Since we are going to visit family in SC who recently had a baby, I decided it was a great time to experiment with the freezer meal menus offered on an exclusive Tastefully Simple facebook group that offers thousands of menu options and tips. I made twice as many so Brad and I had some as well!
The menu I picked had mostly crock pot meals. Who doesn't love an easy crockpot meal?!
The Tastefully Simple products I used were:
Garlic, Garlic
Onion, Onion
Simply Salsa
Bacon, Bacon
Dried Tomato Garlic Pesto
The total cost of the products are about $45 plus shipping. I did not use all of the containers so there was plenty of leftover spices for other meals!
The menu had 7 meals. I had more, but I ran out of room in the freezer! These meals feed between 4-6 people. So if there is only one or two of you, this menu could last two to three weeks!
Crazy Chicken Cacciatore
Sweet Shredded BBQ Chicken
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
Creamy Mozzarella Pesto Chicken
Mozzarella Pesto Meatloaf
Sizzling Fajitas
Simply Salsa Lime Chicken Strips
I went on Thursday for groceries. I needed to buy stuff just for Brad and I, so by the time I left it looked like I was feeding a small army. I spent around $43 in protein, cheese, tomato sauce, and veggies for the meals.
That's less than $100 for seven meals! I know that's less than I generally spend, and with those proteins, veggies, and cheese I had product left over for even more meals. 
If you decide to join me for a Freezer Meal Workshop, you can customize your grocery list. I will give you want you need, but I don't care what brands! I spent about $150 for all my groceries at Bottom Dollar, which is way less than I would have spent at Giant Eagle. I obviously bought more than just the freezer meal ingredients, so I tried to narrow it down to just what I used for the meals. 
I prepped 5 out of the 7 meals on Thursday, including prepping veggies and more meat for the rest of our weekly lunches. It took me about three hours. Vito tried to help, but he wasn't very helpful. It made it a little more difficult but overall I got a ton completed, just ran out of freezer space! Also note, I made double the meals so I made 10 meals in 3 hours, with other prepping and cleaning out the freezer to make sure things fit. 
During a Freezer Meal Workshop, you buy the product, and go shopping. Then you do a couple things to prepare (such as anything that might need precooked) and then bring all your groceries with you to the party to finish off the prepping with the TS products. It's a great way to enjoy others company while doing a tedious task! Also, enjoy some samples of other Tastefully Simple products. :)
If you are interested in Freezer Meals but don't live in Pittsburgh, don't worry! Contact me and I will send you a sample menu with the products to buy. Once you purchase the products, I will send you the recipes and grocery list.
I need to create a menu, but plan on hosting a Freezer Meal Workshop on Sept. 27 or 28! I would need 6 people to commit in order to host it! I plan on creating a 10 meal menu using chicken, beef, pasta, and vegetarian options.
If you are interested in anything, feel free to contact me.
Until then Keep Cooking!
Stephanie
