! I was able to make 18 normal size muffins.

here are a few mini's I made with the rest of the batter, these pans are perfect for when you just have a bit of batter left, not enough for regular muffins.

Here they are baked, they are beautiful #nofilter

So; beautiful and delicious and easy, how can you go wrong!? 

***UPDATE*** #3

It's chocolate chip zucchini day! YUM!

These muffins are awesome, right now we are lucky enough to have many huge zucchini growing in our garden, I made 60 regular muffins and 75 mini's the regulars are for our home to enjoy as well and family and friends, the mini's are all getting frozen for school lunches! 

I did a triple batch to get this many! 

Making all these muffins makes me extra grateful for my Kitchen Aid Mixer and my Pampered Chef Scoops! 

***UPDATE #4***

Today is quesadilla's making day, this was so easy and simple, I wish I would have thought of this last year! 

There is no recipe for this, you can put anything you want in between two tortilla's! My daughter likes ham and cheese, I asked her to pick a veggie and she chose peppers, now let's hope she doesn't pick them out at lunch time lol! 

This was super easy the only thing that took any time is shredding the cheese! 

We have a panini press, that is what I use to warm them up, it worked perfectly, you can use your oven too. I cut them with a pizza cutter and let them cool. 

Once they cooled I bagged them all, I made 4 large quesadilla's all together, 2 wedges per meal is a good size for my 5-year-old, add more or less as you see fit. In the end, I have 12 lunches! These will be perfect for those days when I have nothing to send!!! 

Ready for the freezer! 

***UPDATE #5***

Today I made Pineapple zucchini muffins, I wanted something with lots of fruits and veggies and I found this recipe online and really wanted to try it.

Here is the link to the recipe

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pineapple-zucchini-muffins/

I made a few changes, I removed 1 of the cups of oil, because that seemed like a lot and I replaced it with 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1/2 a cup of chopped apples, so now we have even more fruit in there, these are really yummy! I also added an extra 1/2 tablespoon on cinnamon, but that was just my preference.

In total this made 48 regular muffins and 12 mini's, I wrapped up some for school lunches and some we will keep out to eat now, YUM! This is a great recipe for all the nice zucchini that are everywhere right now! 

***UPDATE #6*** Final Update!

Today I made banana chocolate chip muffins! 200 in total! I am so sick of looking at muffins!! LOL! But my freezer is full and I love it! This is a really great banana chocolate chip recipe! Kids love them too! I am so happy to be done with the back to school baking, I now have more than enough to last the whole school year! 

I did package some muffins in packages of 9 for after school snacks when all my daycare kids are here, these are always so handy! 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my back to school baking ideas, and I hope some of you were inspired to do some back to school baking of your own! All together this month I made over 500 muffins! 

Thanks for following me along this journey!

Freezer Breakfast Burritos!

Today I made 40 breakfast burrito's! Summer is coming and that is always our busiest time of year! Breakfast on the go is so handy. We also love breakfast for supper, so when your in a hurry a breakfast burrito to go is the perfect answer, so let me tell you what I put in them:

Breakfast burritos are so versatile, you can really put anything you like, but here is what I used :

• 3 bags of hash browns
• 15 eggs
• fresh mushrooms
• 1 large onion chopped small
• 1 bag of cheese smokies chopped small
• 4 cups of salsa (I love to use salsa in my food, you have tomatoes, peppers and onions and you don't have to do any chopping, perfect!)
• 40 Ancient Grain tortilla's (you can use any type you like)
• 1/2 a block of shredded cheese

None of these measurements need to be exact, just add in more or less as you please, I seasoned with seasoning salt and smoked salt and pepper, but you can do anything you like.

Fry everything thing up and add it all into one huge pot, except the cheese. Stir till it is all well mixed. Scoop your filling onto your tortilla and then top with cheese, wrap your burritos in plastic wrap then foil, put them in the freezer and you are all done, this took me 1 hour and 15 minutes, that includes all the chopping etc till the time they hit the freezer! 40 burrito's in 1 hour 15 minutes, sweet! So let's figure out the cost's now.

Hash browns 2.50 each = 7.50$

Eggs 3$

Mushrooms 1$ (I didn't use very many)

Onion 50 cents

Cheese Smokies 5$

Salsa 2$

Tortilla's 10$

Cheese 4$

Totals 33$

that makes them 83 cents each, any burrito you would buy at the store is going to cost you a lot more then that, plus they are filled with junk, you get to build your favourite burrito this way!

