I know tons of us are getting inspired by Pinterest. Today, I wanted to share an idea that I found on Facebook. I’ve tried it with some friends, and it’s a winner!
Do you ever struggle with juggling it all?! How do you spend time with your kids, run errands, clean the house, work and have time to have good, home cooked meals for your family? A mom in Arizona was having a hard time making all this happen and thought up the idea of starting the Funky Freezer Girls! And ya’ll, it’s genious!
Basically she started out with a group of 7 friends. Everyone made 6 of the same meal and then they met up and exchanged. So at the end of the exchange (which can also serve as a fun/much needed girl’s night), everyone walked away with 6 different meals to put in their freezer.
I was invited to join a group back in November and it has been the.best.thing.ever over the last two months! Yes, it took a little time to make a quadruple batch of tortilla soup…but really once you’re in the veggie chopping mode, what’s another couple of cups of chopped carrots, celery, etc?! And if you’re cooking in bulk and can plan ahead, you can strategically pick your cooking day (I did all the prep work on Saturday so my hubby could help entertain our little guy). Shopping in bulk is helpful on the wallet too. I know I wouldn’t have been able to make those 6 different meals for the same cost it was to make 6 of the same meal. Not to mention the time involved in making 6 different meals!
After our swap, I came home and had a freezer full of yummy meals-baked ziti, homemade spaghetti sauce, Swiss chicken, catalina cranberry chicken, taco filled pasta shells and chicken enchiladas verdes (is your mouth watering yet?!). It was absolutely wonderful having these meals ready to go. On our busy days when I knew that it’d be hard to get something prepped and on the table for dinner, all I had to do was pull out a freezer meal and we were set! Oh and did I mentioned we moved 3 days after Christmas?! Yes, we’re crazy, but 2 days after moving we were sitting down at our kitchen table in our new home enjoying home-cooked dinners thanks to my freezer meals!
I hope you’ll try it! I promise, you’ll thank me the first night you don’t want to cook and can just pull something out of your freezer! There’s more info on the Funky Freezer Girls Facebook page, or you can comment/email me and I’m happy to answer questions about how it’s working for us. It is SO NICE to have a freezer full of meals ready to eat…especially when you don’t have to meal plan, grocery shop, prep, and cook each different meal. So help yourself and a few friends…make meal time easy on yourself in 2012!
it’s just an all around great idea and chance to get to know some really cool ladies!
Freezer meals have been such a blessing for my family; especially on those days where backing up the baby and going out sounds like way too much of a chore, but the idea of whipping up a meal is depressing too. I love being able to just thaw a meal and have it ready. Plus, it’s a great way to try dishes you’d never have thought of. I’ve discovered some great recipes I know I’ll try again!
And you know it’s great when 2 members of the same freezer group blog about it on the same day!! http://www.thetshirtmama.com/2012/01/thirty-by-30-no-20.html 🙂
I love our group! Can’t wait for the next batch of meals!
Thanks for sharing! I love this idea! I’ll have to find some people who want to get in on it! How often do you all meet and swap?
Maggie, we have 8 girls in our group and we meet about every 9-10 weeks (we just had our 2nd swap tonight…so that’s at least what has worked up til now). Not too often so that it’s not overwhelming but often enough so you always have something in your freezer! Good luck!