I participate in a freezer meal group and it is the best thing ever!   I call it “prepared food storage”.  As a working mother there were so many nights I simply did not want to cook when I came home from work, so we ended up eating out a lot which can get expensive.  This group has saved me money and time, precious, precious time.  I’m not always wondering, “What can I make for dinner?”  Also I spend less time scouting the weekly ad’s in an attempt to find the best price on everything I need to stock my food storage.  When I shop for the cooking group meals I watch for sales on the specific items I need for the recipes.  I’m also buying in bulk, which saves money.            
 

“Six” Member Cooking Group

As a group:   
 

1-   Meet and plan a menu of 12 different recipes.   Discuss your family’s likes and dislikes, food allergies etc.  Exchange phone numbers. 
 

2-   Each member of the group chooses two recipes.  You will end up cooking one of each recipe for the six members of the group.  You may choose a recipe from the group cook book, or one of your own.  If you use your own recipe please bring a copy for each person in the group.

Member:  One             Two            Three           Four            Five             Six        

Recipes:  1   2             3    4          5    6            7   8           9   10           11   12         

For smaller families or families that do not like leftovers, you can divide the twelve recipes in half.  This gives you 24 smaller meals instead of 12 large meals.

3-  Choose a date, time and location to meet again and swap the frozen prepared recipes.  

4-   NOTE:  Each member is responsible for their own staples like rice, noodles, buns etc.  For example if the recipe is “Sloppy Joes” you do not need to buy a package of buns for each member of the group.  They will buy the buns for their own family meal.

On your own:
 

1-         Prepare a shopping list for what you will need to complete the group recipes, including disposable pans or freezer bags.  Purchase the group meal food separate from your family’s food.  Always look for the best price.  The more you save, the more the group saves.  Keep your receipts; bring them to the recipe swap night.  Depending on ingredients, some recipes are more expensive then others.  Not everyone in the group will spend the same amount of money.  But everything will be evened out on swap night.
 

2-         Everyone ends up using a small amount of this and that from their spice rack or pantry.  Don’t try and figure out how much 3 teaspoons of salt is going to cost the group.  Remember that others are using small amounts of things from their personal food storage as well. 

3-         Prepare and freeze your meals.  Label each meal with the recipe name and cooking instructions (temperature, time, bake covered or un-covered).  Also if the recipe is designed to be served over rice or noodles, note this along with the baking directions.
 

4-         Depending on your recipe it takes around 3 hours to make one recipe for the six members of the group.  I’ve found it is easiest to set aside 3 hours one day to prepare the first recipe, and then 3 hours on another day to prepare the second.   

Swap Night:
 

            Be sure that each meal is labeled.
 

For less confusion during the swap, prepare a meal exchange bag for each person in the group.  Using a grocery sack put one of each meal in the sack.  Leave your own meals at home.  You will have 5 sacks of the same thing to take to the swap night.  You will bring home 5 bags of a variety of different meals.

1-   Bring the frozen meals in shopping bags for each member.  Bring your receipts and any copies of recipes you need to distribute to the other members of the group.  Bring your check book.
 

2-   Designate a “Banker” for the evening.  The banker totals up everyone’s receipts and divides that figure by 6 to determine the average amount spent.  If you spent less then the average you pay the banker.  If you spent more then the average, the banker pays you.

Tips and Tricks

To cook a lot of ground beef:  Crumble ground beef onto a cookie sheet or baking pan.  Bake, using a spatula to stir often, at 350 degrees until browned through.  I can do about 10 pounds at a time, 5 pounds per cookie sheet.

How to pull it off!
 

Do these steps however you want, taking a day for each, or combining, but do them in order!

Preparation: This is your day/time to prepare master recipes, chop vegetables, shred cheeses, etc. Combine all like steps in recipes and do them at once. For example, if several recipes contain chopped onions, chop all the onions for all the recipes at one time. (You can go even further and chop all of the onions you have and freeze them, for present and future use). You can also prepare dough's, sauces, marinades, etc.

Cooking: This day/time is the nitty-gritty. Finish cooking your master recipes, then prepare them for use in the other recipes you are making them into. For example, cook the turkey or honey baked ham, then divide into the parts for the other recipes (such as turkey or ham slices, potpies, etc) that they will be used for. Boil, bake simmer, fry, do all of your cooking steps today. Check out the cooking steps worksheet for more ideas.

