Friendly Food Swap

I have been doing a lot of cooking, as of late, or so it seems.  But, not so much of eating what I cook.  I recently went home to MN to visit and help my parents in any way that I could.  One of those ways was to cook.  I literally made up my mind to just cook them meals there, since I can't pop on over on a weekday and just deliver a warm and tasty meal.  So I shopped as soon as Aldi opened, and showed up with my cousin's crock pot and bags of food.  I told my Dad that it was cookin' day, and I did not buy them groceries - I brought them meals.  So I planned out timing wise what order to prepare all the meals, and in what container and what cooking method.  We had 2 crock pots, two Dutch ovens, some things on the stove and some things in the oven.  After cooking, all meals were portioned and frozen flat in baggies.  Oh, and in between all that, we carved pumpkins and roasted the seeds and I met a cherished friend for a coffee visit!  A very welcome break.  Then there was dishes and mopping - I was grateful for all the helping hands!  I was tired, but the meals are in my parents freezer.  If they have not yet been enjoyed:

beef stew
pork roast with sauerkraut
chili
marinara sauce
shrimp with vegetables
shredded chicken for tacos

Then, when I returned, we put on our Halloween spread.  Treats are given to our neighbors as we trick-or-treat, and this year we gave mini-loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread. We serve hot dogs, have a huge crock pot full of chili, some fixins' and hot chocolate.  Good thing I helped myself to a bowl, because it was GONE by the end of the evening.  We had about 100 trick-or-treaters or friends stop by.  Our house is becoming a known stop.

Eric, today, went to the Bears game with his buddies, a yearly tradition where he always brings the chili for tailgating.  He makes it, not me.  But he starts it at night and when we awaken, the morning welcomes us with the aromas of chili. At 7:00, on a Sunday.  Chili for breakfast, anyone?  Not me.  But the guys seem to enjoy it by 10:00.

Then, after washing out that crock pot, I made a large batch of chicken enchilada filling.  Multiplied the recipe by 9, exactly.   Friends from church and I are doing a food swap, to help with the upcoming holiday preparation season.  We are each making one meal in a large quantity.  And then we will meet and swap, so we will get 9 portioned and different meals for the freezer.  Sounds like a good thing to me.  Ever buy that many ingredients at the store?  Well, it is interesting and I did get some funny looks and comments.  But when my freezer is full, I'll be content - and well fed!