Fairy Godmother, Deborah Gardner writes: I know this may sound a little bizarre, but homemade freezer meals have changed my life, it’s the truth! The fact of the matter is that while I am spending so much time working to make sure Bulgarian orphans have food to fill their tummies, my own 5 children and husband are surviving off of pizza toast, quesadillas and take-out. There’s something wrong with that, so I searched for a solution.
In addition, after three months of expensive take-out or last minute meals served at 7:30 PM, my husband was really starting to complain. When my husband and I decided that I would take on this non-profit, we agreed it should not interfere with or compromise our family life. So far, I’ve done a decent job with balancing work and family (okay, I admit I hired a cleaning lady to come twice a month), except in this one area. So, for those of you who hate cooking dinner, don’t know what to cook for dinner, don’t have the time or if you just want to save a TON of money, let me share the world of homemade feezer meals with you. They’re nutritious, cheap and ready to eat!
The group of girls I do this with has tried five different methods, but for the sake of your own sanity, you can skip this trial-and-error phase and follow the method I describe below. Be prepared to put in up to 3 hours of cooking for every 5 meals you make. When all is said and done, you will be convinced that setting aside1 afternoon a month to make a batch of meals will truly save you time and money all during the month!
Method
1. Via email or phone, get other moms into groups of five (the more groups, the better…I’ll explain).
2. Assign a leader for each group. This person will communicates the details to the other 4 girls, i.e. trading arrangements for the meals, making sure there are no duplicate recipes, and so on.
3. Each girl makes 5 recipes, 4 to trade with other girls in the group and 1 to keep for her own family. Remember, you just make the main dish and put it in a freezer bag. Make sure to include all dry ingredients, such as a baggie of uncooked rice if it is a chicken and rice casserole or chips and a bag of lettuce for taco salad. Write any instructions they will need right on the freezer bag (i.e. “Thaw, bake for 35 min @ 350, serve over rice”).
4. You can sign up for as many groups as you want. If you want to receive 10 meals, then sign up for two groups. If you want 15 meals, sign up for three groups.You can use the same recipe for all the groups you are trading with, if you want.
5. Rotate the girls in the groups so that you get a variety of meals each month. Be friendly and patient with each other as you work out any kinks. Everyone should be open to suggestions.
Tips/ Decide ahead of time on the following details:
1. The budget per 5 meals. In our group, we decided that each girl shouldn’t spend over $35-40 making her 5 meals. Some were able to shop sales and do it for cheaper.
2. Size of meals (how many people do you want the meal to feed? 4-6; 6-8 people?) Maybe you want to organize your groups according to family size.
3. Type and quality of the ground meat you will all use, i.e. lean or extra lean ground beef.
4. As mentioned before, make sure to include all the ingredients for the main dish (i.e. if the meal is italian, include a dry package of noodles. If the meal is bbq beef sandwhiches, include the buns.
5. Have each girl submit her recipe via email to the group leader ahead of time to make sure there are a variety of recipes (and not 5 chicken and rice meals).
6. Crockpot meals in a bag work wonderfully, as well as casseroles, soups, and just about anything else you would normally make for dinner.
7. Check online popular cooking sites for more ideas and recipes.
I’ve tried doing freezer meals with four different methods and this one has proven to be the best, easiest, and most effective way.
Deborah Gardner is the CEO and Co-Founder of One Heart Bulgaria, a non-profit that benefits orphans, founded in 2003. Deborah is currently planning a tour with top artists to perform for the orphans and also a Utah benefit concert in 2009 following the Bulgarian tour. She is seeking sponsors to donate air-miles for the artists’ travel and cover other expenses, if you’re seeking a charity to support this holiday season, there’s lots of wonderful opportunities with One Heart Bulgaria.
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Great article Deborah!! I must admit, going to school, starting a new women’s site (I don’t want to say business or online magazine – because it just isn’t there yet), while raising three kids is not easy. Dinners have (lately) been on the “back burner”. Thanks for the helpful insights. Now I just need to make 5 friends! (Ha!)
marzee dyers last blog post…Question of the Week 10/5 – 10/11/08
thanks marzee for visiting startup princess, welcome. i agree…i need 5 friends to do this idea with! i also need ones that share my food philosophies. i struggle sometimes with freezer meals because i like to eat fresh, so i do a lot of soups and sauces and freeze, i also freeze purees to add to meals…
It isn’t very hard to find 5 people since so many moms jump at the opportunity to be in a freezer meal group. Once you have 5 people, ask them to each invite one of their own friends and then the group grows pretty quickly. Also, if you want to exchange really healthy meals then you need to find people who have the same taste as you do. It isn’t hard to make healthy freezer meals though. You can do crock pot chicken breast, brown rice, and even meatless dishes. Also, remember that you are not making a freezer meal for every night of the month. You’re just make enough meals to pull you through the hectic nights of the month where you have no time to make dinner and would otherwise serve “scraps” or order take-out. Freezer meals are also fabulous for Sunday dinners. Stick them in the fridge and then pop them into the oven when you come home from church! Remember to invite grandma and grandpa over to enjoy the easy feast.
…check out the Freezer Chicks blog spot website for more ideas.
Thanks for sharing what seems like an excellent system. I’m going to try it!