Freezer Fridays

The start of school and Fall activities is quickly approaching. In addition to school I've allowed each of the kids to pick up to two activities. For the girl child this was very difficult since she is like me and wants to do it all - we settled on Dance and Spanish. As for the boy child, he doesn't quite get it yet so I picked for him - Basketball and Swimming.

We tried a neighborhood dinner exchange a few years ago and it worked well but people get busy and kids are picky so it didn't last long. Sometimes I will do a marathon cooking day making 10-12 recipes all at once but this is time consuming and usually makes a huge mess in my kitchen. Instead I pick one or two freezable recipes a week and I'll triple the recipe having one that night and banking the other two. This week I did Spaghetti Pie and Sweet and Sour Meatballs both from Girlfriends on the Go by Suzie Roberts.

I usually judge a recipe based on my husband and my daughter's reaction - the boy child will eat anything you put in front of him and say it's delicious so I don't usually trust his judgement. The Spaghetti Pie was a big hit with the whole family, it's easy to make but it does make a big pile of dirty dishes - the pot to cook the noodles, a bowl for the filling, and the pan that you brown the meat in. The girl child isn't a huge fan of sauces so the Sweet and Sour Meatballs weren't her favorite but I served them with rice and broccoli which she ate all of so I can't complain too much.

I probably have a dozen meals in the freezer (we have a second freezer in the garage) from the last few weeks of cooking. I would really like to double that number before school starts so we don't feel like we are eating the same thing every week but I haven't picked out any more yet.

If you're interested in trying to make and freeze meals I highly recommend Once a Month Mom. They've got a great site with different menus to choose from including a Gluten Free/Dairy Free freezer menu. They give you the shopping lists and instructions for a full day of cooking.