Once a month cooking?

[Gigi22]

Do a plain, old-fashioned pot roast on Saturday or Sunday. All you do is brown a 3 lb. boneless beef pot roast well in a big ovenproof pot on the top of the stove and add cut up veggies (6 carrots, 1/2 turnip cut in 6 pieces, 6 small onions or 2 large cut up, 6 peeled potatoes) and 1 c. tomato juice/beef stock/water, 2 T. dry onion soup mix, 2 cloves of garlic, pepper, sprinkle of thyme, rosemary and 2 bay leaves. Put the lid on the pot. Roast at a low heat (250 degrees F) in a preheated oven for 6-8 hours. When the meat is done, pull the pot out of the oven, take the roast out, tent it, remove the veggies and the bay leaves (throw out the bay leaves) from the pot--and thicken the cooking liquid. Carve the meat, and serve with the veggies and gravy. Double bonus points: yummy cooking smell throughout your house all day; leftovers!
This recipe is dead easy--aside from browning the meat and cutting up the veggies, there is little work/attention required until you make the gravy, and you can leave it in the oven and putter around home all day. You can cut up the veggies the night before, and refrigerate them, put the peeled potatoes in cold water in the fridge.

 

[stacielee]

Check out 30 Day Gourmet-I would borrow from the library until you are sure you want to do a full freezer cooking day. A friend and I have been doing this for about 7 years. We like their forms for organizing your session, but you can download free forms from many sites online.

You can certainly make extra meals on your own of any main dish and freeze them as pp have mentioned. Best of luck!

I love 30 Day Gourmet. Their software is great, too. I didn't like fooling around with the forms so I got the software and it makes up my grocery list.

 

[jackie101]

instead of once a month cooking, I cook 3 or 4 different things on the weekend. We eat on that all week but if possible I will freeze so for later.

That is what I do to and we are a family of 6. works great

 

[dixonsontour]

I'm a once a week er - always try to make a couple of meals in bulk at weekend.

If I make chilli I make enough for 3 meals etc. One for the week ahead and a couple for the freezer. That way there is always a selection of meals in the freezer.

I defrost one meal overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave and cook pasta/rice/veg to accompany.

I've done this for years but a recent development has been to write a list of all the meals on a list stuck on the fridge door. Saves thinking about what to make. I just take one meal out and cross it off the list. It also helps me decide what to make next weekend eg if i've got alot of chicken meals, i'll do something with ground beef.

 

[ccgirl]

OP - thank you so much for starting this thread. I am in the same boat as you. I don't get home until 6pm then have 2 kids to feed. I did find some great recipes on the crockpot cooking thread that my family loves but LOVE the idea of making the meals ahead of time and freezing. I know I won't have a whole day to devote to cooking due to weekend sports/activities but I can definitely do a few meals and freeze. I'm so excited to start!

I do once a week which is a necessity with working. Either saturday or sunday, during DS's nap, I'll make 2-3 casseroles which will take us through the week. For example, I made two pans of enchilada bake and two pans of chicken divan and a pan of mac and cheese. I froze one each of the enchilada and divan for another time, and ate the rest this week. I'll also crockpot food as well. I have in the crockpot for tonight a pork roast with a can of mushroom soup and apple juice - sounds yucky but its an amazing dish - very fallish. We will eat that with the mac and cheese and salad.

Sounds yummy and something different my family would love. Would you mind sharing the recipes for the enchilada bake and chicken divan? How do you cover the pan so it freezes well? How long do you keep it in the freezer before it gets the dreaded freezer burn?

I'm a once a week er - always try to make a couple of meals in bulk at weekend.

If I make chilli I make enough for 3 meals etc. One for the week ahead and a couple for the freezer. That way there is always a selection of meals in the freezer.

I defrost one meal overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave and cook pasta/rice/veg to accompany.

I've done this for years but a recent development has been to write a list of all the meals on a list stuck on the fridge door. Saves thinking about what to make. I just take one meal out and cross it off the list. It also helps me decide what to make next weekend eg if i've got alot of chicken meals, i'll do something with ground beef.

GREAT idea for keeping the list on the fridge. I have an extra fridge downstairs with top freezer and sometimes I forget what I have in there.

To all those that freeze. What do you find the best method is to prevent freezer burn? I like the plasticware idea but found my food was getting freezer burned. Maybe I just had the wrong plasticware?

 

[wvjules]

We run into the "not enough time to fix dinner" problem all of the time too. I'm not organized enough to do once a week cooking let alone once a month cooking so I have signed up for Let's Dish. I go there for 2 hours, prepare the meals and bring them home to freeze. This weekend is my first session. I'm so excited. I'm sure OAMC is way cheaper but I'm not quite up for that.

 

[dixonsontour]

I save mine in pyrex glass storage containers. They have plastic lids. I like them because they can go in the oven, microwave and dishwasher. Food keeps fine in them - they come in different sizes and stack really well in my freezer.

I don't label them as I can see what is in them.

