Cooking Made Easy

A few months ago, D asked if she could borrow one of my freezer-friendly cookbooks. I'm a big proponent of making extra food so that I can freeze some of it. I like to cook, but my energy is rather limited and I don't want to spend a lot of time messing with it. I suggested that we take a Supper Thyme approach to it and work together on making meals. She loved the idea.

I've done both Supper Thyme and Super Suppers in the past, and they're great. It's wonderful not to have to do any prep work or clean up, and each month there are at least 12 recipes that you can choose from. The problem is that it's pretty expensive. For just 6 meals, or 12 if you divide them in half, it can cost over $125. Convenience and variety is great, but right now, money talks.

So, we got together with K and M to talk it out. We set a menu, created a shopping list, and put it all out on Google Documents. We raided our pantries to see what we already had on hand and didn't need to purchase. We looked for sales and hit Costco and Kroger. Yesterday, D, K, and I got together at K's house to prepare 5 meals in freezer ready packages. It took us just over 3 hours to get everything done. The amazing part is that it cost us less than $50 each... which translates into 12 meals for H and I.

We set the menu for next month, and I worked today to get the menu and shopping list posted so that everyone could access it. K and D have memberships to Costco, and D's husband works at Kroger. This way, with a month in advance, we can look for great sales and stock our freezers. This time was a little chaotic for everyone, and M wasn't even able to make the food prep, but that is to be expected for the first time. But, we learned a lot and it will get better in time.

The other lovely part is that we have a box of supplies that we can reuse (such as spices and big Ziploc baggies). That will certainly save money in the long run.

D also mentioned that they are interested in planting a communal garden. We'd all pitch in for seeds and plants, we'd all take care of it, and we'd all share in the harvest. Woo hoo!