Seeking Tips on Once a Month Cooking

Another book I did not see mentioned is called Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough. I have looked through it but haven't actually made any of the meals yet.

I tried freezing food before the birth of my first child, and I mostly did soups, noodles, and lasagna type dishes. I felt it was just as easy to make a large amount of these types of food then have extras to freeze for later. To freeze the soups, I put them in ziplock bags, got all of the air out, and froze them flat. They take up less space in the freezer that way. If you are having trouble getting all of the air out, you can slowly submerge it in water in the sink, and it will push the air out...just don't let the water into the bag! Having that food in the freezer really was helpful.

Shortly after our first baby was born (12.08) we started this in our household. When my mom was here 3-5 weeks postpartum she and i cooked up a bunch of casseroles and filled the freezer. It was so helpful the next several weeks that I started investigating how we could keep it up. I took the book "Once A Month Cooking" out of our local library and found it answered all of my questions. We took her advice and started with twice a month cooking, every 2 wks, and that is working beautifully for us. We're saving lots of time and money. The planning is key. The first few times we used a few of the several really detailed 2 wk plans in her book, tweaking only slightly. She provides everything you need- even a grocery list. Truthfully we enjoyed every single recipe in her book- not a dud among them. But it was more meat than we felt we needed and more food too. (We could almost eat for 3 wks on 2 full weeks of recipes. So now I make the plans and we've been doing this long enough now that we've found recipes we like to have every other week and thus the planning is going quicker. I have created some documents on my computer- a two week meal plan, a shopping list- that I modify a few days before shopping day (the day before cooking day). Upfront I put a lot of time into this. Now, much less. I'm also putting more crockpot recipes in the plan, and building leftover days into the plan, which has really cut down on the amount of cooking on cooking day.

But seriously, the book is HUGELY helpful. She gives strategies for getting a lot of things made at once. And for how to store things (sorry I haven't responded to that. My husband does that and I'm not sure.) And has the GREAT suggestion that cooking day be the one day you eat dinner out!

I look forward to hearing what you decide and try. This has been a very good move for us to make. I hope it will be for you too.

There are several books and web sites where you can get the details (freeezing cake, for example, you'd make an unfrosted one or freeze the frosting separately). I've never done it, but my mom's friend did with her seven children and I attended a class about it that she taught (she used one of the books, I don't remember the title).

Anyway, I just wanted to give a plug that it worked so well for her and her seven children. As a family, they prepared meals every two weeks. You need extra freezer space and a lot of freezable containers. It took them some time to get used to but eventually they were eating out of the tailgate during soccer games. It can work really well. Good luck.

My sister in law used to cook every Sunday. She would cook 5 meals for the week and freeze them. Then she had dinner ready every night and nothing was in the freezer too long. She would cook fresh meals on Saturday and Sunday. Some weekends my hubby will grill steak, chicken, pork chops, and hot dogs on Sunday evening and we will eat a different meat every night for dinner. It saves a lot of time through the week.

also, there are several yahoo groups that you can join - friendly freezer, make ahead meals, and there may be a OAMC one. they are great resources for recipes and questions. i thin kthey would all recommend you check out some of the books/websites that have already been mentioned here first.

Hi Corina,

I know exactly how you feel. I am a mother of a toddler and Pampered Chef Consultant. We have lots of recipes and tips on doing just this for approx. $2 per serving. Our beef & chicken recipes come along with a shopping list too! We call it Power cooking. You can go to my website www.pamperedchef.biz/sabrinaconley and contact me. I will be happy to send you the recipes and freezing tips. Aside from this, we have many meals that can be made in under 30 minutes that are wholesome. I would love to help you spend less time in the kitchen and put some cash back in your pocket. Most are so easy your girls can help.

Hi Corina,
I have some sites for you to check out.
www.allrecipes.com this site has alot of info you can look up to answer your questions and recipes galore.
www.kraftfoods.com has a neat section called 1 bag 5 dinners or something like that....it is a very helpful tool for fast dinners and it gives you a grocery list you can print and take to the store with you.
Hope these help.
good luck.
Jen

Hi Corina,
I would recommend a book, "Dinner's in the Freezer". This and several others could be found at the library, and cover your questions. Cake layer are usually frozen without frosting, and then are frosted right before use. I love making big kettles of soup or stew, and freezing in 1 gallon ziploc freezer bags or emptied margerine tubs. Label with masking tape, and date. With once a month cooking, think about what takes the longest in making meals. Usually, thawing, and browning or roasting meat ranks first, and then baked items, and then 'prep work'... dicing and slicing veggies. These books show you how to shop with once a month cooking in mind, how to schedule your big cooking day, how to store, what to keep on hand for 'last minute add-ins', etc. Another tip is to just cook double amounts of casserole or stew-type dinners. Bake the second casserole in a 'oven to freezer' type container. When it's cool, seal it, label it and freeze it for later. It takes very little extra time to double recipes like that, and it will cut off almost half your total kitchen time. Have fun! J.

I've never done OAMC, but I do try to make double batches of stuff and freeze. I don't use a recipe book, but just make my family's favorites. Here are a couple of things that freeze well.

Meatloaf
Lasana/Manicotti
Casseroles
Mexican Style Lasana
Chili (in a big ziploc bag, then wrap with freezer paper)
Meatloaf & Taco Burgers*

I usually put the food in a glass dish and wrap with Seran Wrap, then freezer paper over that. Things easily keep 3-4 months.

