Once-a-Month Cooking: Do you do this?

[Sahamamama]

I came across this website and wondered if any of you have tried a once-a-month cooking approach. It sounds a bit complicated to plan a "Cooking Day," but I already cook only once per week (Monday mornings, bright and early :D). Once a month sounds like quite a project! I don't know if it would work with my children being so young -- they like attention from me about every four seconds! Would I lose my place in the "flow" of cooking with all the interruptions? :lol:

 

I've done freezer meals before, just not with anyone else's system. I packed those tasty meals in freezer bags, laid flat, with the directions on the bags. This was very convenient when my extended family was going through a major life change and I was working full-time. We could pull out a meal in the morning and cook it in a few minutes in the evening.

 

Have you tried a 30-Day system? What works? What doesn't? :bigear:

[mrs.m]

I tried it. Your assessment is right. It's a lot of work!!!

 

You should try to double meals as you make them. This may actually work for you when you do your Monday morning meal. For casseroles and meat marinades this adds very little time to your work! Some items like burritos will add more time to your cook session.

 

I'm in a cooking co-op. We are a group of 4-6 (right now 4) and we cook 3 meals each for the number of members in the group to exchange. For example I make 4 lasagnas, keep one and I will get 3 other totally different meals for my effort! It's great!

 

We have a blog: http://freezerchicks.blogspot.com

[kindermommy]

I choose a meal from one of the OAM cookbooks, and make a double portion the first time we try it - that way we have an extra for next month, but only ONE extra in case we didn't really like it.

 

If we liked it, it goes back into the recipe rotation (I have two 5 week menu plans and buy for one 5 week period when I do my "big trip" to the grocery store every 5-6 weeks) and the next time around, I make 2 extra. So while I am probably cooking more *times* per month this way, I don't have to do an entire cooking *day* once per month (which also seemed like more than I could handle right now).

[Sahamamama]

I tried it. Your assessment is right. It's a lot of work!!!

 

You should try to double meals as you make them. This may actually work for you when you do your Monday morning meal. For casseroles and meat marinades this adds very little time to your work! Some items like burritos will add more time to your cook session.

 

Great idea! Thanks!

[Sahamamama]

I choose a meal from one of the OAM cookbooks, and make a double portion the first time we try it - that way we have an extra for next month, but only ONE extra in case we didn't really like it.

 

If we liked it, it goes back into the recipe rotation (I have two 5 week menu plans and buy for one 5 week period when I do my "big trip" to the grocery store every 5-6 weeks) and the next time around, I make 2 extra. So while I am probably cooking more *times* per month this way, I don't have to do an entire cooking *day* once per month (which also seemed like more than I could handle right now).

 

Great ideas! Thanks!

 

(Obviously, I don't know how to quote two people in the same post).

[Sahamamama]

Anyone else? :bigear:

[Amber in AUS]

I have not tried this at all, but am going to check it out. I would love to be able to cook less in the evenings and make a more consolidated effort in one period of time. My DH works away and the end of the day i am tired and need a quick and easy dinner that is still healthy :)

 

Can you share what you would typically cook on a Monday and you would then freeze and eat over the week?

[JoyfulMama]

I can't dedicate a whole day to cooking, but I did know a couple who cooked all day Sundays in order to have quick meals all week long (but they had no kids). They enjoyed it very much.

We do very few casseroles, but we LOVE soups. Cooking up a big pot of soup a couple times a month helps to fill up my freezer nicely for easy dinners and lunches. Also, I freeze uncooked meatloves - when I have fresh ground beef, I'll make up a few, cook one, and freeze the rest. (My SIL prefers to cook them all, then freeze the extras - both work well.) I will also brown up ground beef (with or without onions), cool, and package for the freezer in 1 lb packages. Hams I get sliced by the butcher, and freeze individually for a really fast meal as well.

But my best recent gift was a 13 qt stainless steel bowl, in which I can mix a double batch of bread - 4 loaves for the same time and effort as 2!!! (And they freeze well, too!)

I keep trying to make extra muffins to freeze, but someone keeps eating them... :D

[LibrarianMom]

I have done OAMC. Before kids, when I was first hired for my current job I commuted an hour each way for a year because it was easier than trying to sell the house and move in one month. When I did it, it was a lot of work but so worth it. I loved that we didn't have many leftovers as I could portion out how much we would eat. If we were still hungry, it was more veggies or salad. You actually save money too as you tend to buy less pre-processed items. You may find that you want to start with a smaller plan. I found that even though it was great to have all my meals made, sometimes I wanted to throw something different in the crockpot or wanted to cook regular stuff on the weekends. I'd like to start again and hope to do so soon.

