Batch Cooking: Finished

Our third cooking day was a success! (See day 1 and day 2).  There are a few things we learned and will do differently in the future.  Overall, I'm extremely glad we did it.

Let me just take a second to gush over my dear friend, HB.  This girl can cook!  I am so thankful for her friendship as well as her desire to bless her family with nourishing food.  Our time together today was such a blessing.  We got to hang out, talk (uninterrupted!) and accomplish a major task that will speak love to our families.  Can I encourage you to find a friend to cook with?  You will learn so many things.

Like...

It's important to follow a recipe.  Every word of the recipe.  And it's important that if you're the person who doesn't like to follow recipes that you cook with someone who does.  Just be sure that the person who likes to follow recipes is forgiving if you mess up...on the most expensive dish you're making.

Above HB is browning the tenderized round steak that I tried to pass off as stew meat for the Boeuf Bourguignon.  Not a good idea - but it will work.  The red wine I bought for this dish was too sweet.  I should have read HB's grocery list a bit closer.  And, I made only half of the recommended requested chicken broth for the mulligatawny.  Details are not my forte.  I'm so thankful she is forgiving.

There were somethings I did right.  Like find a babysitter.  And make a fun cool drink.

HB's husband works from home so he was able to tend to their brood for a few hours.  Thanks JB - you're the MAN!

These chicken pesto quesadillas were yumma-lish!  It's what we had for dinner.

 Final tally of meals - we each took home these: 
2 chicken pot pies that will fit 9x13 pans, need crusts.
2 meals of beef tips and rice (HB needs to post this recipe!)
3 meals for boeuf bourguignon, serve with boiled potatoes drowning in buttah
2 mulligatawny soups, about 8 cups each though the bag says 6 cups.
2 gallon bags (at least 3 meals) of chicken pesto quesadillas (we ate one bag already).

In a previous post, I tallied the food cost at $90 and expected 7.5 meals for each family.  However, I can conservatively say there are 12 meals per family - which lowers the cost per meal to $7.50 which isn't bad considering we used quality meats!  We cooked a lot of nourishing food today.  And it was really fun.

-Julie
linked with Kelly the Kitchen Kop.