January Menu/ February Assignments

OK - not like you all don't have enough going on in your lives right now.  Why not think about what recipes you'll bring for next month??? :)  Anyway, I figured I'd post the menu for next month and the assignments before I forget with the craziness of the holidays!

January's swap will be Sunday January 8th.  The menu will be:
January Menu
Sarah S. - Quiche
Jenny - Orange Apricot Pork Chops
Sarah M. - French Market Sandwiches
Steph - Chicken Noodle Soup
Heather - Meatball Cheese Tortellini
Sarah B. - Lemon Caper Tilapia packs

Please make 7 of your entree and hopefully we'll have found a family in need by that time to give our extra to - keep your ears open.  Also, as Steph and Libby have to stop swapping until school/life slows down a bit, please invite anyone that you think might either be a good "substitute" or "regular" to the group swap if they are interested in seeing how we work.

I did the assignments again - and I'm trying to switch it up so that everyone has something different -- but I think starting next time a few of you will ended up repeating categories.  Remember - if you have a new category that you think would be fun to add - let me know!  I was tossing around a "lunch" category...something that is toddler/parent friendly, that you can pull out and make relatively quickly......I know some of our recipes have qualified for me (fritattas, soups) - but just a thought if we wanted to be more intentional about it (although I'm not sure I want to eliminate any categories!!!).....

Assignments for recipes for February are as follows --
Soup/Chili/Stew:  Sarah B
Casserole/Comfort Food:  Sarah S
Italian/Mediterranean:  Heather
Southwestern/Mexican:  Sarah M.
Asian:  Jenny

   

Christmas Party Recipes

Thanks again Heather for hosting our Christmas gathering!  Was great to swap dinners and cookies and stories!
Here are a few of the recipes from the gathering....

Tacquitos and Wonton Appetizers

If you want to send me your Christmas cookie recipe, feel free. I have a few from people that I'll post here in the next few days!  I'll also post assignments for January.  :)  In case you have a down moment.....off to address those Christmas cards!!!

December Recipes

Here are the recipes for the December Menu.  Can't wait for the swap on Sunday!!

December Menu


Remember no assignments this month - just bring your easiest no-prep recipe for our swap in January.....

Sarah

PS----if you want to share your cookie recipe, feel free to send it to me and I can post those as well.

December Menu

Thanks again to Sarah S. for hosting last night!  Was so excited to get all my "goodies" home. 
Here's the menu for December's swap.  We'll be swapping on Dec. 11th as well as conducting our annual cookie exchange.  Details to follow. 

FYI - there will not be any "assignments" for our January exchange.  We are looking for simple, no prep meals to exchange as everyone will be short on time during December.  Let me know if you are struggling to find a recipe!

December Menu
Sarah M. - Split Pea Soup or Smoky Corn Chowder
Jenny - Broccoli and Cauliflower Mac-n-Cheese
Sarah B. - Italiano Fish Fillets
Sarah S. - Chicken Tortilla Soup
Steph - Lumpia
Heather - Mini-Breakfast Frittatas

Also - cooking tips for November's Menu:

Sneaky Chef Chili and Sneaky Cornbread Muffins(veggie purees are hidden in both)
Muffins- stay frozen, bake 350 for 25 minutes
Chili- heat over stove, either frozen or thawed

Minestrone SoupThaw and simmer until veggies are tender and pasta cooked, about 25 minutes

Shepherd’s Pie and Chocolate Chip Cookies Pie- Thaw and bake 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly
Cookies- 375 for 9 minutes

Mexican Lasagna Thaw and bake 350 for 25 minutes, let sit 10 minutes before serving

No Peeking Peking Chicken and Egg Rolls Chicken- Cook in Crockpot for 4 hours if thawed or 8-10 hours if frozen.
One option would be to serve this over rice.
Egg rolls- keep frozen and bake 425 for 18 minutes (one option for cooking)

Bolognese Sauce, spaghetti noodles, Parmesan cheese block, rolls and bars Sauce - Reheat over stove
Cheese- grate over top when serving
Spaghetti noodles- cook
Rolls- thaw and bake 375 for 8-10 minutes

Crockpot Chicken Tacos, Vegetarian Chili and Pumpkin Bread Tacos- thaw and reheat. Use to fill tacos, enchiladas or make a taco salad.
Chili- reheat either frozen or thawed
Bread- thaw and enjoy

November Menu/Recipes

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20615631/November%202011%20Recipes.docx

Here's the link to our November Recipes.  Hope you all enjoy!

