Co-op your meals
![X00069_9[1].jpeg](http://www.yorkblog.com/smartfamily/img/X00069_9%5B1%5D.jpeg)
Members of the "Cooking Co-op" (Clockwise from top left, Terry Rizzo, Beth Tyson, Carol Alvarnaz and Wendy Sharpe) enjoy some dessert and company while a month's worth of family meals rests on the countertop.
By BETH BENCE REINKE
For Smart
Freezer cooking, meal exchanges, supper swapping — no matter what you call it, sharing dinner duties with friends can work for anyone.
Wendy Sharpe and Carol Alvarnaz of Mount Wolf call their group the “Cooking Co-op.” Alvarnaz organized the group of five moms who have been exchanging meals once each month since March. “I love to cook, so for me, cooking in bulk is fun,” she says.
On the other hand, Sharpe hates to cook, but loves the cooking co-
op. “It helps me because if I don’t have time to cook, I have
something I can pull out and throw in the oven,” Sharpe says.
In their cooking co-op, each mom makes five of the same recipe,
freezes them all and gives one to each of the other moms. So each
participant ends up with five meals total for her family. Co-ops can
be flexible enough to fit anyone’s schedule. Sharpe says moms in
their group have varied work schedules — full-time and part-time
outside the home, working from home and full-time homemaking.
If hearing “What’s for dinner?” causes you to panic, take heart. You
can start your own cooking co-op by following these four steps.
1. Form a group
“The first thing is to find other moms who are willing to do it and
have about the same size family,” Alvarnaz says. Four out of five
women in her group live in the same neighborhood, and all have young
children. Sharpe says a group of five is ideal because you end up
with a whole week of meals for Monday through Friday.
2. Plan
As a group, nail down the nitty-gritty details. First, decide when,
where and how often you will exchange meals. Alvarnaz says they
started with once a month because it wasn’t overwhelming to anyone,
but they may increase to twice a month in the future if everyone agrees.
Second, check if anyone has food allergies or if their families hate
certain foods, such as mushrooms or fish.
Third, choose what recipes to make. Sharpe says their group
exchanges just the main entrée. “We try to make a recipe that serves
six,” she says. Entrees she has tried so far include summer sausage,
pizza casserole and macaroni vegetable soup. Next she will try a
recipe for homemade chicken nuggets. “My kids live on chicken
nuggets,” she says. “At least I will know it’s real chicken they’re
eating.”
3. Cook
Prepare five batches of the same recipe and freeze them. “Really
it’s not that much more work to make the same dish five times as
opposed to making five dishes five times,” Sharpe says. It’s a huge
time savings because each mom cooks only once, but ends up with five
dinners.
Packaging the meals is a matter of personal preference, but they
usually use Glad Ware, zipper seal bags, disposable aluminum pans or
plain foil. “When you bake something, you can line the pan with foil.
Then when it’s cool, just pull it out and wrap it up like a present,”
Sharpe says. Another option is for each participant to buy five
baking dishes with rubber lids and just pass them around the group.
No matter how you package the meals, always attach instructions for
how to heat the entrée and what sides to serve with it.
4. Swap
Keep one meal for your family and take the rest to your exchange.
“We get together at my house and have dessert and talk,” Alvarnaz
says. They spend about an hour chatting and discussing new recipes
for next month’s swap. Then each mom goes home with her stack of
ready-to-heat meals for the month.
Sharpe and Alvarnaz are quick to point out the benefits the cooking
co-op provides. Less time in the kitchen means more time to spend
with their families. The women have gotten to know each other better
while introducing their children to new dishes that they might not
have tried without the co-op. “It encourages us to eat healthy,”
Alvarnaz says. “We’re eating fresh, healthy meals that are home cooked!”
PIZZA CASSEROLE2 cups uncooked egg noodles
½ pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced pepperoni sausage
16 ounces pizza sauce
4 tablespoons milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cook noodles according to directions on package.
3. In medium skillet, over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef
with the onion, garlic and green bell pepper. Drain excess fat. Stir
in the noodles, pepperoni, pizza sauce and milk, and mix well. Pour
this mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish.4. Bake for 20 minutes, top with cheese, then bake for 5 to 10 more
minutes.Serves six to eight.
Source: Submitted to Allrecipes.com
BOOKS
For recipe ideas and more information about organizing a cooking co-
op, check out these books:• “Don’t Panic — Dinner’s in the Freezer” by Susie Martinez, Bonnie
Garcia and Vanda Howell. Baker Publishing Group, 2005. $14.99.• “Dream Dinners” by Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna. Morrow Cookbooks,
2006. $19.95.• “Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet” by Nanci Slagle. 30
Day Gourmet Press, 2004. $14.95.• “Supper Swapping” by Susan R. Thacker. Shenanigans 1-5-7, 2005.
$16.95.
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