DIY "Uncrustables"

Have you ever paid an exorbitant amount of money for a box of pre-made frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? I hate to admit it, but I have. Much to my children's chagrin, I only bought them a few times. I just think it's crazy to pay that much for a frozen PB&J.

Today I am going to show you how to save some money and get back into the good graces of your frozen PB&J loving children! We are going to make our own "Uncrustables"!
First, you need to run into Wal-Mart and get a "Wonder Bread De-Cruster and Sealer". They are sold on Amazon for $6 but they are only $2 at Wal-Mart.

Then you will need the following items from your kitchen:

Bread (I buy name brand breads at Dollar Tree and freeze them)
Peanut Butter (or whatever "butter" your kids prefer/can eat)
Jelly (squirt kind is best- also sold in Dollar Tree!)
spoon or butter knife (for spreading)
Cutting board or clean flat surface
Zipper seal bags (I use sandwich size for the sandwiches and gallon size to put them all in)
Marker

1. Lay out six slices of bread in two rows of three. Spread your peanut (or whatever) butter onto all six slices of bread. Go close to the edges but try to leave a little room so the PB doesn't leak out when we seal the sammie.

2. Squirt some jelly onto three slices of bread. I give a good squirt in the center.

3. Place the non-jellied breads onto the jellied breads to create three sandwiches. Give them a little pat in the center to get that jelly spread a little in there.

4. Get your decruster and sealer ready! Place the sealer part inside the decruster and pull it up so it kind of sticks in place. Center the decruster on your bread, trying to keep it inside the crust (I noticed this is easier with round top bread). Press both the decruster and sealer onto the sandwich, giving it a lot of pressure. Now just press the decruster as hard as you can and wiggle it around until the crust comes completely off the sandwich.

5. Lift the decruster and sealer and check out your sandwich! Is that not awesome?!

6. Continue step 4 until you have three sandwiches and then repeat steps 1-5 to finish off your loaf of bread!

7. Now you are ready to pack these babies! Mark your gallon bags with pertinant information. I wrote the type of jelly on my bags but you may need to indicate the type of "butter" or other info so do that now. I also labeled one bag "crusts". Place one sandwich in each sandwich size zipper bag. Laying them flat, carefully place the bagged sandwiches inside the corresponding Gallon bag. Place all the crusts in the crust bag. These can be used for homemade crutons or, like us, you can take them to the pond for the ducks when you go!

8. Place all of your bags in the freezer and you are done- until lunchtime, that is!

9. To thaw in the microwave (my kids' preferred method) just remove from the zipper bag (I put the empty zipper bag back into the gallon bag for re-use) and wrap in a paper towel. Pop into the microwave and heat for about 45 seconds. Or, just leave your sandwich out with the bag open for a little while and it will thaw on it's own!



Thanks for stopping by! Alicia

Disclosure: I didn't get any freebies this time. I bought all of the items I used in this recipe but just mentioned the stores so that I can help you get the best deal :) The amazon link is an affiliate link, though.


Sometimes I link up at: Catholic Icing, Skip to My Lou, Tatertots and Jello, Raising Arrows, Women Living Well, Titus 2sdays