[Sahamamama]

I have not tried this at all, but am going to check it out. I would love to be able to cook less in the evenings and make a more consolidated effort in one period of time. My DH works away and the end of the day i am tired and need a quick and easy dinner that is still healthy :)

 

Can you share what you would typically cook on a Monday and you would then freeze and eat over the week?

 

Sure. My husband works late many evenings, and by dinner time I am usually wiped out. One thing that has helped me for years is getting dinner set up in the morning. For example, if we are having a salad for dinner, I make it in the morning. If we are having potatoes, I peel them, cover them with water, and put the pot in the fridge. If we are having baked chicken, I get it ready, cover the baking dish, and put it in the fridge.

 

On Monday morning, we don't do any Seat Work, ever. (I have one K'er and two preschoolers). ;) Instead, I concentrate on housework -- cooking, laundry, maybe some cleaning. I'll cook things that require chopping up vegetables and/or browning meat, because I don't have the energy to do these tasks in the evening.

 

1. I usually make 1-2 "stewy" types of crock pot meals, such as:

 

• Beef Vegetable Soup -- w/crusty bread

• Indian Curried Lentils -- w/toasted pitas

• Meat Sauce w/Peppers & Onions -- w/pasta

• Chicken-Corn Chowder -- w/cornbread

• Turkey Chili -- w/salad

• Beef-Mushroom "Stroganoff" -- w/egg noodles

• Ham & Pea Soup -- w/biscuits

• Roman Beans (Crock Pot) -- w/rice

 

2. I usually make 1-2 oven-baked meals, such as:

 

 

• Tuna Noodle Casserole

• Mac-Cheese Ham-Broccoli Casserole (mac & cheese with ham chunks & chopped, steamed broccoli)

• Baked Chicken Casserole (put a package of frozen vegetables on the bottom of an oiled 9 x 13 dish, put prepared Stove Top on top of the vegetables, put chicken parts on top of the stuffing, cover with foil, and bake until done).

• Pork Chops & Cheddar Cheese Potatoes

• Bean Burritoes

• Meatloaf

• Shepherd's Pie

• Chicken Pot Pie

• Quiche (takes 2 to feed us)

 

3. Last but not least, I usually make 1-2 "fresh" meals, such as:

 

 

• Protein Salad -- tossed green salad with hard-boiled eggs & chick peas

• Taco Salad -- chopped romaine, cheddar, tomatoes, beans, maybe taco meat

• Stir-Fry -- beef or chicken, with lots of chopped vegetables! (but we don't do these as much these days, because we never know when hubby will come home and he doesn't really want reheated stir-fry:tongue_smilie: ).

• Steak & Potatoes with a Vegetable -- Why is this always such a hit with him? Hmmmm.......

 

Well, I have to get back to my kitchen, LOL! We've all had the flu this weekend, so nothing's normal today! HTH!

[stansclan89]

I have done once a month cooking in the past. I would not try it with small children around (get a babysitter, have dh watch them...). And the only reason it worked for me is that I had teens to help on cooking day--Otherwise it would have been more work than I would be ok with doing in one day.

[Alenee]

I haven't done it yet but I have friends who do. The pairs will meet one day to do one set of meals and have another date on the calendar to do the other's meals. This way they're only cooking for one family at a time. Having a partner is essential I think. They also make sure that the kids are taken care of for the day. They both rave about this way of cooking and I have been the recipient of some of their frozen meals when I had babies or surgeries. Yummy stuff!

[PollyOR]

For those of you who have done this...do you have a certain recipe book you used? I've tried freezer meals various times, and I've had a hard time finding food that I like (not mushy, etc.).

 

Thanks!

[AngelBee]

I think I really need to start doing something like this.

 

:lurk5:

[mrs.m]

For those of you who have done this...do you have a certain recipe book you used? I've tried freezer meals various times, and I've had a hard time finding food that I like (not mushy, etc.).

 

Thanks!

