I know, I know. No one wants to hear it, but school’s back in session, folks. It’s hard to believe.

I don’t know where summer went. Each year seems to go faster than the last. Remember when you were younger, how the summers felt like they lasted forever? They were the best days. Days filled with swimming, running through a sprinkler, drinking from a hose, catching fireflies at night, and playing tag with neighborhood kids. Summers filled with super soaker battles, hopscotch chalked onto your sidewalks, and building the coolest forts in the pines, acting like it was a neat log house. Going to Blockbuster or West Coast Video to find the perfect movie for a Saturday night, making best friend bracelets, and playing until dusk. You knew you best be home or you were in deep doo-doo.

Oh! Remember the read-a-book pizza coupon from Pizza Hut!? It kept you reading over the summer, so your parents could take you to a Pizza Hut to proudly turn in your free personal pizza coupon. I remember the Flintstones sherbet push-up pops on really hot days and the Disney cool pops. Mickey was my favorite because I liked his big ears at the top. Gosh, it’s been so long since I have thought about things like this! I also loved the Jell-O pops. I wish they would bring these babies back. Popsicles were such a staple in our house in the summer.

I remember us neighbor girls would take turns asking our moms for cool pops for our friends and us. Christie Peck, Lauren Kinley, and I would spend a lot of time together in the summer. Cool pops were our jam along with rollerblading up and down Christie’s driveway. Lauren and I used to have a Christmas Club with secret membership cards and everything! Christmas in July was the best.

I remember long weekend sleepovers with my Grammy Perry. We would bake cupcakes, have Pap drive us to the mall, play hours of Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and Rummy. There were, of course, also weekends spent at the river lot and fishing on Pap’s boat. My Gram Liddick would take us cousins for picnics at the PA Grand Canyon and pool days in Aunt Ruth’s pool. I also remember the Ladies Aid summer grandkid lunch-in that we would do every summer.

Long days at Blossburg cabin with my dad, beach days with my mom, and week-long cabin vacations at our cabin in Salladasburg.

I was literally just talking about this a few weeks ago with my cousin Lindsay Clark. She and I are like sisters. We are best friends. We have done everything together. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her, and she wouldn’t do for me. We know everything that goes on in each other’s life. One summer at the cabin over our week’s stay up there, boo boo and I always slept in the same bed together. It wasn’t even a question. Well, I would ride my motorcycle all day, and if it rained, my feet would get soaked. Now, obviously I showered, but at 12 or 13 years old, I probably didn’t scrub my feet as I should have. It was so blasted hot in our bedroom that night. Andrea had stinky feet, and Lindsay ate too many cheese Doritos. Between the heat, small bedroom, smelly feet, and too many cheese Doritos, Lindsay ended up getting sick in our bed. This is a night neither of our mothers nor we will ever forget. We still bring it up from time to time, haha! Good times.

But man, summer when you were a kid and had not a care in the world!? The best! Now here I am, a parent, raising our own two kids, trying to give them the best summer memories we had, but nothing seems to hit the way it did in the 90s and earlier, when life seemed so much simpler.

I wonder if our kids feel like summer goes just as fast as we feel it?

Now that we are back in school, I wanted to share a perfect school-night meal. My son Tyler said it was one of his top five recipes. (I swear he says this for every recipe though! Haha!) The best thing about this recipe? Well, two best things about this recipe?

One: There will be lots of leftovers! I added another can of cream of chicken and a dollop of sour cream (mix well), then put all the leftovers into a pie dish and froze it. I now have a meal ready in the freezer on a busy weeknight. I’ll top it with some cheese and bake it 30 minutes or so at 350 until it’s warm and bubbly.

Two: Throw it together the night before, or the morning before work. Have the kids turn on the crockpot after they get off the bus, and when you get home, all you need to do is cook a box of spaghetti! You can’t beat it.

School Night Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 (10-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel (do not drain)
• 8 ounces shredded sharp cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons each garlic powder and paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons salt (start with 1 teaspoon and adjust to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Dash of black pepper
• 1 (16-ounce) box spaghetti, cooked and drained

*Break spaghetti in half before cooking*

Directions:

Add the chicken breasts to the crockpot. Pour in the cream of chicken soup and the undrained Rotel. Sprinkle in the garlic powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir slightly, making sure the sauce covers the chicken.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours or HIGH for 3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. Remove the chicken from the crockpot, shred it with two forks, then return it to the sauce.

Stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Drain well. Add the cooked spaghetti to the crockpot and stir until everything is evenly coated in the creamy sauce.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, then serve warm and enjoy!