Freezer Meals

Back when I only had two young babies my friend introduced me to the concept of Freezer Meals, or "Meals for a Month".  Four of us young mothers would get together, let our babies slobber on each other, and plan out 14 meals, a shopping list, a prep list and decide on a weekend to cook.  On a Thursday we would go shopping and divide the food.  Friday was our prep day at our own houses.  Depending on what items we had, we would each chop veggies, cook chicken, brown massive quantities of hamburger etc.  Saturday we would get together for the whole day and cook until we were sick of it and then order out pizza for dinner. 

We have all since moved to different parts of the country, but I have continued making freezer meals from time to time.  Now that all my friends and I have larger families it doesn't make as much sense to have a group of four.  I usually do this on my own or with one other friend with an equal-ish sized family.  These recipes are divided to do cooking on two different days; chicken and pork on one day, and beef on the next.  I'll give you my recipes but feel free to adjust them depending on your families preferences or replace them with recipes of your own.   

Recognition to my sisters for their help in organizing, typing, testing and providing some of these recipes.  Love ya!

Step 1
Print out all recipes and cooking schedule

Step 2
Make a complete shopping list for all your recipes.  This is done most easily if you make categories.  Meat, Dairy, Vegetables, Fruit, Canned, Boxed, Frozen, Misc. **REMEMBER TO INCLUDE FREEZER BAGS OR CONTAINERS TO STORE YOUR MEALS IN** 

You may want to hold off buying some things on the list.  Example:  Fajitas.  You would want to buy the meat and veggies to make the fajita filling, but hold off buying the tortillas, and toppings until a few days before you eat this meal.  With Pulled Pork Sandwiches, buy the pork, onion and BBQ sauce, but hold off buying the buns.  You get the idea...

Step 3
Prep your house.  Do your dishes, clean off your counters and work surfaces, sharpen your knives, find all the pieces to your food processor, clean out your fridge and freezer to make room for your shopping and meals.  Doing all these things ahead of time will make the whole production more efficient.  Look through your cupboards and fridge to determine if you already have any ingredients on your list.

Step 4
Go shopping WITHOUT KIDS! 
If buying this much food at once seems overwhelming, do it in two different runs.  You can shop one day for all the non-perishable items and veggies.  If you have energy when you get home, go ahead and prep all your veggies.  The next day go buy your perishable and frozen items.  Prep all your meat.
**A note about prepping your food...It's easiest to chop all of one type of food at a time and it helps avoid cross contamination.  Chop all your onions and put in a zip bag.  One medium onion is equal to about 1/2 c chopped, one large onion is about 1 c chopped. 

Step 5
Cooking-Groups 1 and 2

Step 6
Cooking-Groups 3 and 4

Step 7
Order out for dinner and relax knowing you won't have to make dinner for a whole month!