A few weeks ago, my friend Rebecca sent out an email with Meal Planning Get Together in the subject line. Talking about food + hanging out with friends = two of my favorite things so I knew this would be good. Here is her idea in her words:
I have been thinking about… “the difficulties of meal planning and how hard it is to come up with something new and delicious to feed our families. I always feel like I default to the same 4 or 5 meals every week or so and I would love to branch out without sifting through all my old recipes and cookbooks.
Then, I had a lightbulb moment; what if a few of us women got together and brought our favorite recipes we already regularly make and then we all shared them with each other! Even if there were only 6 of us that would be 30 tried and true delicious meals to choose from. Not only will we be accomplishing something but we will get to all hang out as well!”
Sign me up! Eight of us ended up getting together on a weekday morning. Our herd of children stampeded through the house while the moms sat and talked about life, love, and the pursuit of getting dinner on the table each night.
During one relatively quiet stretch, we went around the room and each woman shared the recipes she brought, while others pitched in with their variations or shortcuts on it. Our friend Selena spread the recipe pages out on the dining room table and took pictures with her phone, emailing them to everyone later that day.
We stayed well through lunchtime, but everyone brought food to share. I brought a tray of Fruit & Mascarpone Turnovers, half lemon-blueberry and half dark chocolate-strawberry, made with Great Value refrigerated pie crust. This quick shortcut allowed me to make this recipe from start to finish, feed my kids breakfast, start one load of laundry, and get everyone ready and out the door on time. They don’t call it convenient for nothing.
This Menu Planning Get Together was such a great idea that could be adjusted 101 different ways to fit any group: Ladies Night, Potluck (with recipes) Party, or… like us, just pick a random Wednesday when your friends are free, your kids are restless, and you need a little dinner inspiration.
Have you ever hosted a similar get together? Share your ideas with the rest of us!
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Great Value products are available locally at Walmart. This post is a part of a campaign sponsored by Great Value and The Motherhood. All opinions are mine.
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Would love to hear about some of the recipes!