[FREEZER MEALS GROUP RULES AND IDEAS
GET A BINDER OR FOLDER FOR ALL RECIPES, MEETING NOTES, PHONE LISTS ETC
Make 10 meals each month, bring 9 to give away and one is for you.
Each meal needs to serve 8 adults
Cost should be $80-100, regular price. If you find an amazing sale, it is OK to save a buck
Write on the bag (do this before you fill it and use Ziplock brand freezer bags, the others can’t take being stacked or thawed with meat in them in the microwave!) or the disposable pan with a permanent marker: temp, time and name of recipe.
Include an 8 ½ X 11 printed page with each meal: recipe, side dish ideas, extra ingredients that are needed highlighted at the top, tips for making it on your own and your name/phone number in case of questions.
If there is an ingredient that should not freeze and is not perishable, but is necessary for the meal, include it on the side. For example, include a bag of tortilla chips with taco soup or a bag of noodles with a pasta bake.
Items to not freeze: mayonnaise, pasta (in general), potatoes that are supposed to hold together, rice, ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
These are homemade meals, please use meals that are from scratch, not quickie meals that use many processed or premade ingredients.
Please use real cheese (no Velveeta), real butter (no margarine)This is because of allergies in the group, real Ziplock brand freezer bags, avoid canned creamed soups, etc.
Chicken should be boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Of course for a casserole, if you want to bone your own meat, go for it!
Please drain all hamburger well. If you are making patties, meatballs, etc, you need to flash freeze them individually on cookie sheets and then place them in the freezer bags so that they hold their shape.
You meals need to be frozen for the exchange, so plan ahead. Some meals cannot freeze overnight, especially when you try to put 10 bags of hot chili in your poor freezer at once! Freeze the bags flat, with as much air out of them as possible and when you stack them do not go more then 3 or 4 high, we have learned from sad and messy experience that the bottom bag will burst open and fill your freezer! Once they are frozen, you can stack them as high as you want.
Do not experiment on the group. Please us recipes that are your family’s favorites.
Ideas: marinated meats, pasta bakes, meatballs with sauces, tacos or enchiladas, quiche, chicken pot pie, soups without rice and noodles, bbq beef/pork with Rhodes rolls,
*If you are stumped about what to cook and what freezes well, there is a great book that has all the tips and recipes you’ll need at the Madison Library. It is called Girlfriends on the Go: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Make-Ahead meals by Suzie Roberts.
Be aware of any allergies others may have in the group.
