Re: bulk cooking
The original Once a Month Cooking is a good one but it's old, so some of the recipes are quite fatty. There are a couple by Deborah Taylor Hough- Frozen Assets is among them. Do a library search with once a month cooking- or search Amazon and then go to your library to look for the books you find.
You will find TONS of resources and menus online and there are a few OAMC yahoo groups to which I used to belong. They always provide thousands of recipes and lots of seasoned advice as to what can be frozen well.
I only have one word of warning for you. I did a whole day of OAMC almost 2 years ago. I got 36 meals made for about $130 (CDN). My frezer was stocked. The problem was that I was so sick of looking at those meals that when it came time to eat them I had little or no desire. I find it much easier to double up on recipes a few times a month or do some "base" cooking. For example, I always buy meats in bulk and often cook much of it in different ways to freeze. Then I only need to incorporate the meats into my meal. IE: 10 lbs of ground beef goes into 3 lbs of taco meat, 4 lbs of cooked beef and 3 lbs of meatballs (cooked) for later meals.
Don't get me wrong, OAMC is great if you have the time, the organization skills and can still eat those meals after a whole day of cooking them, but I much prefer the "mini-session" strategy myself. Besides, with a 2 year old and a 5 month old, who has a whole day to cook?!!
Another option to keep in mind is crockpotting. If you have one, they can be a real timesaver. If you don't have one, I'll wager you know someone who does and isn't using it. Cheap meats can be cooked all day to make a nice meal. Also, things like chicken parts can be preseasoned and then frozen so that you only have to dump it into the pot and turn it on for the day. This is just as convenient as OAMC if you like the result.
Sorry to be so verbose. I just wanted to share my experiences. I think I've tried it all. LOL There are so many ways to streamline your grocery bill and cooking time. Doing an online search is absolutely your best means of finding information and is the most convenient place to start.
|