There is something so wonderful about knowing you have food made and ready for you in the freezer. What can be even better is having some company while you make it? Has your chapter considered having a freezer cooking group? Here’s how one chapter organizes it.
- Groups of 5-8 moms are formed based on availability. You would also want to consider any food allergies and family sizes when making groups. Groups rotate who hosts and meet every month (some groups have liked it so much they have also added dates). Moms take turns hosting in their own homes.
- Prior to meeting, the mom hosting usually chooses 2-3 recipes to be made. Sometimes she requests ideas from her group or at the prior month’s activity they talk about ideas for the next month. One meal is generally prepared to be cooked for that evening’s meal and the rest are prepared to be frozen.
- The host is then responsible for gathering all food needed for the number of families involved. During this time we often talk about sales and coupons and work to save money whenever possible! The day prior to the event, the host emails the moms coming and tells them the cost and if they need to bring anything. (Sometimes we bring things like a 9×13 pan for that night’s meal.) In general though, all other items are part of the cost and bought in bulk by the host.
- At the session, kids usually play and moms take turns playing with the kids and helping them with what they need. Meanwhile, prep work is divided up and we get to work assembling all of the meals. Don’t forget to label the freezer bags and print out recipes (or email them) to everyone there. We assemble, clean-up our mess, help pick up all the toys, and leave with a meal for the night and 2-3 more meals for the freezer for busy nights.
Other tips:
- It is helpful to talk about prices in advance. Our group has kind of established spending no more than around $25 a session and we come in around that price or often below it.
- There are several ways to think about the recipes. We’ve met and assembled 3 identical meals for each family and we’ve met and assembled 3 completely different meals – it is up to the group.
- We have also found that freezing meals in foil pans takes up a lot of freezer space compared to preparing meals that you freeze in a Ziploc bag. Consider whether members have a lot of extra freezer space or not too.
- If you simply google “freezer meals’, you’ll find a ton of great blogs and great websites with recipes. And, if anyone wants to share – we always like new ideas!
- Think about doing a complete meal. If we are making Tacos, we like to go home with the shells and everything so we are completely prepared for the meal. If not, be sure to let people know what else they will need.
Submitted by:
Christy
President
Farmington, MN
What a great idea. This is my first time on the members site, and I am looking for new things for our chapter as this years president. LOVE this idea. Thank you for posting.