I don’t know how things are in your home, but in our family weekday mornings can be just a little bit hectic.  And while there are many things that contribute to the chaos, at the top of our stressor list is the dreaded task of making school lunches.

Every time we hit the freezer aisle at the grocery store, my daughter begs us to buy a box of Smuckers Uncrustables for her lunches.  And while I will readily admit that the idea of just plopping a ready-made sandwich that I know she will love into her lunch bag and calling it good sounds like a perfect solution to our weekday morning time shortage, I’m not quite ready to spend between $0.75 and $1.00 a pop for peanut butter and jelly!

But then a few months ago I came across this handy little sandwich sealer & de-cruster and realized it was the perfect solution–I could just make my own Uncrustables, saving money, making our mornings a little easier, and making my daughter happy all in one shot.  It’s a Win-Win-Win!

I have found that the key to making these as cost effectively as possible is to snag the bread when it is super cheap, which at Publix means Buy 1, Get 1 Free.  I also try to stock up on peanut butter and jelly when they are on sale.  1 loaf of bread makes 10 sandwiches and uses about 10 ounces of peanut butter and about 5 ounces of jelly. Using those ratios, I figured I spent between $0.25-$0.30 per sandwich, or about a third of what the ready-made version would cost.

Here is what you need:

soft sandwich bread
peanut butter
jelly
sandwich sealer & decruster
Ziploc sandwich bags
 

Step 1: Spread out your bread on the counter or paper towel.  I did one loaf at a time, which gave me 20 slices (enough for 10 sandwiches.)  It doesn’t have to be Wonder Bread, that just happened to be what was on sale at Publix.

Step 2: Spread peanut butter in center of each bread slice.  Do not spread all the way to the edges.

Step 3: Spread jelly over peanut butter on half of the bread slices. Then place peanut butter only slices on top of PB&J slices to make sandwich.

Step 4: Use sandwich sealer & decruster to cut off crusts and crimp edges together.

Step 5: Place sandwiches in sandwich bags, seal, and freeze.  To serve, thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or place in lunch bag in the morning so that it is ready to eat by lunchtime.

Note:  There will be a lot of crusts left over, and if you are anything like me, you hate the idea of wasting food!  I let my crusts dry out on the counter for a few hours, then use them to make a yummy breakfast casserole.  You could also use them to make Kalyn’s yummy homemade bread crumbs!

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DIY:  PB & J Uncrustables

Summary:  The perfect solution to busy mornings!

Supplies Needed

1 loaf soft sandwich bread
10 ounces peanut butter
5 ounces jelly
sandwich sealer & decruster
10 Ziploc sandwich bags



Instructions

Spread out your bread on the counter or paper towel.
Spread peanut butter in center of each bread slice. Do not spread all the way to the edges.
Spread jelly over peanut butter on half of the bread slices. Then place peanut butter only slices on top of PB&J slices to make sandwich.
Use sandwich sealer & decruster to cut off crusts and crimp edges together.
Place sandwiches in sandwich bags, seal, and freeze. To serve, thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or place in lunch bag in the morning so that it is ready to eat by lunchtime.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: NA

Number of servings (yield): 10

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How do you simplify your morning routine?

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