I just heard of this concept and was referred to this web site so I thought I might give this a try. It sure looks like a ton of work but having ready made meals is appealing. Has anyone tried this? Is it worth the hassle & expense? Any tips?

oops! I forgot the website. Here it is:
http://members.aol.com/clseelhoff/v5n07b.htm

I have not tried it, but I read a book about it once (called "Dinner's In The Freezer" by Jill Bond). I like the concept, but couldn't see how to make it work for my family. I have done a modified version, though. I can't do 30 meals at once, or even a weeks' worth. But I do double or sometimes triple a recipe sometimes, then serve one and freeze the other one or two to have later. I have cooked up all of our ground turkey (or whatever) at one time, then divided it into meal-size portions and frozen those. That way when I need it for a recipe, it's already cooked so it saves time later (and I only have to clean up the mess once). I have also frozen leftovers from meals to use at future meals, which saves a lot of time later. It was nice to be able to pull something from the freezer on a busy day and still have a nice meal ready in a short time.

Another book I have, but haven't read yet, is called "Frozen Assets" and it is along the same lines. I think it gives plans for 2-week menues instead of doing a whole month. My sister used it and she really liked it. I think I may try that at some point, maybe after we get moved.
Lori

Well, the problem I'm getting is I feel like I'm cooking enough for a small army and there's not enough left for left-overs, let alone freezing and storing!!! I think I'm gonna put everyone on rations! lol

Quiver,
Can't starve 'em, unfortunately!
I've never tried a full once-a-month deal, but have cooked meat ahead for future meals. The thing is that I don't like the taste or texture of re-heated meat. Does anyone else have this experience? Maybe if I didn't completely finish cooking it?
Any ideas?
Christine

You mean cooked meat that's been frozen, then reheated? I don't know if I can fathom the concept????? How is this possible??

I did try once a month cooking and it didn't work very well for me. I do, however, use the cookbook and make one or two of those meals a week. It gives me three extra meals every time I cook them. It helps alot, but is not overwhelming.

Hi 7cookies!

Welcome to the board! I like your idea about modifying once a month cooking.

Did you hear the joke about once a month cooking? A mom said, "Yes, I do once a month cooking. The other 29 nights we order out!"

Don't you wish!

Blessings,

Christine

www.HomeFieldAdvantage.org

I don't think I'd like the once a month cooking, but here are a few things I do to make life easier. I buy about 5-8 lbs of ground chuck and cook it all at once with onions and garlic, then freeze it in portions to use for spaghetti, lasagna, hamburger helper, soup, sloppy joes, etc. On the nights we grill, we grill enough for a second meal, and I bake extra baked potatoes. A couple of nights later we have "steak" potatoes, or "chicken" potatoes, -get the picture? I also boil chicken breasts for chicken & dumplins. The extra 2-4 breasts I cut up into bite size pieces and put in the freezer for chicken noodle soup, chicken salad, chicken casserole, etc. Every little secret helps!!

Hi all! I've posted an intro in the 'intro' section of this board.

I'm a complete fan of freezer cooking! I've successfully used this website and cookbook for three years: http://www.30daygourmet.com/

I like the cookbook because it DOES NOT use 'cream of whatever' soup. Frankly, I'm not a fan of using those soups in cooking. They give you a recipe to that makes an awesome cream sauce without the salt or preservatives.

What I've participated in the past is something I'm trying to put together again. The local Mom's group I was involved in had six Moms who came together to cook - 3 teams of two Moms - one afternoon a month while the kids played. Moms cooked and had fellowship - each team made 5-7 different kinds of meals (times 6+, one for each Mom) - then swapped at the end of the day. So by the end of the afternoon, the kids were tired (so was Mom), but our freezers had 15-21 meals in them! We did this quarterly - and for me, it not only fed our family, but some recipes we liked so much I made more of to serve others (that family at church who's so sick, a new Mom in the neighborhood, etc.). It's been awesome!

For Quiverof8 - this cooking method would work well for you, as they already have the ingredients listed out by quantity needed (so for 1 recipe serving 6, you need 2# chicken, for 2 recipes serving 12, you need 4# chicken - etc.) Check out the website. If you need the password for the recipe section (archives are password protected), let me know.....DreamIt@myarbonne.com

Hope this helps!
Jennifer in Illinois, homeschool Mom of 2

quote:

Originally posted by ArbonneJennifer:

I like the cookbook because it DOES NOT use 'cream of whatever' soup.

ROTFLOL!!! I just recently told Husband I was soooo tired of "Cream of blank Casserole."

Thanks Jennifer! I'll check this out!

I recently found this website that looks really promising!
http://nestlefoodservices.com/recipe.asp?n=1

It gives proportions and cost per serving.

