Super Duper Easy Summer Picnics.

We like playdates.

I like keeping the kids busy, so if someone calls and says - "wanna meet at the zoo??" - as long as we're not doing something already, it's not unusual to drop everything and go.

I also am not a fan of spending $25 bucks on lunch at the zoo.  That's money I could spend on fabric.  (ha)

So here's what I've been doing - it's worked for impromptu picnics on the driveway on a break from the kiddie pool, on the little picnic table under the new swingset so that they don't even have to skip a beat playing - and those pop-up playdates where I don't want to spend a fortune on crappy food to feed them.

In another life, I sold Pampered Chef.  (I'm the classic jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none)

This little dandy has been in the drawer unused all these years, until this summer:

If you don't have one, go here and grab one... Cut-N-Seal

I've been buying an extra loaf of bread at the grocery store.  Then the next time I make the kids PB&J for lunch, I take an extra 15 minutes and go ahead and make the ENTIRE LOAF into PB&J sandwiches.  Then I use this cut-n-seal to make them into neat little sealed circles, drop five at a time into a ziploc bag and seal.  I take several of those bags of five (my big kid always eats two), stick them in a bigger ziploc to make sure they are nice and airtight - and pop them in the freezer. 

Then, when I need to grab something and go, I grab one of the smaller bags, stick it in my purse (or in a bag and take it outside w/ us).  They defrost pretty quickly, so by the time it's time for lunch, they are ready to go!!  I keep juice boxes in the crisper drawer at all times, so those are easy to grab, too ;)

I'm amazed, but even when thawed the bread is soft.  I haven't frozen any of these more than a month, but they really are the same as the "Uncrustables" you spend a fortune on in the freezer section at the grocery store.

So there ya go :)

nom, nom, nom...

xoxo