Anyone else do once-a-month cooking (freezer cooking?)

[TinysMom]

Years ago, I did what some call "once a month cooking" - sometimes also called "freezer cooking" or "frozen assets" because you prepare the food and then freeze it so that mealtimes are easier for the next month (or however many meals you cook up).

I've decided to do it again for our family because I realized just how much money I was wasting on prepackaged foods that might be tasty...but expensive. I realized that I was spending at least $7 per night on supper - just for our meat product - let alone anything else we might put on it.

I'll be happy to share websites later and recommended books (I can't find mine and am debating on what ones to order off Amazon to replace my library...or try to tear the garage apart to find my books).

Here is what I bought yesterday and plan to work on this weekend:

15 pounds of hamburger meat - I'm going to fry it up with some basic seasoning (onion & peppers and a bit of salt) and then bag it into servings to use for meals. I actually may take 5 pounds of that and make some meatballs and a meatloaf too - I haven't decided yet.

I bought four packages of boneless chicken (I'm looking to find more on sale - I may go to the Air Force commissary tomorrow) and I'm going to cut them up and freeze them in their maranades. One will probably be lemon chicken - some will be fajita chicken.

I bought a ham (turkey ham really) that I'm going to have Art help me cut up. One-half of it will go for slices and bagged with so many slices per meal - the other half will be diced and then bagged in 2 cup portions.

I noticed that there is some good steak meat on sale for fajitas - so tonight or tomorrow I will run to HEB grocery store and get as much as I can (we love fajitas). We'll cut it up into strips and I'll use fajita seasoning on it and then freeze it (uncooked).

I'll be happy to share tips, etc. if folks are interested. I'm not truly doing the 30 day cooking process as I'm not really preparing the whole meal and freezing it (like making a lasagna and freezing it) - but instead - I'm just preparing things ahead of time so I can take them out in the morning to defrost and use.

And I really really really HAVE to find my "Make a Mix" cookbook...or see if the library can borrow it for me.....I used to use it a lot for making my own mixes.

Anyone else do this?

 

[slavetoabunny]

No, I've never tried it. Every night is a surprise here. I don't use many pre-packaged foods at all. I've gotten good at stocking my freezer (a full-sized one in the garage) and shopping weekly for perishables and canned/frozen goods.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Peg, I'd love to hear your advice for freezer cooking and some recipes. It sounds like such a good idea. I just wish we had a bigger freezer.

 

[TinysMom]

I'm actually going to be stocking up on my non-perishables soon - I'm going to add an extra $20 to my grocery budget every payday and then buy canned stuff that is on sale to build up a surplus. Although Art's job is secure - I suspect our economy is going to continue to get worse...would rather have extra on hand...

With what I'm doing - you don't always cook stuff before freezing it - sometimes you marinade it and then freeze it in the marinade or you might just buy a family size package of meat and repackage it into the sizes you want to use.

So far today we've done enough for:

5 pork chop meals (I don't normally do pork chops but they were on sale and I thought I'd try them)

7 meals of skirt steak that I can marinade when I take it out in the morning

5 meals of hamburger w/ onion, garlic & salt that can be used for several different recipes I use

4 bags of chicken breasts (caught them on sale for $1 per pound which was good here)

I also have fajita steak marinading to be frozen in a few minutes - and I'm about to start marinading chicken too. I think I'll have 4-6 steak meals, probably 4-6 chicken fajita meals too (we LOVE fajitas).

Then I have 10 pounds of hamburger still to cook up - some will go for chili - some for sloppy joes - some may even go for meatloaf. I figure that will be another 8 meals probably.

I have a ham to have Art cut up - 1/2 of it will be steaks and 1/2 will be cubed - so probably another 4 meals from it.

And still more chicken to freeze - in meal size portions for us...

Oh - and the turkey drumsticks - probably 4-6 meals once they're deboned.

I usually get up in the a.m. and decide what I'm in the mood to cook - and take it out to defrost during the day.

Anyway - this works well for me - I know a lot of homeschooling families who do it too....

 

[irishbunny]

My mam used to do something like this for my sister in her first year of college, whatever we were having for dinner everyday during the week my mam would make some for my sister and put it in a plastic container and freeze it, then at the weekend my sister would come home and then bring them back to college with her and heat up a different dinner for everyday of the week.

My mam also used to do it for the babies, she didn't like to feed them the supermarket food because it's not good for them so she would liquidise some of the stuff we were having for dinner and freeze them and then heat them up and give them to the babies, it's a very good idea.

