Freezer Meals Group

This is a great way to stock your freezer for those nights when you don't know what to make for supper or when you don't have the time. We each spend one night cooking a large batch of our favorite recipe, and then we get together and swap. Save yourself from those panic trips to the nearest fast food restaurant and no more rush trips to the grocery.

We have 6 people in our group, so you make 5 of the same recipe. One for each of the other people in the group. 6 if you want to eat it also. We are making 4 batches of 4 servings each, and one batch with 5 servings. This accomodates the different sizes of families in the group. You package it according to what the meal is (zip lock bag or disposable pan) and freeze it.

Meals should be what your family likes. Don't try a new recipe out on the group if you haven't made it before. We would hate to have a meal go to waste. The meal should cost a TOTAL of $40 to $50 for ALL of your supplies to make the meals. That is 8 - 10 dollars per meal. That should include packaging of the meal as well. For example, if your meal is costing only 5 dollars, you would provide things to go with it. Possible ideas are, buns, side dishes, or dessert to bring the cost up. The meal should be able to feed 4 or 5 people. So, if you are making something with chicken breast you need 4 or 5. If it is a soup it should be a large zip lock bag, for a casserole a 9 X 9 tin foil pan.

Also, you need to type out your recipe on a 8 x 11 paper and photo copy it 5 times for everyone in the group. Include on there all the instructions for cooking the meal and any side dishes that go well with the meal (you DO NOT have to provide the side dishes.)

There are lots of cook books available at the public library to give you recipe ideas. There are also various websites offering recipes that freeze well. I have found this to be a super useful group for my family. It is so helpful on busy days to pull something out of the freezer heat it up and eat. We also learn about things that we didn't know we could freeze from the other meals we receive.

We are planning to meet on October 9 for our first meal swap. Thereafter, we will plan to meet on the first or second Friday of the month at 10:30. We only need to meet for 15 minutes to swap the meals. I have 2 freezers, so if you can't make it, please drop your meals off early, and I will swap them for you. You can pick them up whenever it is convienient for you.

--Arlene Cook