Meat Day Mission and Bulk Cooking

Because status quo is never enough (ha!), I decided to expand the scope of Meat Day four months ago, and add Meat Day Mission. And Erin added bulk cooking this month. BIG learning curve for both, let me tell you!

Meat Day Mission is blessing a friend, neighbor, co-worker, teacher, or whomever, with a casserole from the Meat Day group. We all submit a name of someone who would be helped by having a meal prepared for them and then after Meat Day we meet and cook together. Anyone in the meat group can contribute a few dollars toward the ingredients. After the meals are assembled we pray over them. Then the meal is delivered along with a card signed by the group. It really makes the difference for someone who feels like things are really out of control. We have provided casseroles for people fighting cancer, who those who have lost loved ones, some who have added a family member, and many who have lost jobs. The most powerful part of MDM (Meat Day Mission) is the prayer. Knowing that you are covered in prayer gives strength and confidence in completely exciting ways! The first time we heard reports like, "Wow! That was the best baked ziti ever!" The things God can do with noodles and Ragu!

And this month we added bulk cooking! We found 10 people who wanted to do a meal exchange and we all prepared 10 identical dishes to trade for 10 different ones from the other participants. Not a new concept of course, but this was the first time with this group and we did great! Some people cooked at home and brought their food, others met with us as we prepared MDM meals, and others just sent their meals and will pick theirs up at another time. We set up tables and divided them with tape and labeled them so we could have designated areas to gather and collect all the meals. We got lots of yummy food: bistro burgers, beef stroganoff, mexican meatloaf, taco soup, poppy seed chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, alfredo chicken, tortellini soup, mexican layered casserole, tortilla soup, and pizza pasta casserole. I am excited because now my family has some different meals to try, not just the same ones I prepare and freeze every Meat Day. It took much less thought to prepare 10 of the same thing rather than the 10 different things I usually do! We had a few glitches, like some of the "topping" ingredients got left at home and will need to be distributed later, but all in all, a very rewarding day. All the stress was for naught!