Also - this is somewhat unsolicited, but I recently made some cranberry white chocolate chip scones and then froze them (before baking) to see how they'd turn out.  Turns out - we happily ate the entire test batch!  :)  We will be serving these for breakfast when we have company over Thanksgiving.  Having them pre-made in the freezer will help with clean-up (and avoid having to get up early!!).  Anyway - thought I'd share the recipe since it is so simple and I always almost have all the ingredients on hand. 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20615631/Cranberry%20White%20Chocolate%20Chip%20Scones.doc

December "Assignments"

Ok - I know it's a little early to be doing the December Swap Assignments - but I think I'm just on a kick.   Maybe it's just the extra time at my disposal since I don't have to think about dinner tonight!!! Can't tell you how lovely it was to not have to do dishes last night....felt like our night went SO much smoother! (We had the pork chops - YUM Heather - I think that recipe is a winner!).

These are the recipes you will bring to the November swap to be voted on to be made for the December swap.  If you think your holidays are going to be too crazy with family, etc - and want to sit out for a month - just let me know and I'll take you out for that month.  No hard feelings!  I think we'll try to do something a little easier for the January swap (since we'll be doing the prep in December time-frame) but we can discuss further at our next swap. 

So without further adieu....

Soup/Chili/Stew - Sarah M.
Casserole/Comfort Food - Jenny, Sarah B.
Italian/Mediterranean - Libby
Southwestern/Mexican - Sarah S.
Asian - Steph
Breakfast for Dinner - Heather

November 2011 Menu

November 2011 Menu - Swap date is Nov. 13th at 8pm

Heather - Sneaky Chef Chili and Sneaky Cornbread Muffins
Jenny - Minestrone Soup
Libby - Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Chorizo Enchiladas
Sarah M. - Shepard's Pie
Steph - Mexican Lasagna
Sarah B. - No Peeking Peking Chicken
Sarah S. - Bolognese Sauce

October Meeting Minutes

Hi Freezer Friends-
Just a few notes from our swap last night.

• If you are looking for chicken breasts at a good price - try Costco.  Target also seems to have some good prices on meat.
• Add-on's to meals do not need to be "approved".  If you choose to purchase something in addition to your recipe, just choose something that would be appropriate to eat with your meal - i.e. veggies, bread, cookies (which go with everything in my opinion....:)). 
• If you've tested your recipe or tried one that we've received and have some input - please post in the comments section.

I posted the recipes for the October Menu to the October post.  Please let me know if you can't access them.  I'm having a little trouble posting a document - but I think I've worked out the kinks.  I can view it - but I want to make sure that someone else can. 

Apple Recipes from Steph

Ok - here's a test to see if this link will work.  If not - I'll mess with it again this afternoon.  :)

Steph's Apple Recipes

November "Assignments"

Here are the assignments for the November swap.  I doubled up on two.  For those of you who are doubled up - if you'd like to do something different/out of category - just let me know.   Happy Recipe Hunting!  Please bring your recipes (or send them if you can't make it) to the October Meal Swap so we can vote on them.  Also - when you get a chance, please send me your recipe for October so I can post it on the blog.  (Sarah S. & Jenny - I already have yours.) 

Soup/Chili/Stew:  Heather
Casserole/Comfort Food:  Sarah M.
Italian/Mediteranean:  Jenny, Sarah S.
Southwestern/Mexican:  Steph, Libby
Asian:  Sarah B.

October 2011 Menu

SWAP NIGHT - October 9th - 8pm

Sarah M. - Chicken Cordon Bleu
Steph - Cranberry Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Heather - Southwestern Pork Chops with Veggie Topper
Libby - Vegetable and Three Cheese Stuffed Shells
Jenny - Vegetable Enchiladas
Sarah S - White Bean Soup
Sarah B. - Pepperoni or Canadian Bacon Pizza Pack

October Recipes
Please send me your recipes when you get a chance and I will post them for the group.

Organizational Meeting

Hi Friends-
We had the initial meeting for "The League" last night and I think we took care of quite a few organizational issues.  Please send me an email/comment on this post if I missed anything or if you were not there and would like to add to the conversation.

First of all - thanks to all of you (and your families) that want to try out the meal swap.  I'm hopeful that it will save all of us time (maybe even a little money?), introduce us to new recipes, and answer the question that always arises at 4pm at our house....:) 

We discussed the questions that I sent out via email and here are some of the general guidelines that we agreed to for The League.

