Once A Month Cooking Menu and Tips

I mentioned in a previous post that I was a big fan of Recipe Zaar due to the thousands and thousands of fantastic recipes it offers.  Most of my recipes for this month are from there and while there are a few new recipes, most I have prepared before and were delicious!

A few tips, before I share the recipes.  Many of the recipes call for cooked chicken.  I like to prepare this the day before in a crock pot with a little seasoning.  I end up with tender chicken and stock to add to individual recipes.  If a recipe calls for cooked ground beef, I also do that the night before.  Before starting on a recipe, I like to line the casserole dishes I'll be using with aluminum foil, taped together on the outside with masking tape.  I then spray the inner side with Pam cooking spray, so that nothing sticks after it's been cooked in the oven.  Once the recipe is assembled I fold the extra foil to seal it and use more masking tape to secure it before putting it into the freezer.  I also apply pre-made labels so that everything is clearly marked.  A lot of recipes can just be assembled into a freezer Ziploc style bag.

Now, the recipes for this month.  I know a lot of OAMC cooks prepare fewer dishes and make more servings, but that's just not how I roll.

For dinner we are having:
Honey Sesame Dump Chicken-I love this recipe; it so simple to assemble into gallon size freezer bags, and most ingredients I already have on hand. It's a great one for the crock pot!

Dijon Pork Loin Roast-Though this recipe calls for a pork loin, I've found it works great for pork chops and can be cooked either in the oven or a crock pot.

Mrs. O'Brien's Chicken-The ingredients in this one almost scared me away, but I'm glad I tried it.  It's a very strange combination, but somehow it works to make a great tasting meal.  Another one I love to put into the crock pot!

Tator Tot Casserole-This recipe is comfort food at it's finest!  This particular recipe doesn't call for it, but I like to add corn, and I know a friend who puts peas in.  Any vegetable will work, it's very versatile.

Chicken Tetrazzini-This recipe is pretty straight forward and easy to make, it reheats well and is quite delicious.

BBQ Chicken Basil Calzones-There are not enough words to describe this one, I think it's my new favorite meal of all time.  We use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce that we get at Costco and substitute celery for the mushrooms.  I also use pre-made pizza dough that I get from my grocery stores deli.  And though the recipe calls for them to be baked before freezing, I've frozen them without baking (after not reading the instructions properly) and no harm has been done.

I will also be making breakfast sandwiches for Justin to take in the mornings:
Breakfast Sandwiches

Once a month cooking is a lot of work, however it is highly rewarding.  Knowing that every night dinner is already prepared allows me to spend more quality time with Tysen once I get home from work.  I started doing OAMC because of that very reason.  The fall is a hard time in our household, Justin has football and doesn't get home until well after 6:00.  In the past I would rush from work to pick-up Tysen at daycare, then rush home to get dinner started.  Now, while I still rush to pick-up Tysen, our afternoons are filled with playing cars, reading stories and building forts.  I hope I've inspired at least one person to give OAMC a try!



 

Once A Month Cooking

For years I have heard about a cooking method of preparing a month’s worth of meals at one time and storing them in the freezer.  I always thought this was a great idea, who hasn’t tried and failed to answer the question “what’s for dinner?”  I know on many occasions it would be after 9:00 before we finally sat down to a meal after hours of contemplation. 

A few months ago I decided to wade into the pool of Once a Month Cooking (OAMC).  I started slowly, only doing about one weeks’ worth of meals since we were headed out of town for two weeks.  The next time, I prepared two weeks’ worth of dinners. After a few attempts at the two weeks of meals, I decided I could step up to three.  I found that there wasn’t a lot of difference between two weeks’ worth of meals and three.  Last month, I prepared 21 dinners and as well as 12 breakfast sandwiches, all for under $140.  I am hoping that I will be able to duplicate my success and prepare an entire month of dinners and breakfasts. 

When I first started OAMC, I scoured the internet for resources, and there are quite a few!  One of my favorite websites is Once a Month Mom.  Tricia not only provides fabulous menus full of new and exciting recipes, but she also creates a shopping list for the entire month and breaks down the preparation of each meal into a step by step process.  Tricia also has shares recipes for creating baby food OAMC style.  She also provides information on upcoming grocery sales, so you know when to stock up on what.

Cook of The Month is another great site.  The site has tons of great recipes, and will help you compile them into a meal planner, with a shopping list included.  The site does pull recipes from books, which you need to have an actual copy of because the recipes are not online.  However there are also a lot of great user submitted recipes.

Recipe Zaar has thousands of OAMC recipes, and a great community forum with users who can answer all kinds of questions.  Most of my recipes in my current rotation have come from this site, because I love being able to read reviews and comments on a particular recipe. 

If you are the type who needs the actual cook book in front of you, two great books are Once A Month Cooking, Revised and Expanded and Frozen Assets: Cook For a Day, Eat For a Month.

To prepare the menu, I like to go back through the previous recipes I have prepared and decide if they are worth having again.  Most of them are, but who wants to have the same thing month after month.  The easy and cheap to prepare recipes are often repeated because that’s how I like to cook.   If I try a new recipe, I will only prepare one or two meals of it.  The reason for that is, though I’m generally pretty good at selecting what my family will like, there are times when something strange slips through.  It’s hard eating something you hated once three or four more times.

Tomorrow I’ll post my menu for the month, as well as the method I use to put everything together.  I haven’t finished off this month’s menu yet, so hopefully I will have that done before tomorrow rolls around. I will also attempt to convert anyone who hasn't already jumped onto the OAMC bandwagon, so be prepared for that!

Knock, Knock. Anybody home?

I have returned from my long, unanticipated absence.  Last week was crazy busy and it quickly got away from me.   I had hoped to get my new blog design up and running, but I've had a few setbacks.  I may just launch what I have, and hope for the best!

Last week I also celebrated my birthday, it was wonderful!  I love birthdays, they are always a very special day, even when it's not mine.  I love the cake and the presents and the balloons, but most importantly celebrating the love of friends and family.  To me, that's what it is all about.  My birthday was special because I got to spend it with my beautiful family and some close friends.  What could possibly be better?

On Thursday I volunteered at the Just Between Friends sale, mostly doing set-up work and checking in consignors and their items. It was hectic and crazy, but a lot of fun. Nothing brings moms together like saving and making money on used baby items!  I shopped the sale on Friday and Saturday (I couldn't resist!) and found some fantastic bargains!  I bought probably 100 small trucks, cars and tractors (basically anything with wheels), 8 pairs of pants, 10 shirts, a rocking horse, a giant Tonka brand garbage truck, a Leap Frog shopping cart, a fun puppy shaped laundry hamper and some wooden puzzles all for about $85!  I also made money on the items I consigned, though I don't know the final amount.  I love this sale!!

For the upcoming week, I've got some great posts in mind.  I recently ran across a book on 500 uses for baking soda, and I can't wait to share some of them! It is also time for me to do my once a month menu plan, shopping and cooking!  I can't wait to pass on some recipes, resources and tips.  I love OAMC, and will try to convert the unsuspecting!

Here's to a great week!