my girlfriends in my bible study group decided to do a food swap.
it took us awhile to get it organized but we did it!
i was so excited about it.
some of us are kind of picky and i love that we were honest about that too.
i have a bunch of picky eaters here so it wouldn't save me anytime if i did this
and all the meals were yucky to my kids.
my meal was lasagna.
that's really is MY meal.
i make it for anyone who has a baby…family in the hospital….lost a loved one….company coming…
everyone!
and everyone tells me it's so good.
so i believe them.
i made seven.
all in my jammies, slippers and apron.
with christmas music on and all the kids at school and an entire pot of coffee by my side.
it really was such a nice morning.
it took me 3 hours exactly.
that was twice as long as i thought it would take but all the stirring and layering takes time.
after you make your meal you cover them with plenty of foil
("no air in there"….name that line)
label it with instructions and freeze them.
then you bring them to the swap already frozen.
we all opened our trunks and swapped out our casseroles for five different ones.
the different meals were:
chicken enchiladas
turkey tetrazzini
manicotti
chicken and stuffing
bierock casserole (small town german favorite)
and my lasgana
my freezer is so happy. i think it smiled and winked at me….
now for december…the busiest month…i have six meals already made!
AWESOME.
i think all of you should do this with your girlfriends.
(or with your co-workers or neighbors?)
set your rules of money, ingredients, recipes and GO FOR IT!
it was so fun.
Betsy - I do this with my teacher friends. Many of us are single or just a couple … so cooking for ourselves takes a lot of time and then you eat that food for the next 8 meals.
My favorites are a veggie/pasta soup, a baked ziti with sausage, and a Tex Mex ravioli lasagna.
SO MUCH FUN!
Amber - Hi Meg. My name is Amber. I just started blogging. I don’t know how I came across yours but I just love your photographs. You are truly gifted. I came across this blog entry and couldn’t believe my eyes! Your shot with the pj pants and slipper shoes, I have the same shot of my pj pants and slipper shoes from Target! 😀
And if I can see your pj pants clearly I have those same ones :O
Anywhoo, nice to meet you Meg. I look forward to seeing more of your photos and your blog posts.
cathy B - that is the most clever thing i have ever heard of LOVE IT
cathy B - that is the most clever thing i have ever heard of LOVE IT
carissa - THE BEST idea… too neat… and YUMMY too!
Kirsten - Okay, that sounds so fun – smart, too! Questions abound…how did the money work out? And I’d be curious about the lasagna recipe you use – I usually use cottage cheese, but last time used ricotta and I think that’s why it was kind of dry. I need to remember to use more sauce, too. Thanks for your constant inspiration – and congrats on the ohdeedoh gig!
Diana Cornielle - This is a wonderful idea! Specially for someone like me who doesn’t have that much time to cook. Thanks.
Tracy - Hi Meg – great concept! Wish I had people close by that would be willing to do this but all of my friends and family are back home in Arkansas – lol. However, I would LOVE to have your Lasagna recipe – care to share?! Hugs, Trac~:o)
Bri - Megan, could I trouble you to get that Bierock casserole recipe for me? I LOoOoOvE!! bierocks, and casseroles are right up my alley!!!!
Linda@ Restyled Home - Genius…literally…now to find a few friends not too lazy to do it with me!!
I just got caught up with your blog, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute!
Linda
Lorilee - That sounds like fun! I have done the Once-A-Month Cooking a few times. Well, I don’t do it exactly. I picked out some of the recipes and adapted some of my own. I usually cook the batch of beef recipes one day and the chicken another. I do all the onion chopping etc in bulk. As I assemble, I have the various recipes posted all around my kitchen.
Blessings,
Lorilee
Mandi - I stumbled upon your website (literally–stumbleupon.com)…and it is my new favorite, guilty pleasure.
I check it everyday and cannot wait to see the new crafts you have come up with.
and your kids–totally amazing, not to mention beautiful.
thanks for making my day a little more fun!
Trina - That is some serious cooking!!!! Looks like fun though! Jammies, cooking, coffee, music, quiet! And then getting all those meals in December, you’re right that is a good thing!
Jenny - Great idea.
