Typical weeknight conversation regarding Dinner:
Husband: What is for dinner?
Me: I don’t know, what do you want to eat?
H: I don’t know, what do you want to eat?
Me: I don’t know, I don’t feel like cooking…
H: Tacos, grilled cheese?
Me: hmmmmm…..
We waffle back and forth and usually decide on something. It gets tiresome, why must we get hungry every. single. night?
Enter: The Freezer Meal Swap
My dear friend, Sheila, participated in one this fall. As she was telling me about it, I was thinking. “Woah, I would never…meal prep for 7 families? No thanks.” Well, I get a call from Sheila to meet for coffee and a farmers market run, our typical Saturday affair. Lo and behold, she cannot stop raving about her recent experience at the freezer meal swap. I admit, I was curious but skeptical.
Fast forward 2 weeks. Sheila still has that bug in my ear, and she is still reaping the bounty of her freezer meal swap. Busy nights after work, hot meal in the crock pot without having to think about it. I was sold. Good thing! Because I committed to a group swap!
It changed my life. The simple act of serving other families and being served by other mothers in my community, was encouraging. We meet briefly when we exchange meals, wandering around the kitchen/dining room, filling our coolers and filling each others’ cups. The small talk, sharing of mom wins and fails, debriefing the work week, it all is rejuvenating. When I get home and fill my freezer, I cannot help but gush over these moms. It is a small commitment, but it made a bigger impact than I ever could have imagined.
Here of two of my favorite recipes from “the swap”
Quick and Easy Sloppy Joes (makes 4 servings)
- 1 lb. ground hamburger
- 1 medium onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 c. ketchup
- 1/2 c. mustard
- 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Dice the onion, pepper, garlic – brown in a large saucepan with the ground hamburger. Cook meat throughout. Add remaining ingredients to create sauce, bring back to warm temperature. Ta da! Easy, right?
Serve on a bun with potato side of your choice. This meat mixture freezes up perfectly for swapping.
Loaded Potato Soup
- 1 (32 oz.) bag frozen hash browns
- 1 (32 oz.) box chicken broth
- 1 (10 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for garnish
- 3/4 c. crumbled bacon, plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 tsp fresh or dried rosemary, minced
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Seriously, all you do is put all these ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. Stir occasionally to break up cream cheese. The only difference I noticed between preparing fresh versus frozen is the hashbrowns break into smaller pieces when it is cooked from a frozen portion.
My challenge to you, is to pour into another mom (or 3 to 5 other moms!) with this simple exchange of meals. We have got an every-other-month swap going, with 7 women, and it is so great. At least once a week I prepare a meal that someone else has cooked for us, that one night of worry free meal prep has saved my sanity.
