How I feed my family: Make ahead snacks for big kids for afterschool and on the go!

Last weekend, Save A Lot had a truckload meat sale and one of the items was ground chuck for $2.99.  I bought two packages of about 5 pound each, so around $30 for the ground chuck.

I, of course, did not want to freeze them in 5 pound packages since that would take a long time to defrost and use up but I also knew I would need some make ahead "big kid" snacks for my 5 teenagers.  This is "Homecoming Season" in Bradford County so my high schoolers are working on the senior skit almost every night of the week plus we still have  cheer practice, band practice, open gym and dance classes.

First, I browned up one of the packages in a large skillet.  I took about 2 pounds of it and put into a container for spaghetti sauce for later in the week.  I left the other 3 pounds in the skillet and added taco seasoning.  This taco meat went to a large container for the refrigerator on the same shelf as our shredded cheese, tortillas, taco sauce, and sour cream.  Keeping the items together on one shelf helps my kids not yell, "mom, where is the __________?"  Sanity saved!

Second, I took the other 5 pounds, mixed it in my Kitchen Aid mixer with garlic salt, onion powder, paprika, and some black pepper.  I then mashed the entire concoction into two of my baking sheets and placed them into my oven.  Once cooked (and shrank!) I cut them into square patties and placed them into hamburger buns.  I put 12 of them back into the empty bun packages and into the refrigerator drawer with sliced cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sliced onions.  The other 12 I wrapped in freezer wrap and put into the freezer.

Now my big kids can make burritos or tacos for a quick snack or reheat a hamburger and add what toppings they like for a quick meal while studying, catching up on online school, or getting ready to head out the door for a practice.

What do you do to make parenting teenagers easy?