• Make sure your counters are clear of clutter and you have lots of paper towels, sponges and towels for quick cleanup, along with aprons and a mop!

• Have your recipes where you can see them. You can tape them up, put them in see through plastic protectors, whatever you want!

• Take the phone off of the hook, put the dog outside, send the kids to the sitter (or your spouse) and get cookin'!

• Good suggestion: plan on eating out, eating a dish already in the freezer or throwing something in the crockpot for dinner. You will be very tired at the end of cooking day! I always throw something in the crockpot before I start cooking day, it's my "insurance" that dinner will be taken care of. You can even double of triple the recipe so it is an once a month dinner!
   

Assembly

This is the day/time that you "wrap up" your cooking. If you have planned well on prep day, and made progress on cooking day, it should go pretty fast. Assemble your dishes, cook if needed, or freeze. Make sure you label everything that goes into the freezer and put any reheating instructions on the label if you think you may forget.
 

Easy Pizza Pasta Casserole    

Makes 1 large (9x13) casserole.  Serves 6-8 people.        

                                                                                   Ingredients For 6 Recipes

1 lbs ground beef                                                           6 lbs ground beef     

½  large onion, chopped                                                 3 onions

½  clove garlic, minced                                                  3 cloves garlic           

½   teas. Crushed Italian Seasoning                                3 teas. Crushed Italian Seasoning

1 TBSP. Olive Oil                                                           6 TBSP  Olive Oil

1 (26 oz.) jar Spaghetti Sauce                                        6 Jars Spaghetti Sauce (156 oz)

8 ounces rigatoni pasta, cooked and drained                   48 ounces rigatoni               

2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese                           15 cups shredded mozzarella

4 ounces sliced pepperoni                                             24 ounces sliced pepperoni

1. Brown ground beef, onion, garlic and seasoning in oil.

2. Drain.

3. Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce and 2 cups cheese.

4. Place mixture in greased 9x13x2 inch baking pan.

5. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

6. Top with pepperoni.

7. Cover and freeze up to 3 months.

8. To cook now: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.

9. To bake frozen casserole: Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, till hot.

Italian Chicken                                                                           

                                                                           Ingredients for 6 recipes

¾ c. Prepared Italian Salad Dressing                      4 ½ c. prepared Italian Salad Dressing

¼ c. Lemon Juice                                                 1-½ c.  lemon juice

2 teas. Instant Chicken Bullion                               12 teaspoons Instant Chicken Bullion

¼ teas. Pepper                                                     1 ½ teaspoons pepper

1 teas. Italian Seasoning                                        6 teaspoons Italian seasoning

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts                    24-36 boneless/skinless chicken breasts 

 Place chicken in a 9 x 13 pan.  Stir all ingredients together.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and bake 350  for  35-45 minutes  

Beefy Chicken Loaf   - Serves 6

Loaf Ingredients                                                    Ingredients for 6 recipes  -Loaf-

1 egg                                                                   6 eggs

¼ cup milk                                                           1 ½ cup milk

½ teas. seasoning salt                                          3 teaspoons seasoning salt

½ teas. pepper                                                     3 teaspoons pepper

1 TBLS Worcestershire sauce                                6 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, finely chopped                                          6 onions, finely chopped

1 pound ground beef                                              6 pounds ground beef

½ pound ground chicken or ground turkey               3 pounds ground chicken or ground turkey

¾ cup rolled oats, not instant   (may be ground        4 ½ cups rolled oats, not instant

      into crumbs by running through blender)

Sauce Ingredients                                                                Ingredients for 6 recipes –Sauce-

¼ cup ketchup                                                                     1 ½ cup ketchup

1 TBLS mustard                                                                   6 TBLS mustard

1 TBLS brown sugar                                                                        6 TBLS brown sugar

1 teas. Worcestershire sauce                                              6 teas. Worcestershire

½ teas. chili powder                                                            3 teas. chili powder

1. Combine loaf ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well to ensure even blending.

2. Pack into a loaf pan, or muffin tin for mini loaves.

3. Mix sauce ingredients together and spread evenly over loaf.

4. Bake uncovered for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

5. To freeze: wrap unbaked loaf well, label and freeze.

6. To serve: defrost overnight and then bake as directed. Add 30-45 minutes baking time if baking from frozen.