Group Menu Sharing & 2 Meatball Recipes

Remember when I was in the meal sharing group a couple of years ago?

I enjoyed being a part of it because, hey! the no cooking every night part was excellent!
I looked forward to the nights when I didn't have to cook,
and still got to serve my family a homecooked meal.
Seriously made my life easier.

At the end of the school year,
we moms decided to take a break
and that was one long break!

Flashforward to the end of Summer 2013,
and I was invited to join in again with some new gals.
Also started was a freezer meal group--
the first Saturday of the month we all bring one freezer meal recipe
to feed 7 other families.
It has been awesome!

Last month I made pasta fagoli as my offering--
it was great fresh,
but not so great after it had been frozen and heated up again
because the elbow macaroni in it expanded as it thawed
and got kinda gummy.
Won't be making that one again until I figure out how to do the pasta right for freezer meals.

Last night I made sweet n spicy meatballs.
I also made swedish meatballs to make up for the pasta fagioli;
not that anyone said I had to,
but it made me feel better.
And it was easy!
(*recipes on bottom of post)

In addition to these time saving meal plans,
I have also attended and hosted two WildTree Products 
freezer meal workshops!
So So Good!
I made 12 delicious and varied freezer meals
at each workshop--
my freezer is chock full of meals right now
and it makes my life easier.

I just pull out a couple of freezer meals
and put them in the fridge to thaw
the day before I want to cook them
then, the day OF, I plop 'em in the crockpot
before I leave for work.
Coming home to a warm meal in the evenings
simplifies my time in the kitchen,
and allows me to spend that time with my family
or just keeping a handle on the house stuff.

I highly recommend this way of feeding our families.
They get to try new recipes as a result too.

We do have some guidelines and there is one family with an aversion to onions--
so we cut those up big enough to pick out for them.
One tip I'll share is to make sure the gals you invite actually like to cook
and will be doing the cooking themselves.
This deal won't work if you have a gal who just doesn't want to cook, period.
We also have a provision that allows for a pizza to be delivered, or a rotisserie chicken to be brought over in case of an emergency--whatever that might be.
Life happens and it's OK.

Ok so here's the two recipes:

Sweet N Spicy Meatballs:
 1 bag fully cooked meatballs
 1 bottle honey bar b que sauce
 1/2 green and red bell peppers
 1/2 cup yellow onion
 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Swedish Meatballs
 1 bag fully cooked meatballs
 1 can cream of mushroom soup
 1 packet of dried onion soup mix
 1 can water

Here's a sample of our menu last month:

9/2 - Jen - Thai Peanut Chicken (needs rice)
9/3 - Dawn- Spaghetti w/meatsauce
9/5 - Jaimee - Hawaiian Haystacks

9/9 - Jen - Lemon Chicken Scaloppini
9/10 - Dawn- Stuffed Pork Chops
9/12 - Jaimee- chicken and broccoli casserole

9/16 - Jen - Hawaiian Pork Kebobs
9/17 - Dawn- Taco Salad
9/19 - Jaimee- curry chicken

9/23 - Jen - Crock Pot Tortellini
9/24 - Dawn- Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
9/26 - Jaimee- tacos

9/30 - Jen - Sweet & Sour Pork Chops
10/1 - Dawn- Turkey Tostadas
10/3 - Jaimee- homemade mac n cheese

So that's our weekly menu.

The next Wildtree Freezer meal workshop menu:

Spanish Style Garlic Shrimp

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Island Pepper Steak

Onion Burgers

Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Bowtie Pasta

Zesty Lemon Salmon

Chipotle Lime Crockpot Chicken

Chipotle Lime Fajitas

Italian Medallions

Far East Pork

Adobo Chicken
***
I mean, seriously, how can I go wrong with this menu?!
We'll get together for a little over 2 hours and go home with all these meals?!

Bon Apetit!