I listened to a commercial today, and had to laugh. "Too busy? No need to worry about what's for dinner. With Fresh Taste Meals." Ok that's not an exact quote, but that is the emphasis of the commercial. Except I know better, now anyway.
This is a business where you go in and make 12 meals to take home and freeze. Before having Mo, mom treated me to a FTM gift certificate. I was ecstatic, having several meals in the freezer to supplement what the church ladies were bringing me was something I knew would be essential with a newborn in the home. The first problem I encountered was that I had trouble finding a month where the menu offered enough meals we would eat. Dana is not a big chicken eater (he isn't nearly as thrilled about the Fussy Day Chicken as I am). Neither of us eat seafood. Kaia eats almost anything, so I wasn't worried about her. I decided on March though, and chose our meals, doubling up on a few that sounded really good.
The second problem I didn't discover until we started using those meals. Some were practically inedible to us due to the high sodium content. They were disgustingly salty. When you consider that Dana always salts his food and he couldn't eat it, you know it's salty. There were at least 3 meals that were too salty. I did email them regarding this, but never received a response.
Another meal that I chose 2 of was just plain bland. It was an italian casserole. I put the second one to good use by having Dana deliver it to our preacher Kevin right after his wife (my good friend) had their son (a month younger than Mo). I warned her ahead of time how bland we found it, and what I would do to give it better flavor.
We did like 3 of the meals really well. Luckily that made up 5 of the meals. 2 of the meals I have replicated at home quite easily. Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Calzones. The other meal that I expected Dana to dislike (and I was only allowed to make one of) was Prosciutto wrapped Chicken breasts. There was an herb cheese spread that was first put on the breast, then prosciutto wrapped around, and egg noodles on the side to serve them over. This was excellent, and because the "meals" are at the least 4 servings, it made us dinner a few times.
The other meals were nothing exciting. Not bad, not great, just food. Now please don't think I'm ungrateful for this gift. With the exception of the salty ones that we just couldn't eat, we were happy to have these ready made meals that provided leftovers for lunch (it's difficult to cook when you're constantly nursing an infant or chasing a toddler).
The biggest problem with the meals, is a problem I have now, the price! It has gone up substantially since mom bought my certificate. It is now $18.75 per meal, when you buy 12 meals at once. I can hit Papa Murphy's Pizza for less!
If you need to (or want to) put some meals away in the freezer, visit the library and get a good cookbook on freezing meals, or visit the Yahoo Group Frozen Assets. Before my surgery I managed to put away
- 2 meatloaves- just make up and freeze in pan
- 1 mexican meatloaf- add green pepper to mix, and use enchilada sauce instead of tomato
- 3 freezer bags of marinated frozen chicken
Another idea is to stock up on Hamburger Helper when it gets really cheap. I picked up 4 boxes at Fiesta Foods for 77 cents a piece last week. Even when I'm sick and have no energy (like last week) I can brown some burger and add milk and seasonings. So it's more expensive than a homemade dish, but when you're sick or running late, it is handy. I've also at other times put away split pea soup and pinto beans. Just make extra when you cook, and freeze it! With these tips you'll save money, have healthier meals, and won't have to rely on take-out.