Great Dinner Idea!

DiveFrog

Like many of you, I have a hard time balncing everything (work, kids, DH, house, meals, bills, etc.) and as I read through a few of the recent posts on this issue there was a lot of great advice on how to cut out time from chores, and stay oraganized.

I wanted to share something my SIL has been able to do that has really been a huge help to her evening routine and getting dinner on the table. I would personally love to do the same, but haven't been able to cultivate enough freinds/neighbors close to where we live to set it up yet.

Every week on Sunday SIL cooks one meal and makes enough for her family and three of her friends families. The three friends all do the same. Then Sunday afternoon/evening they all exchange meals. This gives her four main dish dinners for the week. She may need to add a salad or quick side, but for the most part Monday-Thursday she doesn't have to cook simply reheat and serve. The group has some basic guidlines on dietary requirements/allergies (SIL is allergic to all seafood), and they rotate bewteen proteins, and a meatless option each week so that the cost evens out, and generally they all try to make the meals freezable so that if someone needs/wants to they can freeze it and keep it for a future week etc.

This group of women have been doing this now for over six months and they all love it, I completely envy it...How awesome would it be to shop for, and cook a single meal on Sunday and end up with four different meals for the week already complete.

So I wanted to share this idea for anyone that struggles with getting dinner on the table every night...I am sure a lot of you could successfully organize something similar with a couple of your friends, family, or neighbors that you live close to.  

 

mexicolombiana

Wow that's crazy! Good for them.  

But let me just say I would never do this.  I value my sundays way too much to be cooking all afternoon! We go out so much on weekends with the kids I would never want to participate in something like

[Deleted User]

mexicolombiana:

Wow that's crazy! Good for them.  

But let me just say I would never do this.  I value my

ajs0924

Betty&Co:

mexicolo

EastCoastBride

Lol. That's me. I fear the commitment. But great idea.

thespianlawyer

Yeah, it's a great idea if you have the time and oven/kitchen space to make 4 meals at once.  The most I think I can make at a time is a big meal for my family that will give leftovers for lunches for the week, and that's in my medium size kitchen

rachboston60

mexicolombiana:

Wow that's crazy! Good for them.  

But let me just say I would never do this.  I value my sund

Iblamethebeer

I think once you're cooking, it's not that much harder to make a big batch of something.

My problem with that plan is that I don't like reheating stuff.  With certain exceptions (like soup) it never tastes quite right to me.

I have

DiveFrog

t's a very felxible concept. That's the true beauty of it.You and any participants can make it whatever works for your group.

Fear the commitment of doing this evey week? Okay, set it up for everyother week, or once a month. Don't want to cook

mgrulke

I do freezer meal every week. I set aside 1-2 hrs a week for prep. I use https://freezermealsforus.blogspot.com/ a lot. It will explain what to store your stuff in and how to make each one.