Kelly - okay, I LOVE that y’all swapped out of your trunks! GREATNESS! I don’t use eggs or “yellow” cheese in my lasagna so I’m intrigued! Looks yummy. Where do the eggs go? Kelly
Tami - Wow! This is really kewl!!!!
Marie - What a great idea! I am SO going to do this!
lee ann - Love it! I did this all last year, but it sort of fizzled out. Everyone should try it. My group even had wheat AND dairy allergies and we still made it work. Doesn’t it just make you so happy?
a thorn among roses - i did this a few years ago…and now, i want in on it again!!! good reminder for me…i’m making some calls. 🙂
Amanda Rettke - Wow. That was intense. You did SEVEN lasagnas in three hours? CRAZY! But cool. Very cool.
You have pink slippers. Have you always liked pink? Just wondering.
God bless-
Amanda
MGF - Great idea. I think I may try
carrie - fantastic idea! would love to do this but unfortunately what i am able to eat isn’t on most recipes so i’d likely get lots of food i’d WANT to eat but sadly could not. i’m going to try and see if i can figure a way to do a variation on this idea though as if nothing else, i’d love the excuse it would give my friends and i to spend more time together.
hugs!
Staci - Mmmmmm. Yummy! I did this one time about a year ago and was such a great thing. Don’t ya just love it when you know there is a meal already ready??!! Much less…SIX! It’s the best feeling!
amy j. - I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I stared at that first freezer picture for awhile… trying to figure out what meal was in the bucket. Duh. 🙂
Andrea - LOVE that swapping idea. What a great thing to do.
Though I’d be all for swapping at a festive party instead of out of my trunk. Not sure if this speaks to my love for a good party, great food, or the abhorent state of my trunk. Nobody would eat anything they saw coming out of there.
Jenn Thomas - Meg – this has nothing to do with your current post but here is a compliment to you. At noon I ran to WalMart to print some pictures quickly (ones you took for us). I am going to make my own christmas cards tomorrow evening. So I print off 65 of them – (one of the family, London in the milo field and me holding her while she is sleeping) okay. She I give the lady the receipt and she starts looking through my pictures and asks (snotty) “did you take these?” I said no, my friend did. “well is she is professional?” No, just a friend. “Well, they are questionable, they look professional” Yes, she enjoys taking pictures and is very good at it. “Well, next time you come in to print pictures she has taken, you need a form from her stating that she is not a professional – these are very questionable. That won’t be necessary, next time I will be ordering them online where the customer service is more friendly. Hats off to you Meg – they questioned my prints about being professional. Whoot Whew
Aubrey - Are you going to put the recipe on the side? My last few attempts at lasagna were not so tasty and I have resorted to Stauffers, but should figure out how to make it good on my own and save us the money and extra preservatives, since it hasn’t yet been proven that they preserve against wrinkles or pregnancy weight gain, and I suppose I don’t need them.
traci - That is actually a super, fun idea!!! One ?…how much did it set you back? I realize you save because you dont have to spend on the other dinners but I bet making lasagna set you back A LOT.
Traci Thorson - my stomach is growling now. lasagna sounds wonderful. actually all the meals are great. what a wonderful idea!! what are you having tonight?
PamperingBeki - I think your freezer is happy because of that big ol’ tub of cookies and cream ice cream! 😉
The food swap looks fun. It is soooo cold outside!
Do you want to get together for coffee one day next week? I could use the break.
Ali - What a fun idea! And it made me laugh to see all your colby jack cheese bags piled up like that, as you had mentioned that is the only kind you buy. I think that would make lasagna extra delicious. My husband refuses to eat “orange” cheese, so I don’t get to enjoy cheese like I should. LOL.
I have been reading through your archives over the past day and I love your blog so much. I am not a native Kansas girl, and well, our life here over the past 1 1/2 years has not been very enjoyable (as far as enjoying the state, getting out and exploring, etc.) but you really make Kansas look FUN and beautiful.
After reading through old entries, I feel really inspired just to have more fun with my daughter and it gave me a different outlook on Kansas.
Wish I lived on a block like yours, with neighbors that actually talk to one another, and have block parties. Maybe someday we will find a town like that. 🙂
Thank you again for such a wonderful blog. It is truly inspiring — the good parts and the hard parts of raising kids, finding time to find color in your life, all little lessons I’m learning from your posts. Thanks.