Freezer Meal Fun

A friend I went to high school with keeps posting on Facebook about these Pampered Chef freezer parties she does.  It sounded like a great idea to me.  The only problem was that she lives in Iowa.  So when I saw a lady on some local boards posting about a Tastefully Simple freezer workshop, I paid a little extra attention and checked it out.  I ran some numbers, talked to Michael, and then eventually invited some friends and signed up!

How it works, is that you pay a set amount of money to participate in the class.  The amount varies depending on the menu you make.  For this particular class, I paid $60.  My friend's Pampered Chef ones ranged from $80 to $90. But it seems the Tastefully Simple ones are on the lower end and run from about $45 to $75.  It all depends on the product they need to provide you.  The consultant orders you the product, you use some of it for your meal preps, and then you get to keep the rest and take it home.

Then you are given a grocery list.  The estimated budget was around $115... but again, it is up to you.  If you want to shop at Aldi or hit the sales for weeks, that is going to decrease your budget verses if you choose to shop at Whole Foods or whatever.  I was right around the estimated budget.

You have to do some meal prep at home.  I should have taken some pictures but I didn't.  Basically it took me about an hour and a half the day of to brown some hamburger, label some bags, crush some chips, etc.  Then you load it all up and meet at your location.  We did ours at a church, but if someone chooses to host another one it would be at their house.  This was just an introduction, so there really wasn't a host.

Then you just use the instruction sheet and got to assembling!

(Which was apparently easier for some rather than others...)

I have made some freezer recipes off of Pinterest and haven't really loved any of them.  I think the help of the TS (or PC) product is going to help add some needed flavor.

It is meant to make 10 meals that serve 4 to 6 people.  Obviously if you don't need that big of servings, you can cut it in half and make 20 meals.  I cut some of mine in half and then just made the big portion for others and we will eat it as leftovers when I make it.  Either way, it will be at least 20 meals for my family.

The whole workshop is suppose to last 2 hours.  We were there little longer, but that included snacking on some of the yummy tastefully simple treats that were provided.

The only part I didn't really like was having to haul everything from one place to the next.  But if you want to work with friends, there is just no way around that.  The grocery shopping and food prep are going to happen for any meal I provide my family, so those things didn't really bother me.

Overall it was a fun experience, and I can't wait to eat some of that yummy food!