Remember you can anything you want, sausage, bacon, beans, steak, spinach, celery, sour cream, avocado, green onions, quinoa, cilantro (yuck, lol) pickled or hot peppers.

I sure hope you enjoyed my blog today, let me know if you make these breakfast burrito's and let me know if you can make them in less than 1 hour 15 minutes!  

Free or Almost Free Summer activities! 2015

Let's face it, we could all, always use some free activities. So to help make the most out of all the beautiful days we have, here are some ways to take advantage!! These are great ideas for sunny Saturdays and Sunday Funday's! Here are a few ideas I came up with for Spring/Summer 2015, enjoy!

How we save money on groceries, so we can spend our money on fun stuff!

Saving Money on Groceries

Let's face it, we all would love to save money on groceries so we can spend our money on things we really need or want! So here are the tricks I use to help us save $$ on our groceries!

Our grocery budget is 150$ every two weeks, with this we feed my husband, myself, our daughter at home as well as her school lunches, all our daycare children, either lunches or snack every weekday, plus all our company, we have company 2 to 3 times a week, our pantry is full our freezer is full, our cupboards are full! We try to avoid processed foods whenever possible as well.

1- Make the most of your food, 1 whole roasted chicken can last for a few meals if you use it right, roast the chicken, slice up some potatoes and carrots, meal 1, take the remaining meat off the bones and make a chicken sandwich, wrap etc, meal 2 and lastly through all those bones etc in the slow cooker with some water, let it cook on low overnight and in the morning your home smells awesome and you have an excellent broth, just drain out all the bones etc now you have free broth for some chicken soup, meal 3. Winning!

2- Try to make your meat go further for example, when I am making a chicken casserole or a chicken spaghetti I only use one large chicken breast for my whole family, chop it up small and then there is always chicken in every bite, I have even done this for company and no one had any idea. using less meat saves you a lot of money! We also mix our ground beef with ground Buffalo or ground Deer meat whenever possible, it tastes awesome, this is also something I have served many times and no one had any idea there was anything other than beef in the dish, money saving big time!

3- Use your slow cooker, I can buy cheap cuts of beef, let them simmer on low all day and for supper we have a fall off the bone awesome roast and it cost a fraction of the price, love it! Also if you know you have a awesome slow cooker dinner home you are way less likely to grab take out or even stop at the store, which saves you money, big time!

4- Making lots of the same meal, at once, I figure if I am already in the mess I better make use of it, everytime I make lasagna I try to make 6 or 7 at a time, it is not that much more work to make 1 then it is to make 7. I love to make a big batch of soup and freeze the leftovers, I freeze them in little containers for school lunches or in larger ones for a quick lunch for the family, it saves you time and money!

5- When the farmers markets open or your Garden is ready, buy all the in season fruit and veggies you can, from here you can take them home and freeze them or can them and they will last you all year, they are in season so they will be delicious and you saved money, have you ever had to buy an out of season tomato? The prices are high, But who needs it when you have canned fresh tomatoes waiting in the pantry!

6- Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan! Planning your meals ahead of time means you won't be buying groceries you don't need or that you might waste. Once you have planned your meals (I do 2 weeks at a time) then you make your grocery list, everything you need to prepare those 14 meals is on that list, so no late afternoon runs to the store saving you time and money!

7- If you are shopping at Safeway or Sobey's make sure to sign up for Airmiles, many other grocery stores offer free customer cards, make sure you sign up for them, they are full of savings and cost you nothing! Just this month alone I used my Airmiles to save 60$ on my groceries, that is now money in my pocket! Awesome!

8- Only buy groceries that are on sale, my meal plans are planned around the sales flyer, what is on sale is what we buy, if it's not on sale, sorry try again next time. Some things like eggs and milk rarely come on sale, so I just make sure I am getting the best price I can for them. We save a ton of money shopping this way!

9- If you live in a city where there are several stores close together it may be worth it to stop in at another store and get a good deal, but watch how much gas you are using, saving 50 cents on peas isn't worth 2$ in gas :)

10- Stick to your list, we try to only ever buy what is on the list, impulse shopping can cost you a lot in the end, also never go shopping hungry, your cart will be filled with junk!