 

It's more about technique than the recipe. You have to know what gets mushy and how to prevent it. So when I make a pasta dish, I undercook the pasta before mixing it all up and freezing. I never freeze egg noodles in a sauce. So then I just freeze the sauce and boil up the noodles on serving day. I always freeze cooked meats in their liquids so that they don't dry out.

 

Many freezer books will give you a run down on how to do this but some of it takes experimentation and experience. Most recipes can be frozen but some might need to be altered.

 

You might find a few at your library so that you can read-up on the subject. :)

[Supertechmom]

I did with small children and loved it and then got out of it when the next one came along. Now, after the next child, I'm getting back into it. I start by watching the sales and buying lots of extra meat/stuff on sale. Then I work on that item. LIke this week I bought tons of hamburger meat. I spent 3 evenings (20-30 minutes extra) browning ground meat, shaping patties, making meatloaf, meatballs and then freezing them. Once you get the rhythm going, it makes it easy to make the meals when you can buy the month's extra on sale. So now on any night we have a meal that requires ground meat, I just pull it out and finish out the meal. That reduces my dinner time to under 20 minutes instead of an hour or so. So in getting started this month, I'm spending several evenings making meals for the next month. Than next month I should be able to whittle that down to just a couple of times each month of prepping, chopping, and preparing meals. It works out that I spend one day with fruit/veggie items, one with meat, one with chicken.

 

I have a mealplanner sheet for 5 weeks ready and as I make the meals, I write it down on the sheet. Then write in the next column what I need to do to finish out the meal if it isn't complete. That keeps me from forgetting what I have in the fridge and makes sure the meals get used. Then next month, I can just copy the meals we enjoyed and start over with the ones we didn't.

 

A lot of meals I don't cook the entire entree because you still have to warm it up. So I get it ready to the point of cooking or in case of things that take a long time, to the point where we can finish it in under 20 or 30 minutes. Then it is hot and isn't mushy.

 

It seems like a lot of work but it reduces my every day dinner time from freezer to clean up the kitchen after dinner to under an hour instead of the typical 2 hours to 3 hours it takes to cook, eat, and clean up.

[angela in ohio]

I used to freeze our meals for thirty days. I even did 90 days once. Whew!

 

Dh was tired of eating frozen meals. It does get old after a while. Your choices are limited, and we tend to eat more fresh veggies/meat meals, so it was hard.

 

Now what I do is freeze parts of meals. So I make up taco meat and spaghetti sauce and cut up/cooked chicken. Then I am half way to any meal.

 

I don't do it all in one day anymore. Once a week or so, I make up a bunch of something, usually depending on what sale I hit. So one week I might make two months worth of spaghetti sauce, and the next week I have chickens going in both crockpots, the stove top, and the oven.

[cougarmom4]

I love having meals in my freezer. I've tried several variations of the OAMC. Taking one whole day is overwhelming and seems impossible with little ones underfoot. I have divided things up a bit and take just a few hours at a time to do different parts. I typed up a list of every step I needed to take for each recipe--so that if I was interrupted, I knew where to pick up.

 

For example, I'll prepare all of the ground beef recipes that I do on one day: enchiladas, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, tator tot casserole, taco meat, meatloaf, ground beef for soups. Mostly just browning the ground beef and assembling the casseroles/mixtures. On that same day, I will bake a bunch of chicken in my oven/crockpots and put in the frig. The next day, I'll shred or dice the chicken and prepare the chicken recipes: chicken enchiladas, sweet & sour chicken, bbq chicken sandwiches, hawaiian haystacks, white chicken chili, chicken pot pie, chicken bundles. I've also done twice baked potatos and a ham/shredded potato casserole. Another day I might prepare a bunch of breakfasts: muffins, french toast, pancakes, breakfast burritos.

 

For some of these I make 4 of the recipe. (I trade frozen dinners for violin lessons with a friend, so I need extras). My easiest to throw together are enchiladas, lasagna & tator tot casserole...I don't bake any of them before freezing, just assemble & freeze. I always do at least four of each of these.

 

So if I do both the ground beef & chicken days, my freezer meals last about 2-3 months...because I don't necessarily use a freezer meal every single night. Typically once a week we have potato bar, homemade pizza, and soup (which is easier to have the meat ready to toss in, but open up the cans or dice the fresh veggies that morning and throw it in the crockpot).

