Mrs. Meals: August 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).

Friday, August 30, 2013

August - Chicken Alfredo (Crockpot Style)

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken
1 block cream cheese
1 package of Italian Dressing mix
1 can water
1 package of pasta

1. In a crockpot combine the cream of chicken, 1 can of water, and the italian dressing mix. Stir until mixed.
2. Put in cream cheese and chicken. Place crockpot on low and cook for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
3. Shred chicken when done
4. Cook noodles and serve!

July - Sausage Pasta

Ingredients:
1 lb polish sausage (any brand/flavor works) cut into bite size pieces
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 Tbs oil
2 cups chicken broth
1 can rotel (2 if you want it extra spicy)
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 cup monetary jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Noodles of your choice (about 8 oz) I put in more because I love carbs :)

You will need a big skillet or saucepan for this because it all goes in one pot!

1. Put the oil in a sauce pan and sauce the sausage until browned, add the onion, and then add the garlic just before you add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Put the rotel, broth, cream, pasta, salt, and pepper into the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and let simmer until pasta is tender.
3. Remove from heat and add cheese, stir until melted, and enjoy!