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How to Organize a Freezer Meal Swap in 5 Easy Steps on gracefullittlehoneybee.com

How to Organize a Freezer Meal Swap in 5 Easy Steps

October 8, 2014 by Missy Rakes 12 Comments

Organizing a freezer meal swap is easy and fun! Plus, it's awesome having a freezer full of meals that you didn't even have to make yourself!

A few months before I had Kennedy, I decided that I needed to fill my freezer with lots of delicious homemade meals. (You know how pregnant woman can be.) However as you may know, bulk cooking and the third trimester don’t always mix. So I decided to see if any of my friends would be interested in doing a freezer meal swap and our little group was born!

 

Let me just tell you that being part of a freezer meal swap group has been awesome. There’s nothing quite like having a freezer full of homemade meals that you didn’t even have to cook yourself! Plus, it’s a great opportunity to try new recipes and foods on a regular basis.

 

What is a freezer meal swap you ask? Well basically everyone makes one meal times however many people are participating. Then everyone meets and swaps meals. Awesome, right? Read on to learn how to organize your own freezer meal swap in 5 easy steps!

 

1. Contact Friends & Family 

 I would recommend keeping the group to 4-6 people.

Anymore than that and it could get stressful.

 

2. Ask about food aversions or allergies

Once you have a list of who will be participating send out a survey asking about food preferences, food aversion, allergies, etc.

 

3. Discuss Details

Will you be cooking whole foods only? Will you have a theme each month? Will you want recipe cards for each meal? Do you want feedback on the recipes after the swap? When and where will you meet? How many people should each meal serve?

 

4. Pick Recipe & Get Cookin’

Once you get all the details figured out then hit Pinterest and find an amazing recipe to make! You can check out my post 12 Easy Freezer Meals in 2 hours for $50 for inspiration.

 

5. Meet, Swap, Repeat 

Hopefully, everyone will have an awesome experience and want to swap again next month!

 

Voila you just pulled off your first freezer meal swap! How easy was that? Do you have any other tips for organizing a freezer meal swap?

 

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

12 Easy Freezer Meals in 2 Hours for $50

Filling the Freezer on a Budget

Freezer Apple Pie Filling

Filed Under: Freezer Cooking, Frugal Living Tagged With: Freezer Cooking

12 Easy Freezer Meals in 2 Hours for $50 on gracefullittlehoneybee.com

12 Easy Freezer Meals in 2 Hours

September 24, 2014 by Missy Rakes 180 Comments

Check out this list of 12 easy freezer meals that you can make in under two hours. Also, be sure to download your free printable shopping and recipe lists to get started.

Learn how to make 12 freezer meals in 2 hours for $50! Recipes included!

 How to Make 12 Easy Freezer Meals in Two Hours:

I finally jumped on the freezer cooking bandwagon. I’ve done freezer cooking before, but not this many meals at once.

I tried to keep things as simple and frugal (I spent around $50) as possible. I feel so accomplished knowing I have a freezer full of meals to use over the next few weeks and I know you’re going to love these recipes. So here are the recipes for the 12 easy freezer meals that I made in 2 hours:

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup (make recipe x 4)

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken (make recipe x 2)

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken & Veggies (make recipe x 1 and split into two bags)

Creamy Baked Pasta (make recipe x 2)

Chili Mac Casserole (make recipe x 2)

I’m pretty picky when it comes to slow cooker and freezer meals. Normally, it seems like they’re all centered around expensive meats that you still have to add side dishes to make a meal, so I picked two meatless casseroles and for the rest I used frozen chicken breasts (do not thaw!).

Here’s a picture of everything before I got started. As you can probably tell I bought almost everything from Aldi and used some things (potatoes, peppers and corn) from my garden.

*I just want to add that everyone has access to a different set of resources so do the best you can with what you have. Also, I was able to do this in 2 hours because I’m used to making most of these recipes, but if they’re new to you then it may take a bit longer the first time.

IMG_2196

The only pre-cooking required for the recipes that I chose was boiling the noodles. So I put the water on while I was gathering all of my ingredients and labeling my freezer bags. Once I got everything together, I chopped my onions and put the Chicken Taco Soup and Teriyaki Chicken bags together.

Then, I chopped the veggies for the BBQ Chicken & Veggies and made those bags. Then I drained the noodles and put the Creamy Baked Pasta and Chili Mac Casseroles together. PHEW. Here are the recipes that I used:

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken and Veggies (this recipe makes 2 meals)
2 green peppers, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
3 onions chopped
6 red potatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 frozen chicken breasts

1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
(Split ingredients into two bags and freeze)
Cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours

 

Teriyaki Chicken (you will make this recipe x 2)
3 frozen chicken breasts
1 cup Teriyaki sauce
1 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 cloves of garlic
Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over rice.

*This recipe ended up being pretty runny because I reduced the amount of chicken from the original recipe. So I added cooked rice and veggies after it was done to make it a complete one bowl meal. These extra ingredients are not on the shopping list below.

 

Chicken Taco Soup (you will make this recipe x 4)
2 Frozen Chicken Breasts
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Corn
1 Can Rotel
1 Onion, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dip mix
Cook in slow cooker on low 8 hours.

 

Creamy Baked Pasta (you will make this recipe x 2)
16 oz pasta, cooked and drained
1 jar pasta sauce
8 oz tub sour cream
1/4 c parm. cheese
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Saute Onions
Mix all ingredients in pot over medium heat until all ingredients are combined.

Pour in casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake @ 350 for 30 min (45 min – 1 hr if frozen)

 

Chili Mac Casserole (you will make recipe x 2)
16 oz pasta, cooked and drained
1 can chili beans
1 packet chili seasoning
1 onion, chopped
1 can Rotel or stewed tomatoes
1  15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar
Mix all ingredients in casserole dish.

Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake @ 350 for 30 min (45-1 hr if frozen)

IMG_2202

It was quite a bit of work, especially since I chose to do it alone with a toddler and baby in the house, but it was definitely worth it! I will probably do this again sometime soon.

NOTE: For safety reasons all meat should be fully thawed before placing in the slow cooker.

 

Click to Download Shopping List

Click to Download Recipe List

 

Filed Under: Easy Recipes, Freezer Cooking, Frugal Living, Main Dishes, Slow Cooker Tagged With: Freezer Cooking


Welcome, I'm Missy and I'd love to help you cook from scratch, save money and live a more simple and abundant life. Click the buttons below to follow along on social media and get to know me better. Have a lovely day!

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