January 28, 2016
I once thought that once- a-month cooking meant one thing: casseroles! I am not a casserole kind of girl, and I thought that’s what cooking groups made. Not so! Our version of “cooking group” makes incredible marinades, delicious, healthy sauces, and even gluten-free dishes!
It’s helpful to remember our WHY behind making meals. The table…food…is a universal language. It stretches over culture, breaks down barriers, and offers us something of value, both for our bodies and our souls. Research is showing the significance of family mealtime. Kids who have regular dinners with their families do better in school, are less likely to engage in dangerous behaviors, and report a closer and more connected relationship with their parents and siblings.
Using this daily ritual to build family identity and belonging just makes good sense. Cooking group is one of the ways to figure out the HOW of how we do this.
Plus, the time spent cooking together not only serves our families, but it builds our friendships, and saves us money to boot….lots of money! You just wouldn’t believe how economical it is to cook this way!
You can read about how to organize and plan one for yourself below, or watch this short video of my group in action!
There are several ways to organize this kind of a group, but let me walk you through how we do ours:
1. Pick a group of 4-6 people who you enjoy being with and who like to cook — or who at least want to learn to cook!
2. Designate a “buyer” for the month. In our group of 6, we shop in teams of 2. In my sister’s group of 4, they plan and buy individually. The buyer(s) picks 10-12 recipes, then buys all of the ingredients for all of the families. In our group, we times each ingredient in each recipe by 6. The math takes some concentration, so I highly recommend you leave the kids at home, unless they are walking calculators! Usually the people planning also host the group that month at their house.
TIP: Costco will shop for you with a very detailed list if the order is over $500. This has been really helpful for me!
3. Pick a place in your house where you can organize all of the ingredients. For me, I use our dining room. I tape each recipe to the wall or to a chair, then I place the ingredients that go with that meal underneath the recipe. Common ingredients like olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, vinegar, etc. go on the middle table for all to use.
4. Each cook comes prepared with an apron, a cooler, a knife, cutting board, and mixing bowl (if needed). My sister’s group cooks during the day while the kids are in school. My group starts cooking at 6pm. We line up our coolers on the front porch or in the garage.
5. Each cook takes a recipe from the wall or chair, and goes to work! The meals are either bagged in ziplocks or placed in aluminum pans. We label them with a Sharpe pen then place a meal in each cooler.
6. We pay the person who bought all of the groceries, then we go home with our coolers, 12 meals, and a sheet that lists each meal and the directions for cooking. I like to post this on my freezer where I store my meals so it doesn’t get misplaced.
That’s it! I HIGHLY encourage you to give this kind of cooking a try! We have to cook for our families anyway, why not make it fast, economical, and fun to do!
[…] My friends and I have so much fun cooking together! It is a huge blessing. It’s a lot of work when you are the planner, shopper, and executer of the menu, but it’s SO worth it. Then, for the next few months, you just get to show up and enjoy the labor of the other people in the group! I can show you how to organize a cooking group! […]
[…] How to Plan a Cooking Group […]
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