Food Swap

I've mentioned before here that I'm in this 'food swap'.  If you don't know what I'm talking about it works like this:  There are 8 of us (well it started out as 8 - it's down one or two right now).

Once a month we all fix food - each one makes 8 batches of one thing.  We have categories, and we each have a different category that rotates each month.  We get together each month and swap our food.  So I make 8 batches (or 7 or 6 or however many there are participating that month) and after the swap I have 8 different dinner dishes in my freezer!  We've been at this for at least 2 years now maybe over?  I can't remember when we started.

Anyway.  I took pictures last month while I was getting my food ready.  And since I'm going to be needing to get some food ready for the swap again next week I though I'd share what I did last month. 

I took the easy road on this one.  It still takes time when you are making this much stuff but not near as much as when you actually cook some of the ingredients or all of them.

Round Steak with Sweet and Sour Sauce.

These were a almost 1 and a half pounds each.  The recipe of sauce says it can be used for up to 4 pounds of meat. I usually don't have that much meat when I fix it but we like lots of sauce so it's all good :)

For this I used gallon freezer bags instead of the foil pans I usually use for the chicken, ground beef, etc. dishes I make.  I used a black Sharpie to label what was in the bag and how to cook it.

Mix together:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1 1/2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1 TBS mustard

2 TBS brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

(you can also add 1/4 cup chopped peppers but we don't like it that way.  and we DO like peppers.  Just not in this)

Mix well with whisk.

Place one steak in bag - or however much steak you are using.  Mine were big enough I used one per bag.

Pour sauce into bag over meat.  Seal bag making sure to get as much air out as possible.

Lay bags in freezer.  Placing them beside the ice cream is optional and won't affect the way they freeze!

If you want to cook your meat the same day you make the sauce place meat in a 9x13 baking dish.

Cover with sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.

Baked potatoes go great with this:)

And a salad.  Or a cooked veggie.

And clean up the mess and viola!  Food swap food in freezer and supper in the oven.

Can't beat that!

 Have you ever done a food swap? If so what is your favorite thing to make for it?