Cookbook author shares secrets of Make-Ahead Meals

Suzie Roberts is a 32-year-old homemaker with five children, ages four months to 11 years. She is also the author of the cookbook "Girlfriends on the Go! A Busy Mom's Guide to Make-Ahead Meals" (Cedar Fort, $16.99), published in 2007. Suzie Roberts and her husband, Dave, live in Perry, Utah. Born and raised in Brigham City, Suzie is a busy mom who knows how challenging putting dinner on the table night after night can be. She started her own Make-Ahead-Meal group in 2004 and became such a believer in this method of cooking that she decided to share her success with others. Suzie gave the following interview to Karen Hoag of the Daily Herald.

Daily Herald: Tell us a little about the "Make-Ahead Meal group" mentioned in your book. How do you decide what each member will make each month so the group has a variety of offerings?

Suzie Roberts: Make-Ahead Meal group is a group of people who prepare and freeze a designated number of the same meal, then get together with a group and exchange meals so they come home with that number of different meals.

In our group, we like to keep things simple, so we do not assign meals. We just take the luck of the draw. We make anything we want. Every month is a surprise! There have only been a few times that meals have been duplicated, and that's OK because most people eat the same thing twice in a month anyway!

DH: Do "girlfriends," or group members, plan on participating long term? How long has your group been going? Are some of the charter members still in your group?

SR: There are three members in the group who are original members. As far as long term goes, that is always the goal when I recruit a new member, but a Make-Ahead Meal group is not for everyone, so if they try it for a few months and find it is not for them, we easily fill the spot. This group has been going for four years now and I feel like the members in my group now are the best ever, and most are "lifers" like me.

DH: Do you have to have any special training to be a group member?

SR: No special training required, although I am really picky about who I invite into the group. I usually know them personally. I know that they are good cooks, are reliable and have clean kitchen habits.

DH: Does your family have favorites from other members in the group? If so, what are they?

SR: My family does have some favorites, including Hawaiian Haystacks, Chicken Macaroni Bake and Souvlaki Chicken.

DH: Any disasters or meals that bombed?

SR: One of the rules of the group is that you don't test meals on the group. If it is a meal you have never made and you don't know if it freezes well, you are required to make it, freeze it and then feed it to your own family. If it passes that test, then it is acceptable for the group. That way, we don't have many "bombed" meals.

DH: I appreciate that you can do one of two things: prepare the recipe to eat right away or freeze it immediately. How hard was it to adapt regular recipes into ones you can prepare in bulk, then freeze?

SR: Everything I learned about freezer meals has been by trial and error. I learned what works and what doesn't, so I can pretty much adapt any recipe to freeze now. Same with preparing in bulk. It used to be intimidating to make that much, but now I could cook for any large group or gathering just as easily as I could for my own family. It has just become second nature.

DH: I see a lot of canned cream soups in the recipes. What do you do to add freshness to your meals?

SR: Yes, there are a lot of canned cream soup recipes. I call the recipes in the book "easy and cheesy." To add freshness to the meals, I often have a salad with the meal, or have fresh vegetables to offset the frozen meals.

You must also remember, in my group, we come home with 10 meals, so there are still 20 days of the month that you can incorporate fresh ingredients.

DH: Do you ever go shopping together as a group? If so, how does that work?

SR: Again, the idea of the Make-Ahead-Meal group is to simplify and getting together to shop would not be simple. We do everything on our own time and just get together at a designated time every month (such as the second Tuesday) to exchange. It takes about 30 minutes. Very simple!

DH: What do you like best about having a group to help with meals for the month?

SR: What I like best? There are so many, probably saving time. The nights that I use the freezer meals the most are the nights that are the busiest in our home, such as nights we have softball games, T-ball practice, meetings or have been running errands all day.

DH: Be truthful, do you ever order out for pizza or stop at a burger joint? Any favorite fast food restaurants?

SR: Yes, we order pizza a few times a month, but I love that it is not because I didn't have time to make dinner, it's just because we love pizza.

I'm not much for fast food, but I love any restaurant where I can get a great salad. Chili's, Applebee's. My family loves to eat at Tepanyaki. It's great, the kids are entertained while we eat, so it makes for a great family dining experience!