11- Try out off brands, almost every store has their own brand and these items can be hit and miss, some of the items are awesome, others not so much, but you never know unless you try!

12- Eat your leftovers! It makes me crazy to see leftover thrown in the trash, if eating the same meal twice bores you turn it into something new, what was ham last night can be a panini today or ham soup etc, you get the idea, never waste food!

So those are ways we save money on groceries! It can take a while to get used to all these changes but before you know it, it becomes part of your life and is very easy to keep up! Best of luck and let me know if you need any help with your meal plans I am happy to help!

Freezer slow cooker meals!

In just under 1 hour, I made 8 meals! 8 meals! That is awesome, this is my second time trying freezer cooking and I have to say I am a huge fan, I literally don't have to cook supper all week now cause I spent just one hour preparing meals! Perfect! This is especially great for us right now, December is a crazy busy time for everyone and it is so nice to know that meals are one less thing you have to stress over! Brilliant! Now all you have to do is defrost them a bit, either in the fridge over night, or run in under hot water for a bit till it loosens up, then toss it into your slow cooker, all of the these recipes can be placed in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

So I found all these recipes on pinterest. This is the woman's blog, Genius! http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/09/freezer-cooking-slow-cooker-meals.html

so i pretty much followed her directions, but I did make a few changes, I didn't have all the items in my home, so made a few substitutions.

These are the recipes

Savory Vegetable Beef Soup
Teriyaki Chicken
Balsamic & Onion Pot Roast (I didn`t make this one)
Healthy BBQ Chicken *from mamaandbabylove.com *Stephanie's Goulash *adapted from mamaandbabylove.com *

My Grocery List:

Veggies:

Salsa ( I use this in place of peppers, easier then doing all that chopping)

Shredded zucchini (this is from my garden this summer)

Onions (I buy these pre chopped and frozen) (I used white, in place of white and red)

Potatoes (I used Purple potatoes we grew in our garden)

Carrots (This was the only veggie I had to peel and chop)

Celery (I left this out, cause I am not a fan, but by all means ad it if you like)
Meat:

Chicken Breasts 6 medium to large (depending on the size of your family you may want to ad more or less) (Chicken breasts go in the bags raw)

Ground Beef 4 pounds ( I used this instead of stew meat, cause we prefer ground beef) (All the beef in pre cooked) 
Extra Groceries

1 can of pineapple

1 can of tomato soup (I used this instead of tomato sauce, cause I didn`t have any on hand)

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

1 cup Clamato Juice (I used this in place of V8 juice)

1 large cans of diced tomato`s 

(it calls for tapioca but I left it out, I didn`t have any)

Beef Broth ( I used beef broth powder and water)

Frozen green beans

Gallon freezer bags

Label your bags before you get your goodies in there. Each one of these recipes makes 2 bags each. 

Teriyaki Chicken (2 Bags)
Savory Vegetable Beef Soup (2 Bags)
Healthy BBQ Chicken (2 Bags)
Stephanie's Goulash/Beef Stew (2 Bags)

Once you have all your ingredients out get ready to start filling your bags!

Teriyaki Chicken (2 Bags)

• Split a large bag of Baby Carrots between the 2 bags
• Cut Red Onion into Large Chunks and split between the 2 bags
• (1) 20oz can pineapple in each bag (undrained)
• (2) Garlic Cloves chopped per bag
• (2) Chicken Breasts in each bag
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce in each bag

*Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to mixture. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Serve over Rice.

Savory Vegetable Beef Soup (2 Bags)

• Chop (1) Onion and Chop (2) Cloves of Garlic- Brown in Pan with the Ground Beef- once cool divide mixture between bags
• (2) whole carrots chopped per bag
• (2) celery stalks chopped per bag
• (3) Red Potatoes chopped per bag
• (1) can v8 split between bags
• (1) 28oz can diced tomatoes SPLIT between bags
• (1) cup frozen green beans in each bag
• (1/2)TBSP Worcestershire per bag
• (1/2) cup Beef Broth per bag
• (1) TBSP Parsley per bag
• (1) tsp Basil per bag
• 1/2 tsp Thyme per bag
• (1/2) tsp salt per bag
• (1/2) tsp pepper per bag
• (1) TBSP Sugar per bag