 

[kherrmann3]

I do that with certain foods. Chili freezes well. I also make "quick-gnocci" noodley things and freeze those. We have a tiny freezer, so we can't pre-make too much...

 

[JadeIcing]

I am intrested! Names of books please!

 

[Elf Mommy]

I get paid every two weeks, so that's what we buy for. My paycheck goes for food and the car payment. I plan out meals ahead of time, package the food accordingly, and then we take it out and hubby does most of the cooking.

 

[NZminilops]

(NZminilops here)

We only ever have enough money to shop one week in advance now that Mat has been made redundant, but I do sometimes cook up big pans of mince (minced beef/ 'burger' meat) with tomatoes and mexixan type flavouring, and freeze it in portions. More so that I wont just gobble it all up in one day, hehe!

Plus our freezer is tiny, pretty much 3 loavesof breed and the icecube trays fill it right up. I like the sound of the food you cook though, yum, made me hungry.

 

[Flash]

When I have time I'll prepare some meals and freeze them like gravy (marinara sauce), or soups. I usually work all the time and I don't have the time or energy anymore to start from scratch.

I'd love to know what you use to marinate your chic/steak for fajitas and your meatloaf recipe. I've been cooking up some of Rachal Ray's recipe's and I only liked how one came out so far.

I have a skirt steak recipe that's really good too.

 

[Elf Mommy]

THIS stuffed pork chop recipe by Rachel Ray is absolutely DIVINE!!! It's what hubby makes for me whenever I'm in a poopy mood to cheer me up.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...s-with-sausage-and-apricots-recipe/index.html

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Wow Peg, that's a lot of meat! We probably eat that much meat in a year. Last May or June I bought a family size pack of pork chops and a family size pack of chicken breasts from Sam's Club, we still haven't eaten them all. At the moment, my freezer has shrimp, salmon, tilapia, 6 or 8 petite sirloin steaks, at least 4 big pork chops, a pound of ground turkey, sausage, and a LOT of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and probably some other meat. There's also leftover meals that I've frozen in plastic baggies. My problem with freezing leftovers is that they always look so unappealing in their plastic bags and I usually end up tossing them (

Paul wants to try not eating any meat other than fish for a while so I'm going to try to use up what's in the freezer and then maybe I can try making some meals to put in the freezer that are vegetarian. Has anyone tried like what Irishbunny's mom did and make extra food every time they cook, and freeze some of the leftovers so that after a couple weeks they'll have a freezer stocked with food? Maybe I should invest in some of those Ziploc freezer containers!

 

[Elf Mommy]

I usually take our leftovers to work with me for lunches, so they don't get frozen.

 

[JadeIcing]

We usually take leftovers for lunch. I do get sick often so cooking things and freezing them would be nice so Rob doesn't have to do as much.

 

[mouse_chalk]

I sort of do this but on a smaller scale. For instance, when they have offers on minced beef or chicken in supermarkets, we'll buy more and freeze it in portions. A small pack of mince will feed both of us, but I'll split chicken breasts and legs into individual pieces because it's only me that eats chicken. Then, I'll take whatever we want to eat out of the freezer that afternoon and defrost it for tea.

I'll also make soup in large batches and freeze it- I buy resealable pouches that stand up on their own- they're great for storing soup in. Currently I have 3 pouches of roasted butternut squash and carrot soup in the freezer- when you get sick the first thing you want is homemade soup but the last thing you want is to make it fresh! I find tinned stuff just wont do

Apart from the odd takeaway I cook everything from fresh- I never eat ready meals, or anything processed at home, so our freezer is full of a lot of meat and fish, and a bag of peas rather than pizzas etc!


What I really want to do is start making my own chicken and vegetable stock and freezing it- I've always heard that homemade stock is sooo much better and healthier than the cubes etc you can buy..... I WILL do it one day, I will!

 

[TinysMom]

I'll try to share links, etc. tomorrow - I'm wiped out tonight and don't want to think about food - let alone type about it.

