Mrs. Meals: May 2013

MOMS Club Meal Exchange

We all spend too much of something (whether it be time, money, or calories) on providing delicious meals for our families. This became all too apparent to me when I went from being full time at the office to being full time as Mommy. It started with the 18 days of meals my freezer was stocked with by family and friends after our little girl arrived. These 18 days made me a believer as I saw our restaurant budget with an excess for the first time in years, experienced several relaxing dinners with the hubby, and even stopped dreading my daily weigh in quite so much.

I started out by stocking my freezer with some of our favorites - homemade pizza dough, gumbo, and meatball sliders. But I was immediately excited when introduced to the concept of a "Supper Club". After a year of this prior to our move to PA, I'm excited to continue this with new friends as part of the MOMS Club of Derry Township.

1) Each member will choose 1 meal to make and will email their recipe to the Chair Mom or post it to the blog prior to our Meetup. This will help other moms to find the directions for preheating, make the meal later if it's one they really enjoyed, and create a database of meals to choose from.

2) Each member will prepare their selected recipe for 6 families (with a generous 4 servings each). One of these you will keep for your own family and you will bring 4 others to exchange.

3) Please freeze for at least 24 hours. Write all cooking instructions on the meal packaging. If there are pantry staples (i.e. rice, noodles, buns) needed to complete the meal, please provide these as well.

4) The meals will be exchanged each month via a brief play date. Kids are welcome! If you'd like to participate and can't attend, feel free to still RSVP and arrange to bring your meals to the Chair Mom before the date of exchange. I can store your meals until you are able to come pick them up from me.

5) Provide feedback on the meals! You can do that via email to the Chair Mom or on the blog. Everyone has different preferences and we want to build a "bank" of recipes that all of our little families enjoy!

You can also post any recipe ideas you want to share with the group to the blog at anytime to help generate ideas.

Only 2 restrictions for our group:

- Use healthy substitutes when possible (i.e. fat free dairy products, half and half instead of whipping cream, lean ground beef).

- No major dietary preferences or restrictions for your family (i.e. No onions is a fair request; Gluten free is not).

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

May Meals - Southwest Chipotle Burgers

The recipe below yields 20 patties:

-5 lbs ground beef

-2 green bell peppers

-2 red bell peppers

-2 yellow onions

-2 cups diced mushrooms

-2 Tbs Southwest Chipotle seasoning

Finely dice all vegetables. In a large bowl mix vegetables and chipotle seasoning add the ground beef. This part gets messy because you will need to use your hands to mix it all together. Once it is mixed form the mixture into 20 rounds that fit perfectly in your hand and flatten.

To prepare unthaw and put on the grill until cooked through.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

May Meals - Italian Chicken Rollups

Ingredients

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
8 thin slices (4 ounces) deli ham
4 slices provolone cheese, halved
2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup milk
Cooking spray

Directions

Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. Place a slice of ham and half slice of provolone cheese on each piece of chicken. Roll up from a short side and tuck in ends; secure with a toothpick.
In a shallow bowl, combine the crumbs, Romano cheese and parsley. Pour milk into another bowl. Dip chicken rolls in milk, then roll in crumb mixture.
Wrap each of four chicken roll-ups in plastic wrap; place in a large freezer bag. Seal and freeze for up to 2 months. Place the remaining roll-ups, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Spritz chicken with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 25 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Remove toothpicks.

To use frozen chicken:

Completely thaw in the refrigerator. Unwrap roll-ups and place on a greased baking sheet. Spritz with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 30 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Yield: 8 servings.