 

[pam95]

I do the once-a-month cooking method, except I do it about every 2-3 weeks b/c I don't have enough freezer space. Plus, it's a lot of work to prepare that many meals all at once. As a pp mentioned, the book, "Fix, Freeze, Feast" has some really good recipes for buying in bulk and freezing using the freezer bag method. That one is actually my favorite. Dream Dinners also has a cookbook with some good recipes that you can prepare one at a time or in bulk. I also occasionally use the Super Suppers cookbook. The OAMC method works out great for us b/c DH works from home. I provide instructions with all the meals, and he's able to pop them into the oven or crock, and they are done and ready to eat when I get home with the kids!

 

[RadioFanatic]

Sounds yummy and something different my family would love. Would you mind sharing the recipes for the enchilada bake and chicken divan? How do you cover the pan so it freezes well? How long do you keep it in the freezer before it gets the dreaded freezer burn?

Both are easy!

Enchilada Bake:

1 can refried beans
1 package of shredded cheese
one package 10 flour tortillas
1 pound beef
one package taco seasoning
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can corn (optional)
1 can black beans (optional)

Cook the beef with taco seasoning. Then, take a casserole pan and spray. Then pour a little of the enchilada sauce so it coats the bottom. Take a tortilla and spread some refried beans on it. Layer beef, cheese (leave some for top of casserole), corn and black beans in it. Roll tortilla up and place in pan. Repeat until all tortillas are done. If any beef remaining, dump on top. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over all of the tortillas and sprinkle remainder of cheese on top. Place in oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until done.

Chicken (or turkey) divan:

1 pkg. frozen broccoli spears (I used fresh broccoli & steamed it lightly first)
3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs, soaked in 1 T. melted butter or one box stove top stuffing soaked in butter

Cook broccoli and drain. Arrange in a baking dish. Place chicken on top. Mix together soup, mayo, and lemon juice. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine bread crumbs & butter; sprinkle over chicken. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes covered, 5 minutes uncovered.

 

[scrapquitler]

Thanks RadioFanatic, these recipes sound great!

 

[herdtoDisney]

Oh, both those recipes sound very good! I'm going to give them a try!

I have read some OAMC books, but have never actually cooked up a whole month at a time-but I use some of the techniques. I have a upright freezer and I love it! When we bought this house, that was a must-have for me, since we had to buy appliances anyways (and it's energy-star rated, a plus for me).

I work full time (and lately, am getting 'forced' overtime ) and dh does as well (same employer) plus with 4 kids in school and activities (one more kid is at college) dinnertime can get crazy. And even a trip to McD's runs us at least $40, so I HAVE to plan ahead.

What I do is, like some others have mentioned, is double up some dishes, pre-cook meats, prepare some veggies and freeze, and for me, I buy some stuff already made. For example, I cook 10 lbs of ground beef at once, which doesn't really take longer than cooking 1 lb, then I bag it in ziplocks in amounts that look appropriate to what I plan to use it for. I cut up a bag of onions and freeze them on a cookie sheet, then bag them. That way they don't freeze in a clump. I bought mushrooms presliced and did that too. Having items at my ready makes it easier to toss stuff together.

I love my crockpot too! I have 2 of 'em.

I buy the frozen boneless skinless chicken breast from Sams and find these so versatile-they are ready to use and in reality, I just don't have time to cut up, bone, skin, whatever, a chicken. The marinade I use for frozen chicken is usually just italian salad dressing-it works well.

I also buy some dinner items prepared, like the General Tso's chicken from Sams-this, some minute rice and steamed frozen veggies makes a great quick meal. Frozen meatballs are so easy, just last night in fact I made fast meatball grinders (with veggies and chips for sides).

So, what I end up doing is, sometimes I premake dishes, sometimes I use items I've prepared (like the cooked beef) and sometimes I use pre-made items. I plan a 'rough' menu on Sunday night based on our calendar for the upcoming week.

 

[ccgirl]

Sounds yummy and something different my family would love. Would you mind sharing the recipes for the enchilada bake and chicken divan? How do you cover the pan so it freezes well? How long do you keep it in the freezer before it gets the dreaded freezer burn?

Both are easy!

Enchilada Bake:

1 can refried beans
1 package of shredded cheese
one package 10 flour tortillas
1 pound beef
one package taco seasoning
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can corn (optional)
1 can black beans (optional)

Cook the beef with taco seasoning. Then, take a casserole pan and spray. Then pour a little of the enchilada sauce so it coats the bottom. Take a tortilla and spread some refried beans on it. Layer beef, cheese (leave some for top of casserole), corn and black beans in it. Roll tortilla up and place in pan. Repeat until all tortillas are done. If any beef remaining, dump on top. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over all of the tortillas and sprinkle remainder of cheese on top. Place in oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until done.

Chicken (or turkey) divan:

1 pkg. frozen broccoli spears (I used fresh broccoli & steamed it lightly first)
3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs, soaked in 1 T. melted butter or one box stove top stuffing soaked in butter

Cook broccoli and drain. Arrange in a baking dish. Place chicken on top. Mix together soup, mayo, and lemon juice. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine bread crumbs & butter; sprinkle over chicken. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes covered, 5 minutes uncovered.

Thank you so much for sharing! I have most of these ingredients at home so I can't wait to try them!

 

[RadioFanatic]

You're welcome. Just as an FYI, I doubled the recipe to make two trays of each. one tray fed dh, 2 year old DS and I for two days with a salad as a side.

I would just cover tightly with reynolds wrap and have never had a problem.