 

I've also had times when I couldn't do the entire process--but even if I brown the ground beef and bake the chicken it helps so much! It is much easier to pull out ground beef ready to go into a casserole. My dh thinks the ground beef tastes funny when I do this, but he's learned not to complain too much about it...because it is just so much easier.

 

Although it costs a lot more up front (simply to buy all of the ingredients at once rather than throughout the month), we definitely save money when I do this. You can buy things in bulk size (usually less) and use up every little bit of the ingredients. And it really saves us from buying fast food or packaged/prepared food at the store. I bought a whole bunch of the aluminum casserole pans and just re-use them, covering with new foil each time. I like being able to just thaw them and put them right in the oven.

 

My biggest tip would be to get an electric can opener if you have lots of cans that you use in your recipes. And to put the kids to work in an assembly line--my kids love to slice olives with the egg slicer, open the cans, dump cans, measure spices, layer ingredients...

[sewpeaceful]

When I have my act together, which comes in phases with 3 kids, holidays, etc... I like to do a BIG cooking afternoon once every other week. I will do an eclectic blend of everyone's ideas:

 

- set aside a weekend afternoon to cook when my hubby can buffer the kids for me

- make multiples of casseroles

- cook extra pounds of taco meat cooked and frozen to pull in a moments notice

- prep crockpot recipes but not cook them (slice the veggies and put all of the ingredients, including the meat and marinade in a freezer container). The morning of or night before, pull the container, put it in the crockpot on low. Dinner is done when I need it.

- marinate and grill chicken ahead of time I can thaw and toss on a salad, in a pasta, etc.

 

I am sure you can figure out something. But I agree that cooking casseroles and such in multiples is a BIG help. I may not eat the second copy until the following month but once you do this a few times, you will build up a nice variety.

 

Oh, the other thing I do that seems to help: put casserole in aluminum pan, cover tightly with heavy foil and use a sharpie to write the baking instructions on the foil (temperature, time to bake, etc). It saves me from finding the recipe card again. Oh, and I label the foil pan with the sharpie so I know what is in my freezer. Yes, I wash the foil pans and use them again next time.

 

I hope that helps.

[Marylou]

I think I really need to start doing something like this.

 

:lurk5:

 

 

www.savingdinner.com

[Sahamamama]

Thanks, everyone, for all these great suggestions! Wow! Ninety days, Angela? I am so tired just thinking about that. I'm going to bed now. ;)

[RanchGirl]

I'm a huge fan of freezer cooking! I started with the original OAMC cookbook many years ago but I did not care for the recipes in there. My favorite cookbooks right now are Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer and Don't Panic, More Dinner's in the Freezer.

 

It didn't work well for me to do one month at a time, the shopping Usually I prepare things in bulk batches -- like I might make 2 recipes that start with a similar base, like chicken pot pie and chicken enchiladas, and make several batches of each to freeze. Some people do a chicken session, a beef session, a pasta session, etc., depending what's on sale. I do not care for fully cooked and frozen meals so for example with the enchiladas, I freeze the filling and the tortillas separately and assemble before baking.

 

It works great when we have busy school days or busy tournament weekends, and also when we travel in our trailer I plan out and take all the meals and voila, no cooking on vacation.

 

Here's a great website with recipes and menu planning that I just discovered recently. I tried their bbq chicken quesadillas and they were a huge hit! http://onceamonthmom.com/ They even have labels you can print for the recipes.

 

I have also gone to places like http://www.letsdish.com and they make it so easy for you to get the hang of it if you are unsure about starting on your own. But I really prefer to use organic ingredients so I primarily do it on my own.

 

Also like someone else said, I just make a double batch when I am first trying out a new recipe. Nothing worse than throwing out 6 dinners when you discover a new dish is not to your liking.

Edited January 29, 2010 by RanchGirl

[Jennefer@SSA]

I have never done a full month at a time but like others have mentioned it's so easy to double what you are already doing and freeze half. At any given time in my freezer I typically have several homemade spaghetti sauces, a lasagna or two, stuffed shells, homemade chicken stock, cooked chicken breast cubed and drizzled with a touch of olive oil and frozen in some stock to keep it super moist, taco meat, hamburger patties ready to go on the grill, marinated chicken breasts - so that the real marinating happens while it is defrosting in the fridge, turkey meatballs...sure there's more but that's all I can think of now.

 

This is such a life-saver. I especially enjoy it the first month of school while we are getting on a new routine for the year, during holiday months and anytime life gets super-busy!