Saving money by sharing with friends (Part 1)

We would all like to save a little time and money when we can, and I have learned that one of the best ways to do that is by sharing resources with friends. This post will tell you how to participate in (or host!) a batch cooking exchange. If you have ever done a cookie exchange, this is the same concept, except with dinner food. Each person prepares 1 recipe, but they make enough for every other person participating in the exchange. Then you meet together and exchange your meals. So you show up with x number of one meal, and walk away with x number of other meals to store in your freezer and use when it is most convenient.
To make it successful, it is important to choose a meal that freezes well, and will be easy for the recipient to thaw and cook in the oven, crockpot, or stove. You also want to choose something without too many different ingredients or much chopping and dicing, since you will be doing it in such large quantity. There are plenty of ideas online on recipe websites or Pinterest. I recently joined an exchange with 4 other people, and I decided to make a Turkey Meatball Stew. So I put one complete meal of stew into each gallon ziplock bag. I made 5 bags total--one for myself, and 4 for the other participants. You can also choose to make an extra bag to donate to an expecting mother or a sick family. As you can see, it used a lot of cans of tomatoes and chicken stock! There were also green beans, meatballs, and carrots. I combined all the ingredients except the pasta in one large bag. Then I measured out each person's pasta in a small bag, and sealed them all together in a large bag with the recipe and instructions. So all the recipient had to do was thaw the entire package, heat it on the stove, and add pasta during the last 10 minutes of cooking. I received in exchange some cilantro chicken tacos, peanut chicken satay with rice, minestrone, and a chicken/bean casserole. They all look delicious! It was hardly any extra effort for me to make more than one meal, and now I have a week's worth of meals that are all different and would take hours to prepare individually. Because we all made similarly-priced meals, everyone bought their own ingredients. but if one person contributed steak or seafood, you could distribute the money evenly. I would do this several times a year, and recommend it to anyone!