*Place in Crockpot with 1.5 cups of water and 15 oz Beef Broth. Cook on LOW 8 Hours

Healthy BBQ Chicken (2 Bags) * from mamaandbabylove.com *

• (2) Green Peppers Cut into Slices split between 2 bags
• (1) Red Pepper Cut into Slices-split between bags
• (1) Zucchini Chopped and split between bags
• (3) Onions Chopped and split between bags
• (6) Red Potatoes Chopped and split between bags (you can also use Sweet Potatoes)
• (4) Garlic Cloves Chopped & Split Between bags
• (4) Chicken Breasts Split between bags (I cut each breast in half again)
• (1/2) TBSP Quick Cooking Tapioca per bag
• (1) 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce Split Between bags
• (1) TBSP of Brown Sugar per bag
• (1) TBSP Worcestershire per bag
• (1) TBSP Mustard per Bag
• (1/4) tsp Salt per bag

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles

Stephanie's Goulash/Beef Stew (2 Bags) *adapted from mamaandbabylove.com *

• (1) Green Pepper Chopped split between bags
• (1) Chopped Onion per bag
• (2) Carrots Chopped per bag
• (2) Chopped Garlic Cloves per bag
• (3) Ibs Beef Stew Meat Split Between Bags
• (1) 6oz can Tomato Paste per bag
• (2) tsp Paprika per bag
• (1/4) tsp Black Pepper per bag

*Cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW in a slow cooker. Add (1/2) Cup of Sour Cream about 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over Egg Noodles

Here are all the canned goods i used

Get yourself some good quality Gallon freezer bags, this is not where you want to spring a leak!

All the veggies! 

Seasonings and flavorings

I place both bags in the bowl, the bowl really helps them stay up and not spill over, very handy tip! 

                                A shot of inside one of the bags, yum! lol!

And the end result!!! This took less than an hour from beginning to end, including, peeling, chopping, hauling everything out of the freezer, pantry, cupboards etc 

This is so great for us and our busy life, but this would also be a wonderful gift for a new Mom, someone who just had a stay in the hospital, anyone really! Hope you enjoy freezer cooking as much as I did! 

If you have any questions don`t be afraid to ask! 

Let's stock up that freezer for winter with Freezer Burrito's!

My family and I recently made a trip to Qdoba, a wonderful little burrito joint, much like Mucho Burrito! I love all the real food and yummy options, I thought to myself, why don't I make these at home more often? Well the truth is when I hear the word burrito, I think "fart in a tortilla" !! LOL! The word burrito makes me think of refried beans, which I am not a fan of, but then I thought, I can put whatever I want on them, after a quick google search for burrito toppings, I came up with tons of option I knew me and my family would love.

Here are the ones I thought we would like the most: rice, cheese, black beans, parsley, hot sauce, ranch or sour cream, beef, tomatoes, garlic, tortilla's, salsa, peppers, bacon, onion, green chillies, hashbrowns or potatoes, eggs

You can also turn these into breakfast burritos by simply adding breakfast toppings to your tortilla

I made 24 burritos in about 45 minutes, beginning to end, and so can you! Here we go!

for my tortillas I used 24 of them, you can use more or less depending on how much you fill them up! 

 My filling, I chose, ground beef, black beans, salsa, corn, rice, seasonings, chili sauce, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, YUM!

 Next is the cheese, I grated one large block for my burrito's, you may need more or less depending on your preference

Then I added sour cream I put it in my Pampered Chef icing dispenser. Here is the link if you would like one, it is totally not necessary, but it made it easier and funner! lol! http://www.pamperedchef.ca/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=4552&catId=122

Look at that beauty of a burrito! drool! 

Now I have 24 of these sitting in the freezer, just waiting to be devoured! These are perfect for hubby to bring to work and for those late night suppers when you have nothing else, top it off with a salad or soup and you have a nice meal! 

So when you are ready to eat one, you just:

1. Unwrap frozen burrito from foil

2. Wrap burrito in damp paper towel

3. Microwave for 3 mins on high.

4. Wait to cool, then eat it!

Let me know if you give these a try! That was 45 minutes well spent!

Preparing for School Lunches!