Taco Burgers and Meatloaf burgers are a hit too. You mix up the meat mixture, then patty into large, but thin patties and place on a baking sheet. Allow to freeze, then remove them and place in a Ziploc bag. B/c the patties are thin, you can place them frozen in the pan (on low) and cook. It is a great way for a fast homecooked meal. For the meatloaf, I just make some sides. with the Tacos, I buy large buritto wraps, sliced cheese and taco fixings. Put the burger in the center with the cheese and fixings, then fold all 4 sides up, flip over (smooth side on top) and cut on the diagonal. You will have 2 taco pockets!

We also freeze individual chicken breasts and sliced pork loin. (Place in sandwhich bag, then place several of those in gallon bag). They can be defrosted the night before to season or about 30 min before dinner in warm water (leave in baggie).

Hi Corina!
You can simplify by cooking and buying in bulk and then freezing! I prepare a week's worth of stuff in advance and then during the week, it's grab and go. I am also a Tupperware Manager in Raleigh, so I tend to use their products the most for storing, prepping, freezing and eating! It saves the environment from paper plates and plastic bags. My favorite products are the vent n serves for microwaving or the crystal waves for packing left overs to take on the go. You can also freeze and refridgerate in the vent n serves (and make cake in 10 minutes with a can of soda!). For a limited time Tupperware has a Freezer Mates set in all sizes which would be helpful for freezing. You can freeze a cake. I make a pumpkin cake and freeze it in single servings for easy breakfast. I would be happy to speak to you more about advanced meal planning, which is what we call it, and share some of our bulk recipes with you. You can reach me at ____@____.com. Happy Thursday. J.

Corina,

Here is a wonderful site that is quite helpful to our family in various ways. :)

http://www.homemaking911.com/

http://www.homemaking911.com/home-management/

Some of the articles but there is a LONG list available.
Freezer Cooking (again!)
Freezer Cooking This Week and lots more....

I know Malia and she is a wonderful woman and I even subscribe (FREE) to her newsletter full of great tips to make our lives easier. :)

My mother-in-law froze the top tier of our wedding cake. First, she stuck it in the freezer with no wrap.
When it was frozen, she wrapped it in wax paper, then aluminum foil, then plastic wrap.
We removed all the wrap on our fifth anniversary and then let it defrost. It was perfect!

We do a shorter version of the OAMC. I just make double batches of things and then freeze, or cook up big batches when there is a super sale at the grocery store. My two favorite tips are batch cooking, and packaging. When I get a big pkg of chicken breasts at the store I'll poach them, chop them, and freeze them in bags. Usually in 2 cup portions. Do the same with cooked roast and ground meat. The "packaging" is most important at my house. If I have taco meat in the freezer, I will go ahead and toss a pkg of tortillas and a bag of cheese to freeze with it. Or a dish of Italian beef along with a bag of cheese and a bag of rolls. We started doing this just before our youngest was born, and it really saved time. Hubby is *not* a cook.

Check out a few books from your local library and pick a few recipes to try. They are all just a little bit different, and you don't want a freezer full of food you don't like. Good luck!

Homemade Gourmet does something similar to what you are looking for. It is called 4 meals in 4 minutes or fill your freezer. You can bake, slow cook or grill any of these meals. We also stress 'cook once, serve twice' meals that help save money and time. Feel free to check out my website at www.homemadegourmet.com/Ann19443.
Also if you squeeze the air out of the ziplocs you should be able to avoid freezer burn. Also make sure you are using freezer bags and not storage bags. You can also make cookies by prepping the dough, putting it in the freezer so it will be ready to just cut some off when you need them.
You should be able to eat through a months worth of food without a problem. The key is planning which is sounds like you are doing. Set up a calendar menu for the month and then shop for the main freezer stuff to make up the meals. You can buy perishables on a weekly basis--just make a shopping list of those items for the week. I have also found that if you portion out your ziplocs that helps like putting 4 hamburger patties in a ziploc if you only need 4. Split those big bargain sized packages up BEFORE you freeze them. Shop the sales/flyers or go to those warehouse places for discounts. Also I separate burgers using wax paper.
Feel free to check out the easy recipe section of my website as it gives menu, shopping list as well as recipes.
Good luck!

I do something along the lines of once a month cooking, every couple of months I'll make four or five different dishes ( I use the aluminum pans that they sell at Sam's club in bulk). I'll make chicken enchiladas, lasagna, crockpot chicken, chicken and rice, stuffed peppers, anything else I can think of. I belong to the Yahoo! Group for Freezer Friendly meals, so I get different ideas. I'll use these meals to fill in during the week, I like to make things that can go in the oven and then some that can go in the crockpot so if I'm not home they can cook all day. In terms of freezing without ruining, wrap with plastic wrap and then cover in aluminum foil, also if you keep the food in a good rotation where you use everything you've made within three months or so, you'll avoid it being in the freezer too long and getting those heavy layers of freezer burn. I don't use freezer meals every night, I'll mix them in with something easy to fix and the freezer meals usually yield leftovers at our house so we always factor those in somewhere. Make sure whatever you put up in the freezer is something that you're family likes, otherwise there's no point. Hope that helps!