Hey You, Cook Me Dinner

I am participating in a Blog Carnival today. And while I was disappointed to know that this carnival does not include bearded ladies and rides whose structure I find questionable, I am relieved to know there will be no Blog Carnival Clowns. I can't handle clowns.

Today I am gonna tell you What Works For Me because today is Works For Me Wednesday. This is where I extol the brilliance of my own brain upon you, the humble readers and hopefully improve your hum drum lives in some amazing way and thereby leading YOU to thank me forever and ever. (Should you decide to erect a statue in my honor, let me know when it will be dedicated because I will make a personal appearance.......for a small fee.)

On to the brilliance!

What Works For Me...what makes my life easier? I have OTHER PEOPLE cook dinner for me.


Thank you folks! Good night!


Well, I should probably explain...
I, like many of you, read the hilarious Dawn who auctioned her kids' Pokemon cards on EBay and she spoke of Supper Swapping once. It was an interview with someone who wrote a book on the whole concept. I called a friend who called two friends and now we swap!



I'll be here all week!


Ok, that's getting annoying...sorry.

So, every week, I cook dinner for 4 families (including my own) and deliver it to all of them (we live in a 15 mile radius of each other) and in return, I get dinner delivered to my doorstep 3 times a week!

We deliver the main course and on occasion, a side dish. But, in general, we take care of our own sides-veggies, rice, potatoes etc.

When you set it up with other families, you have to find a family that matches yours in size...if you have 8 kids, don't call the new mom in your church to participate. She's busy being a new mom and trying to remember how to style her hair and apply makeup. But once you have even 1 more family, give it a try! Before you do that-wait, come back!-lets go through just a few suggested guidelines...

-Be HONEST about likes and dislikes. Also be honest if a dish just didn't work out. I recently made a meatball soup for the first time and I let the uncooked meatballs float around in the soup overnight before I delivered it. Then, when my gals crock-potted (why does that make me laugh?) it, the meatballs had kind of disintegrated and there were bits of raw beef floating around in the soup. Ugh. I am gonna stop-I am grossing myself out. Anyway, no one complained when I said I wasn't going to bring that again.

-Stock up on aluminum cooking dishes or disposable plastic containers to trade back and forth. This way you don't have to keep track of who has your mother's mother's orange Tupperware container that may or may not actually be microwave safe. Plus, when Target has the ones with the pink lids on special, you can use those and feel cute.

-Deliver ON TIME. This means YOU Bethany! (Wait, that's me!)

-Work out a system for when people aren't home. Swap keys, build a fake door on the side of your house that opens directly into the back of the fridge or break into your supper swap people's homes in the middle of the night for a fun surprise!

-Remember that you aren't competing for the Top Chef title. This doesn't have to be the best meal you have ever cooked. It should be enough for everyone in the family and it should be yummy. In our group, grabbing a package of Chicken Parm and mashed potatoes from the deli section of Price Club is not frowned upon. Frankly, if food is showing up at my house that I don't have to cook, there is very little that will cause me to frown.

When you think you have your Swappers all figured out, have a 2 week trial period. Then evaluate and see if it's gonna work or not. Maybe this is a once a week thing...maybe you only swap with one other family...let me tell you this, I don't have to cook 3 nights a week! It's great!

I use my extra time to feed the poor, clothe the homeless, minister to all the unsaved souls in Africa (you should see the frequent flier miles!) and then, of course, SNOOD!

And that, my readers, is What Works for Me!

Hey, the brilliance is not limited to just me! Check out more geinus at Rocks in My Dryer...she's the carnival ringmaster!