Dear Lindsey,
A friend asked me for a few recipes. When I started to type her the personal email, I thought you might enjoy the recipes as well.
Years ago at my bridal shower in Pennsylvania, the ladies did something that has stuck to this day. They not only showered me with the “normal” gifts of towels and plates, but also gave me the gift of letting me know that it’s great to provide food for your man! (Who cares who thinks it’s politically correct or not?!) You remember, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!” They showered me with recipes, hand-written on cards, with their names on them, and organized in a box. Now, each time I open the box I think of the writer with fond memories of the friendship from miles away. Check out the Crock Pot Turkey Breast, Turkey Pot Pie and Crustless Quiche to name a few.
Though years have gone by and my family has grown to six, we still enjoy many of the bridal-shower recipes, but I have also found a new love in a method called “Once a Month Cooking.” I only cooked twelve times in 
2010. OK, I exaggerate. But it wasn’t much more than that, because each month, I invited a friend to cook with me and we each went to Walmart and got everything on the list and cooked for one day – to provide 30 meals for our families. It is not for the weary-hearted. It is WORK, but it was so fun to have 30 days of meals in the freezer, with only one clean-up session! I loved the reactions of our husbands! If you are new to cooking, try the 2-week meal plan first to get the concept.
No matter the method, cooking with the ingredients in their natural state (“from scratch”) has got to be healthier than buying the pre-formed, pre-processed foods. It’s better on the budget too! If I remember, the month of 30 meals for 6 was around $400.
I don’t continue the same recipes now, but I feel like I can use the methods without the book. I often make more than one dish at a time and put it in the freezer for another night. I freeze black bean burgers, or ground turkey- already browned with onions so it is ready to throw into chili or goulash in a pinch.
Enjoy!
Terri
Letters to Lindsey 
What a wonderful, resourceful post! Food budgeting and preparing is one way in which I “row the boat” so I spend some time preparing in advance according to my weekly budget of money and time. Although I love being responsible for this role (I LOVE food and enjoy cooking :o), with a new baby coming (and remembering how accomplished I felt if I completed one thing on my “to do” list during those early weeks of infancy) I made a note to learn how to properly prepare freezer meals! What timing!Trusting your wisdom, I am very excited to check out the book you recommended! As always, thank you for your insight! What a blessing this post is!
You amaze me!! This sounds very Effective. What a great idea!
I do this on a smaller scale and always remember to make up a 2-3 extra meals for situations that come up when a friend might need extra love. New baby, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, moving are all examples of a great opportunity to help out with a premade meal or two. It’s nice to just pull them out of the freezer, ad some bread and a dessert and go.