Freezer Cooking with Friends

Oh WOW!  I just discovered how long it has been since I have posted anything.  :(  So sorry. I hope you all haven't forgotten about us.  Summer ended...school started with our FIRST year of homeschooling...my hubby is in school full time...I work outside the home, too...CRAZY LIFE...there is one thing I can't imagine- cooking EVERY night. It seriously gives me anxiety thinking about it. 
Freezer Cooking is a blessing to me.

Since I cooked WITH Shellie this summer, we decided it was the FUNNEST (I know- that's not really a word...) way to freezer cook.  Take a chore that you don't really like (Cooking), add friends, and it becomes, well...ALMOST fun!
We since added another friend to the "group" and have had some fun, witnessed a few meltdowns, took on too much and had to cook ALL NIGHT, but at the end the cooking is DONE for a month at a time.  BIG SUCCESS.

That is 4 in the morning... ugh!  We didn't start until 7 in the evening, kids were up until LATE, and we planed way too many meals.  NOT GOOD!  But it makes for a good story!

 

This last menu, we made 16 recipes that made 30+ meals for each of our families. We started at 10 that morning and everyone was packed up by 7.  (We even cleaned up the kitchen and spent an hour just sitting and chatting.) We later commented to each other how relaxed the day felt...We all like it so much that we have January's day already on the calendar.

Coolers all packed up and ready to be taken home to be put away in freezers!  SUCCESS!

So, find a couple of friends and make a day of it. You will be surprised at how much it helps day to day. 

Now for the menu:  (Most of the recipes are linked here.)

Meatballs (We chose whether we wanted all meatballs or a meatloaf, also.)

Breaded Ranch Pork Chops

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Crockpot Country BBQ Ribs

Cheese Manicotti

Lasagna

Brown Bag Burritos  These are now a must have item in the freezer for all of us.

Simply Great Chicken

Buttermilk Herb Chicken Breasts

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Ranch Tacos

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

At the end of the day, 3 families...30ish meals each...$135 each...no cooking for a month...YES!!!

A NEW THING WE LEARNED!  If you run an onion under hot water, no more crying.  It works and we all just fell in love with Pinterest again!!!!

A few pictures from a couple different sessions...one of these days, we are going to video start to finish...

This was at the beginning of our all nighter...

I think this was at 2 in the morning...I think it was shortly before this, we realized that we weren't going to sleep that night...sigh...but once you start, you can not stop.

Shellie mxing up Chicken Ranch Tacos.

Breading Pork Chops

Cheese Manicotti Assembly Line