Miss M: Meal Maker!
In November of 2005, I went to Meal Makers. It's one of those places where you go and make a month's worth of dinners in 2 hours and then they sit in your freezer until you need them. There are similar places with names like Dream Dinners and Super Suppers in other areas.
I have to say, I really liked it, but I only went twice. Lack of funds and organization kept me away. The thing I liked the best about it was that it wasn't like most once a month cooking plans, where you slave over a stove all day for a weekend and everything is precooked and then frozen. That's like permanent leftovers, ew!
No, here, everything is uncooked! So as you thaw items, the flavors meld together, and the meats get marinaded slowly. You come home, toss your defrosted whatever into the oven or saute pan, and in less than 30 minutes you have a FRESH, yummy meal!
So anyway, my friend and I have been going to the gym all week. There were a few nights that we didn't get home until after 7:00 for whatever reason, and she commented that those were the nights that she just wished that she had some of those Meal Makers meals in her freezer so she wouldn't have to deal with prep work but still have something healthy for dinner. That got me to thinking.
There HAD to be recipes like that on the internet. The internet is a wonderful thing! But no matter how hard I Googled, all I found were recipes that were for precooked casseroles and such that got frozen - in another words, those foul permanent leftovers! Blech! And most were sooooo unhealthy, with the cheese and the cream of mushroom soup, gag. So I developed a new plan.
I found recipes that looked healthy and that I could adapt to the Meal Makers-style of frozen dinners. I came up with ten to start, and I made 5 of those tonight, for a total of 7 meals. Some made enough for two nights. There was one, for pork tenderloin, where I didn't realize that the shrink wrapped package had TWO loins in it. OOPS! Those nights, there will be leftovers!
So I figure, if we alternate those with just chicken/veggie/rice nights, we've got a couple of weeks of food ready to go! Woot! And it only took me two hours!
I have to say, I really liked it, but I only went twice. Lack of funds and organization kept me away. The thing I liked the best about it was that it wasn't like most once a month cooking plans, where you slave over a stove all day for a weekend and everything is precooked and then frozen. That's like permanent leftovers, ew!
No, here, everything is uncooked! So as you thaw items, the flavors meld together, and the meats get marinaded slowly. You come home, toss your defrosted whatever into the oven or saute pan, and in less than 30 minutes you have a FRESH, yummy meal!
So anyway, my friend and I have been going to the gym all week. There were a few nights that we didn't get home until after 7:00 for whatever reason, and she commented that those were the nights that she just wished that she had some of those Meal Makers meals in her freezer so she wouldn't have to deal with prep work but still have something healthy for dinner. That got me to thinking.
There HAD to be recipes like that on the internet. The internet is a wonderful thing! But no matter how hard I Googled, all I found were recipes that were for precooked casseroles and such that got frozen - in another words, those foul permanent leftovers! Blech! And most were sooooo unhealthy, with the cheese and the cream of mushroom soup, gag. So I developed a new plan.
I found recipes that looked healthy and that I could adapt to the Meal Makers-style of frozen dinners. I came up with ten to start, and I made 5 of those tonight, for a total of 7 meals. Some made enough for two nights. There was one, for pork tenderloin, where I didn't realize that the shrink wrapped package had TWO loins in it. OOPS! Those nights, there will be leftovers!
So I figure, if we alternate those with just chicken/veggie/rice nights, we've got a couple of weeks of food ready to go! Woot! And it only took me two hours!
Miss M told you so @ 10:25 PM
2 Comments:
I have always wanted to go to a place like that...but seeing as I don't eat meat and my husband doesn't eat dairy...I doubt they would have much of a selection for us!!! I'll have to try the internet!
Oh. Goodie for you!!! DH and I have been doing this for about a month plus some now (our own modified Meal Maker thing). We pick recipes from Weight Watchers, Cooking Light (etc) type cookbooks/magazines, and then sous chef every sunday, freeze, and cook all week. I really do love it and I find that its made meal times interesting again b/c the stuff all tastes so diff. than the same old tired stuff we used to eat. We've actually saved some money we go to the market with specific lists now, and waste a lot less. It also saves from the "whats for dinner" panic i'd get. LOVE it!!
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