Saturday, February 12, 2011

Once a month cooking


Spring seems to be peeking out her head here in north Texas this morning. All the sunshine and warmer weather gets my creative juices flowing. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll be rearranging some furniture soon.

One thing I've been wanting to tackle again for the last few years is once a month cooking. When the kids were little a friend introduced me to the concept. What a time saver. It's nice to be able to pull something out of the freezer in the morning, pop it in the oven at 5:00 and have dinner done. It's especially great for those busy days when time is at premium, but another bowl of cereal for dinner just won't cut it.

Though cooking day is a LOT of work, it's worth it. You mess your kitchen up one time rather than every day...less pots to wash and less daily clean-up. Since I enjoy cooking, I usually save the freezer meals for the busyness of the weekday, reserving the weekends for grilling and trying fun new recipes.

I think I'll ease back into it and try making just a few recipes. A whole month's worth is probably biting off more than I can chew the first time around. Here's what's on the menu for the next couple of weeks:

1. Sweet and sour meatballs

2. Spaghetti and meatballs (make a large batch of meatballs for #1 & #2)

3. Hamburger stroganoff

4. Pizza casserole

5. Cheese stuffed meatloaf

6. Lime pepper chicken

7. Orange ginger chicken

8. Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese

How about you? Ever tried OAMC? Care to share your favorite recipes?

I'm off to Wal-Mart to do my shopping...on a Saturday...prayers would be appreciated.

4 comments:

  1. I love OAMC!!! When I worked outside the home, it was a total lifesaver!! Now that I work from home I don't do "official" OAMC. I usually just double recipes as I make them and keep my freezer stocked that way.

    One of my favorites to keep in the freezer is already cooked ground beef. I bump up the nutrition content by adding diced up veggies (that I saute as I'm browning the beef) and even some cooked lentils. Then I package it in 2 cup quantities which works in any recipe that calls for 1 pound of ground beef.

    I also keep lots of cooked chicken in the freezer for use in tacos, enchiladas, soups and more.

    Oh, while I'm singing the praises of OAMC, I also love to simply marinade some meat (usually chicken) and freeze it raw in the marinade. Then we can choose to grill it if the weather is nice. Or I can bake it off. Makes for a yummy and fast dinner!

    I took all my favorite family recipes (most of which are OAMC friendly) and typed them up into a Word document. Then I printed off the cookbook and put everything in page protectors in a 3-ring notebook. It's my go to for meal planning now.

    The freezer is your friend for sure!! And it's so satisfying to cook all in one day and have it ready for busy days in the future!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Going shopping on a Saturday at Walmart for a month's worth of groceries is certifiably INSANE.

    I did once a month cooking for years, but now that the girls all cook I don't need to do it any more. They need to learn to cook for a family and it spreads the workload out. I can see doing it again when I am left here with all boys. Have fun! Lisa~

    ReplyDelete
  3. By the way, I just gave you a blog award. http://thepenningtonpoint.com/2011/02/stylish-bloggers/ Lisa~

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ahhhh! How did the shopping go? *wink*
    I have never tried OAMC. Sometimes I make a double of a dish and freeze the second one. That's good for super busy days. I also like my crock pot for busy days!
    I do make a menu each week, and that helps me.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you're reading! Leave me a link and I'll visit you.

Enjoy this post? Check these out.

Related Posts with Thumbnails