Sounds like some of you are already doing some of the things that "once a month" cooks do....some of my favorite books are:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312366256/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0966446747/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0762426020/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Here are some of the descriptions from Amazon:

Review
Beginners and experienced freezer cooks alike love this book!
Mary Purpura, Family Fun Magazine

The 30 Day Gourmet system gets a meal factory going in the kitchen! A great idea whose time has come.
Karen Smith, Amarillo Daily News

A must-have cookbook. Our library copies are literally worn out. This book is extremely popular!
Diana Lehr, Librarian, Plainfield, Indiana

My name is Heather and I purchased your 3rd or 4th 30 Day Gourmet Freezer Cooking Manual several years ago. I just wanted to say THANK YOU for continuing to have an updated website and a member's only section. I STILL use my handy-dandy password to log in and look at recipes and revised recipes. I have used your recipes over and over to keep my freezer stocked with healthy foods. I am always excited when I have a free moment to check the website to see what's new. As a mother of 3 ( a nine year old and six year old twins), your cooking methods have been a God-send for me! Even though I'm back to work now (full-time), I use my free time (ha!) on weekends to keep your fantastic meal ideas going into my freezer. Thank you so much for your dedication and customer service! --
Heather

Thanks for writing a book for freezer cooking that really works, I researched a lot and most programs require you follow their list and set menu, at least in the beginning. That would not work for us. My picky eaters have loved all the recipes we have tried so far, especially the Frozen peanut butter bars and the Cheddar Broccoli Soup! I love the no stress nights at dinner time! Thanks again --Candace

Try inviting another working mom to cook with you one weekend. The benefits outstrip the effort, proponents say. Not only do moms avoid the drive-through window, but they don't have to think about what's for dinner. It's waiting for them at home, says Nanci Slagle of Indianapolis, author of The Freezer Cooking Manual. --Working Mother Magazine

You wouldn't be tempted to order takeout if there were a hearty chicken stew or lasagna in your freezer, ready for the microwave. So set aside one Sunday per month for a marathon cooking session with a friend. Split the cost of the groceries and crank out 14 freezer meals for your families. Check out The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet. --Good Housekeeping Magazine

Product Description
Why bust the budget on pricey take-out during the week, when you can whip up fast, healthy meals at home? Make-A-Mix is perfect for working parents, two-career couples, and over-committed retirees.

Make-A-Mix is really two cookbooks in one. The cookbook begins with 67 make-ahead shortcut mixes for everything from all-purpose cake mix to meatball mix. These can be made on a weekend—or whenever there’s free time—and used to speed food preparation on busy days.

The mixes are a key ingredient in one or more of the 306 recipes that follow. The kitchen-tested recipes run the gamut from breakfast dishes to after-dinner treats. They include hearty dinner entrees, like enchilada casserole, onion pot roast, and shrimp & vegetable stir-fry; international fare like green chili burritos and quick chow mein; soups and other appetizers, like New England clam chowder, and even freezer treats like fruit slush.

With the Make-A-Mix method, home cooks can control the amount of sugar, salt, and preservatives in a recipe, and save money on store-bought mixes. This cookbook is the updated and expanded version of Make-A-Mix that sold over a million copies.

 

[JadeIcing]

Thank you! That is a start!

 

[BethM]

I only have a small freezer, so I don't have room for much. I think now I've got a bag of tilapia fillets that I got a few months ago, and maybe 3 pork chops I got sometime last year on sale. There's some frozen veg I got awhile back on sale, but I've been buying fresh.

I find that when I do go through the trouble to freeze stuff, I end up not wanting to eat it and eventually throw it out, so it's wasted. (After a year or so, and there are little ice crystals in the container...ick.) I just don't think a lot of things are all that tasty when they're cooked, frozen, then re-heated.

Also, I don't eat meat more than a few times a week. (That list of meat would be over a years worth for me!) Most of the things I like to eat either don't freeze well (baked potato), or are so easy to make fresh it doesn't make sense to freeze (rice).

Also, I eat my leftovers for lunch at work. I usually cook extra, just so I can have a lunch or two, but there's not enough to freeze.

 

[TinysMom]

I think freezer cooking/once a month cooking works best for families where you have several people eating the items and usually have more of a variety than I do. Some of the cooking manuals explain it so much better.

I'm about to head back to bed - just woke up and wanted to post in my blog - but thought I'd share this website addy for those who are interested in saving money and making their own mixes for things like pancakes, etc.

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/mixes/mixes.html

There are actually two pages of mixes there...

And here's a link about freezer cooking from the people who did my favorite manual...

http://www.30daygourmet.com/freezer_Info/Freezer_Five.asp

 

[TinysMom]

I just found they have this electronic vegetarian cookbook w/ 25 recipes....for those who don't eat meat...

http://www.30daygourmet.com/Manuals/Vegetarian_Cooking.asp

By the way - I make nothing financially from sharing this...