My daughter is starting Kindergarten and one of the things I hear over and over again is how awful it is to make school lunches everyday, there are a few things you can do to make sure this task isn't so bad. First of all, be prepared, do the work ahead of time and it will lighten the load for those super busy school mornings. Second I am a huge fan of leftovers, if we have them, I am sending them! So here are a few things to get you started:

Chocolate chip zucchini mini muffins, I made 200 of these, took me about an hour and a half counting baking time, one day I will have a convection oven and cut my time in half, until then, it took an hour and a half lol!

I love these mini muffins, they are full of zucchini (4 cups) but kids love them cause they have no idea whats in them lol! I put these in individual baggies and tossed them all in the freezer, they are ready to go, no chemicals or processed junk, just home made goodness. Plus these cost next to nothing when you do a break down of all the ingredients and all those individual snacks on the store shelves are only getting more and more expensive, I have 100 baggies here, plenty of snacks for my girl! 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip muffins!

1 c oil

4 tbsp cocoa

½ buttermilk (You can use regular milk and add 1/4 tsp vinegar)

1 1/3 c white sugar

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 ½ c flour

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag of hersheys milk chocolate chips (I use half a bag)

2 cup shredded zucchini or squash

Mix ingredients in order they appear.



350 degrees 20 mins makes 24 muffins can also be made into a 9 x 13 cake and bake 35 to 40 mins! Good luck, enjoy!

Next I made Focaccia bread, a nice quick and easy bread, I wrapped around 40 individual wedges of this, it is quick to make and yummy, a good filler too, goes great when you have a soup or casserole and just need something to finish off the meal. These take no time to whip together and bake about 15 minutes, i did a double recipe to get 40 wedges. 

Gold Medal® Classic Focaccia

Ingredients

2 1/2

to 3 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour or Better for Bread® bread flour

2

tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed

1

tablespoon sugar

1

teaspoon salt

1

package regular or fast-acting dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1

cup water

3

tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Cooking spray to grease bowl and cookie sheets

2

tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1/4

cup grated or finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

• 1In a large bowl, stir 1 cup of the flour, the rosemary, sugar, salt and yeast with a wooden spoon until well mixed. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the water over medium heat until very warm and an instant-read thermometer reads 120°F to 130°F. Add the water and 3 tablespoons oil to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, stopping frequently to scrape batter from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough is soft, leaves side of bowl and is easy to handle (the dough maybe slightly sticky).
• 2Sprinkle flour lightly on a countertop or large cutting board. Place dough on floured surface. Knead by folding dough toward you, then with the heels of your hands, pushing dough away from you with a short rocking motion. Move dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue kneading 5 to 8 minutes, sprinkling surface with more flour if dough starts to stick, until dough is smooth and springy. Spray a large bowl with the cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place 30 minutes or until dough has almost doubled in size. Dough is ready if an indentation remains when you press your fingertips about 1/2 inch into the dough.
• 3Spray 2 cookie sheets or 12-inch pizza pans with the cooking spray. Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a flattened 10-inch round on a cookie sheet. Lightly spray 2 sheets of plastic wrap with cooking spray; cover the dough loosely with the plastic wrap, sprayed side down. Let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Remove plastic wrap.
• 4Heat the oven to 400°F. Using your fingers, gently make 1/2-inch-deep depressions about 2 inches apart in dough. Carefully brush with 2 tablespoons oil, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cooled.

Next comes the Best ever Chocolate chip cookies, these are so nice and soft, even after being frozen. I did a double batch, these are also smaller cookies, so two would be a perfect snack, all bagged and ready to go.

Best Ever Chocolate chip cookies

1 c marg (I use ¾ of a cup)

2 ½ c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2c white sugar

¾ c brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1pkg instant vanilla pudding (4servings)

2 eggs

1 - 12 oz package chocolate chips (I only use half the package; I find the whole package is WAY too much)

Cream eggs, marg, sugars and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients then chocolate chips. Bake 350 degrees f oven for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Now to figure out how to keep my husband from eating these cookies, they are his favorite too! 

Next I made a home made ham, veggie, barley soup and froze it in individual containers for those days where there is nothing to send, anytime you have leftovers, soup etc freeze it for lunches, it will come in handy one day when you have nothing to send.

Now I know I am a rookie here and I am not claiming to know it all when I have never had to make lunches day after day, I am just hoping these tips will help all of us, rookies and veterans! 

Send something delicious in their lunches today!