About

South Austin Frozen Entree Swappers
We are a group of 8 women in South Austin, looking to make our dinners a little more manageable.

Here are the nuts and bolts.

Snapshot:
1 – select 2 possible recipes (write/print hard copies)
2 – take 2 recipes to first meeting, group selects winning recipe
3 – shop for recipe ingredients x8
4 – make recipe x8
5 – package, label and freeze 8 meals
6 – post recipe on this blog
7 – select 2 new possible recipes
8 – take 2 new possible recipes and 8 frozen meals to swap, return home with 8 different meals and winning recipe
9 – repeat steps 3-9

Swap
We meet once per month, on Tuesday at 7:00pm, at a coffee shop. At this meeting we not only swap our meals, but we also vote on meals for the next month. Each group member brings two recipes she’d like to cook and as a group we vote on which of the two she will make for the next month’s swap. Members bring ice chests or laundry baskets (or similar) to transport frozen meals to and from the swaps.

Recipes
When choosing the two possible recipes, we keep in mind our group’s preferences (listed below). One recipe should make 6-8 servings and cost $7-$10. Group members bring their two recipes to our meeting for voting. Following the meeting, each member then makes their recipe 8 times and packages each recipe for freezing, including proper labeling. Once completed, each group member posts their winning recipe on this blog.

Freezing
Once the recipe has been made 8 times, each is packaged, labeled and frozen. Labels include the following information:

• Recipe name
• Cook’s name
• List of contents (if multiple) and list of pantry items or items needed

Freezer space is at a premium so plastic freezer bags, frozen flat, are preferred when possible. Meals are brought to our meetings already frozen.

Preferences:
Healthy (low fat/low calorie) meals are rated the highest priority by 50% of our group, and are important to all group members. We also like meals that are quick to prepare and are well rounded, encompassing several food groups.

All of our group members enjoy chicken (white meat) and vegetarian entrees. Most (87.5%) of our group members enjoy beef and fish.
Our group would prefer to avoid lamb and dark meat chicken.

All group members are able to use a slow cooker and most (87.5%) are able to use a grill to cook our entrees.

The following items can not enter one group member’s home and should therefore be withheld from one recipe or placed on the side:
*cheese/butter/dairy – Kim and Jessica
*pork – Gloria
*shellfish (ie shrimp, crab, clams, etc) – Gloria
*loosely cooked eggs (ie fried eggs, meringues; egg whites are ok, egg beaters are ok, baked in oven are ok) – Janis
*raw bananas (cooked are ok) – Janis

All of our families enjoy pasta entrees, entrees that are heavy in veggies, and American entrees.
7 out of our 8 families enjoy:
*soup/chili/stew
*meaty
*Italian
*TexMex
6 out of our 8 families enjoy:
*spicy
*Mediterranean
*Asian
*”Breakfast for Dinner”
5 out of our 8 families enjoy:
*casserole
*interior Mexican
4 out of our 8 families enjoy:
*Indian
Most of our families do NOT enjoy:
*sweet
*heavy-carb (kinda funny, considering we all love pasta )
*European

Missing a Meeting
If a group member can not attend a meeting, she sends someone in her place (with her meals to swap and recipes to suggest), or asks another group member to swap her meals for her. She also notifies the group coordinator (Jessica) that she will be missing the meeting.