I am going to try to do more freeze-ahead meals this year and recently checked out several books on the subject from my library. I did not like "Once-a-month cooking" by Mimi Wilson only because I didn't think my family (which includes a picky preschooler) would like any of the recipes. Conversely, I did like "Frozen Assets" by Deborah Taylor-House because I thought I family would like many of her recipes. (They are very simple. Minimal ingredients. Few spices. Nothing exotic.)
However, my favorite so far is "Don't panic, dinner's in the freezer : great-tasting meals you can make ahead" by Susie Martinez. She advociates the doubling, tripling recipe approach rather than the once-a-month cooking approach. Her recipes are divided by main ingredient (chicken, pork, beef), making it easier to plan meals around loss leaders. Also, many of her recipes do not require pre-freezer cooking -- just assembly.
I am the waiting list for "Dream Dinners : turn dinnertime into family time with 100 assemble-and-freeze meals" by Stephanie Allen. This book is from the founders of the Dream Dinners franchise, which I have heard good things about but have not tried because of the expense.
At this point, I've read enough to understand the various techniques, so I am mostly looking for recipe ideas that I think my family will like and will fit within my budget. In addition to the above books, I have found some possibilities at recipe websites such as allrecipes.com and recipezaar.com. I just search using the keyword "OAMC."
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