1.  Packaging

Please package your meals in freezer ziptop bags if possible.  This will maximize the amount of space in everyone's freezer.  Soups, casseroles, sauces can all be frozen flat this way.  If you need to use a pan (lasagna, enchiladas, etc.), the preference is to use a foil pan (which according to Costco members can be purchased relatively inexpensively - $6.00 for 30 -- see a Costco member (Libby and Steph?) if you are interested in buying some!) without a "domed" lid.  If there isn't a flat lid, tin foil is the preferred "lid" in order to save space.
Please label your meal with the contents of the meal, date, cooking instructions, and your name.  Please also indicate if the meal includes common allergens such as nuts/peanuts.  It didn't sound like anyone had any allergies that we needed to carefully avoid, but it would be helpful in the event the meal is served to company or to little ones that may not have been exposed to nuts yet. 

2.  Cost/Quantity

Please prepare each meal with 4-6 portions in it.  We would like to keep the cost to $10 per meal (so if we have 7 participants, $70 total).  If you have a cut of meat that is more expensive - feel free to use the 4 portion size or if you can be a little more generous with your servings - use 6 portions.    It would be helpful to indicate this on the label as well.

3.  Categories

We decided that in the interest of keeping our meals diverse, we will randomly assign categories to the participants.  I will send out the assignment no later than a week before our meal swap so that you have time to hunt down two recipes to fit that category.  Please bring two recipes to the swap and we will vote for the following months recipes.
Categories are as follows:
Soup/Chili/Stew, Casserole/Comfort Food, Italian/Mediterranean, Southwestern/Mexican, and Asian.  It's only five categories, so if anyone has any permanent categories they want to include, let me know.  Otherwise, I'll just choose two to double up.  Some options for temporary categories are Breakfast for Dinner, Grill Packets, etc. 

4.  Quality versus Quantity

We discussed our preferences for types of food.  I think the general consensus was that we are aiming towards serving our families healthy, well-balanced meals.  In that vein, the preference is to serve leaner cuts of meat, ground turkey breast (which can be subbed for ground beef) and choosing meats that are antibiotic free.  We also have a few families that get venison (if they have successful hunters in their families) and the group sounded game (pun intended) to try recipes that included venison and would provide feedback at that time whether we should continue using or not.  We also discussed using whole wheat if possible (in pasta, breads, etc.), understanding that it is a preference - not a mandate. 
As far as quantity - some recipes may be more expensive (those that contain meat versus vegetarian) than others.  If your recipe falls far below the $10 mark, consider adding a "supplement" to your meal.  It could be bread to go with the meal (we discussed several types of frozen bread that can be purchased - Rhodes brand or a baguette from the bakery or something that you've made), a vegetable, or even some frozen cookie dough.   If your recipe falls just short or just over the $10 mark - please just try to balance it the following month by either spending a little less or a little more.  If you find that you are consistently spending over the budgeted amount, please let me know and we can determine a more equitable solution.   

5.  Allergies/Food Preferences

It didn't sound like anyone had any allergies and that their families are pretty willing to try anything.  Please let the group know if you have any allergies.  Please also use the blog to comment on recipes.  You might want to indicate if you thought the cooking times were off or if the meal needed to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Also give your thoughts on the meal itself - if your family loved it or if they didn't care for it.  Remember - it's not personal.  We all vote on the recipe you are going to make the month before, so we all accept part of that criticism.  You are just the "assembler".  A decent amount of time and money goes into preparing meals for 7 families so we just want to make sure that it is money and time well spent!  If there is a meal that you know your family won't eat (for whatever reason) please consider "swapping" with someone else -- so they might get two meals with ground beef (that your family doesn't care for) and you get two vegetarian.   That way a meal won't go to waste. 

6.  Date

We decided that Sunday nights seem to work well to swap.  We will swap meals on the second Sunday of the month at 8pm.  The location will be sent out approximately a week ahead of time.  If there is a spouse that is traveling, we will try to meet at that person's house to avoid having to obtain a babysitter.  Though a social aspect of getting together with all of you is always desirable, we realize that everyone is busy and may only be able to show up to swap and vote on recipes for the following month.  That is perfectly fine.  We can arrange OMNO's to concentrate fully on enjoying each other's company!  If you are unable to come but still want to participate, please arrange to have your meals dropped off before the swap.  If you are unable to come or would like to "sit out" a month, please let me know as soon as possible so we can let everyone know to prepare one less meal that month. 

Questions/Concerns/Comments/Something I Missed?  Please either comment here or send me an email and we can rectify the situation!  I'll post the menu for October shortly!