Hey, quiver has a web site!
Beautiful photos, my friend! You are a lovely, wise lady!
Blessings,
Christine

Hello All,

I have tried the once a month cooking method. By the end of that day I was worn out. I could not do it. I now apply some concepts that I read above like cooking my meat once and serving a few times. This has helped out a great deal. I also have learned to prepare meals really quickly in order to get them in my freezer. I use a few simple ingredients and stick them in a ziplock bag. They then go frozen into my crockpot and cook all day. At dinner time I am ready to eat. :-)

Here is a sample recipe that I made the other night and is now sitting in my freezer. Italian Mozzarella Round Steak---Get ziplock bag. Put 2 pounds of Round steak in bag. Two scoops of HG Spaghetti Sauce. 5 TBS of Italian Mozzarella Seasoning. Add 1 cut up Green Bell Pepper. Cook in slow cooker on low for about 8 hours. Serve for dinner with Rice and a fresh salad OR serve on hoagie sandwiches--similar to a meatball sandwich.

This is sooooo easy. I do something similar to Jennifer except mine is a business that I have. I either have them in my house or at other people's houses. I plan a menu. I do the grocery shopping. I supply the ziplock bags. I supply the casserole pans. The ladies just come and prepare what I have in the stations for them. The meals are healthy and easy to prepare. Most don't have more than 5 ingredients. I also have a list of Meals that can be prepared very quickly. I also know of a concept called 4 Meals in 4 Minutes.

Once I found this it has helped my meal planning sooooooo much. It has also helped my meal preparation. My husband actually liked eating what I prepared. I was not the only one eating the left overs because I did not want to waste the food. :-) I know that some of you have been there before. :-)

So to sum it up--Once a Month cooking too hard. Cooking meat once and serving it twice good. Easier ways to prepare food--yes.

Thanks,
Stacey Walker
staceywalker@cox.net
www.4minutemeals.com

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

I haven't tried the once a month cooking, but I do like to prepare things ahead and use as much as I can of all of it...I will cook extra items and freeze them-I also have what I call a "soup bowl" in the freezer where I put small portions of whatever that's too small to serve a second time into and layer each thing until the bowl is full of all kinds of goodies that make WONDERFUL soups. I think that all kinds of veggies and sides make wonderful soups and stews and this way I don't wast a thing. ALSO I will save all my bread ends in the freezer to make either a bread/fruit pudding or dressing---also meat-small amounts like steak/roast/pork or anykind are good saved and ground into the meat loaf or other ground beef recipe. I have even saved bean stock from pintos when we've made refried beans-very easy: cook pintos until done/drain-save juice/mash adding back SOME of the juice and you have HEALTHY refried beans for Mexican dinners-anyway saved the juice and added to a veggie soup-delicious!!! I like to boil eggs ahead-I sorta plan a week in advance so when I am preparing something in goes with or helps to fix the next thing or two!!

Don't think I can fix 30 days ahead--don't like most casseroles anyway...like fresh veggies too much.

cheryl

Hi, don't know if anyone is still interested in freezer cooking ideas. (I'm new to the site) But there seems to be a lot of uncertainty or negative thoughts and I have had quite a good experience with it.
I have 5 friends that I "trade" meals with every month. We get together once a year and decide on the guidelines as far as budget, size of meals, any major dietary issues or dislikes and when and where we will meet each month. Each mom selects 2 recepies and makes enough of each recipie for 6 families. One to keep and 5 to trade of each recipie. I coordinate menus via e-mail to be sure we have no duplicates, and I print out the ingredients and directions that have been e-mailed so everyone has all the instructions on the same sheet. (we do ingr. lists because 2 people out of the 6 families have allergies and we decided it was workable for us to list ingr. rather than a list of what can't be used in cooking) We meet once a month to trade. I keep one of each of my meals and I give each of the 5 moms one of each and they trade me for their 2 meals. I come home with 10 different meals (12 if you count mine) and I only cooked 2 recipies. I do not get worn out and I still have half of the nights each month that I can make fresh meals. We all wanted the option to make fresh meals for our families also. You can do this with any # of moms as long as you all agree on the specifics. Oh, and it does save $$. Our budget for 6 families was $90 for the month (12 meals) and everyone was able to stick to that. Some months I got as low as $65 when I shopped the loss leaders. If it is not for you, thats ok, but this has truly been a blessing to me. Be flexible find what works for your family and your homemaking style and enjoy blessing others and being blessed.
Joyfully, Erika

Wow! A cooking co-op! That sounds really great, Erika.
Anyone in Wheaton, IL want to do this
Blessings,
Christine