Jen can look this cute after fixing 5 pizzas!
I, with four of my friends, switch off cooking every Thursday (thanks for the idea Tami!). Every 5th Thursday, I cook for 5 families (including my own) and the other 4 Thursdays are like free take out. We've been doing this for months and everybody seems to enjoy it.
How it works for our group:
-we, as a group, try to lean towards healthy meals (whole wheat...etc.)...and if not healthy, yummy works too:)
-there's usually a side dish
-we usually bring our own Tupperwear and meet at the person's house around 5:30 each week
-you can give everyone a crock pot meal the night before to cook in their own crock pots (this was nice because I was out of town and it worked better with Carleton's work schedule to have everyone pick it up Wed. night)
-everyone makes enough for 4 adults (2 of us have 3 kids and 3 of us have 1 kid so it works)
-we freeze the meals for each other if we're out of town and it's easy to swap days because there are enough people that one should be able to switch with us.
Why I love it:
-I don't have to worry about a meal one day every week and we usually have left overs. Carleton takes it to work too.
-I like surprises...fun to pick up our take out meal...every one has been yummy.
-I have enough time to plan a meal that I can cook. A couple girls were nervous about their "cooking abilities" but with 5 weeks you can come up with something.
-When it's my turn to cook, it's easy to even throw an extra meal in for someone that is sick or has had a baby. I think I might even do extra to freeze for my fam for future meals.
-5 meals of the same thing is easier than 5 separate meals. You just pick out extra ingredients at the grocery store (just grab more beans etc.) and use bigger pots. The prep is easier.
I'm all about things that make my life as a mom easier and more fun. This is at the top of that list.
