Has anyone tried Once or Twice a Month Cooking?

[nomad100]

This is where you make 20+ meals in one day for Once a Month or 10+ for Twice a Month that are frozen and then can be used over the course of the month?

I am thinking I need to try something like this because even with menu planning, our evenings are getting so full that we end up saying "fuck it, I know we were supposed to make X but it is too much of a PITA.  Let's get pizza (or some other take out)" so we don't end up eating at 9 o'clock.

I am thinking if all we need to do it pop it in the oven since all the prep work is done and all we would need to do is prep some lettuce for a salad and heat up some veggies, we may actually end up eating better/saving some money. 

We tend to eat a lot of the same stuff so I don't think the repetition would be an issue and we have lots of freezer space. 

Any tips? Tricks? Positives? Negatives?  Am I nuts to try to do this?

[lostmonkeyatikea]

I do this, but I go through Dream Dinners. I make 36 servings at a time, which is about 12-14 different meals. We do one or two leftover nights a week, and also do other easy meals like rotisserie chicken from Costco. I spend about two hours a month assembling the meals at Dream Dinners.

I love it, it's so much easier and cheaper for us. I just have a bunch of frozen veggies on hand or salad and have a complete meal without much effort. I'd imagine doing it on your own would be a little more effort, but for us, the time it's saved has been great.

[wambam]

I tried once and it was an epic failure. I cried a few times that day. We have a really tiny kitchen and it just made it impossible. Then when I would unfreeze the meals and reheat them, they SUCKED.

I think meal planning for the week and chopping/portioning on the weekend is much easier.

[panicked]

I did this before I had my DD. I made two weeks worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I didn't organize properly. (I just made each meal individually, which was stupid.) But it was very handy after I gave birth!

[TrickyBob]

I have always wanted to do this but I'm not organized enough and my freezer isn't big enough.

[janiejones]

I haven't exactly, but I have prepped stuff for the freezer, or will always make 2 lasganas or baked zitis.
I just bought 6 new Anchor glass casseroles with lids on sale (2/$6!!!) to get into this again.

[usuallylurking]

I did while pregnant with DS2 in an effort to make it as easy as possible once he arrived. I stuck to my own recipes for the most part, though. If I had any questions I'd refer to google as to what typically freezes well or what wouldn't freeze well. I also doubled (at least) pretty much anything I went to the effort of making, because I wanted to make my time doing that worthwhile. I froze everything in the disposable aluminum pans or in Ziploc bags (soups, sauces, baked goods). I took a whole weekend to prep logistically - I made a list of which recipes I wanted to use and made sure to have them printed off, then decided which ones I wanted to double, then made a grocery shopping list. Don't try to grocery shop and prep/cook in the same day - if you're doing a large batch the grocery shopping can take a good chunk of time and make you feel as though you've already "wasted" half of a cooking day. I'm getting ready to do it again now that DS3's due date is less than 2 months away.

[leancuisine]

I do something similar to PPs, where I will just make 2 lasagnas/shepherd's pie and freeze one for a later date. I have also frozen chili and stuffed shells. That's about all I have so far. I'd love for people to share their recipes that freeze well.

[thebuddhagouda]

Oct 1, 2013 14:53:44 GMT -5 janiejones said:

I haven't exactly, but I have prepped stuff for the freezer, or will always make 2 lasganas or baked zitis.
I just bought 6 new Anchor glass casseroles with lids on sale (2/$6!!!) to get into this again.

Instead of freezing in the containers (since they take up so much space), I line the dish with foil before I put the food in. Then, once it's frozen, I can pop the foil out and wrap the frozen food up and put the directions on it. Then, we can just stack the frozen meals without needing the space for the casserole dishes, and we just pop it back in a dish before we defrost it. 

[usuallylurking]

Oct 1, 2013 15:18:51 GMT -5 leancuisine said:

I do something similar to PPs, where I will just make 2 lasagnas/shepherd's pie and freeze one for a later date. I have also frozen chili and stuffed shells. That's about all I have so far. I'd love for people to share their recipes that freeze well.

Our favorite lasagna recipe:
allrecipes.com/recipe/worlds-best-lasagna/
It takes some time (you make your own sauce for it) but it is really good.  I typically double it, and freeze in disposable 8x8 pans rather than 9x13.  I think doubling and doing 8x8 yields 5 lasagnas.  I don't boil the noodles; just soak them in a roasting pan in the hottest tap water I can get for about 20 minutes.  Sometimes I'll add spinach on top of the ricotta layers.

Our favorite spaghetti sauce:
thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/09/spaghetti-sauce/
Instead of all 5 pounds of ground beef I typically do half ground beef and half ground Italian sausage (I use the chicken Italian sausage if I can find it).  I also don't add in any parmesan to the sauce, just whatever we use as a topping when we serve it.  I've simmered it on the stovetop as well as transferred it to the crockpot and let it simmer there.

Baked Ziti:
www.annies-eats.com/2009/07/02/baked-ziti/
I doubled this and again froze it in 8x8 pans rather than 9x13.

Chicken Pot Pie:
www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipe-bootcamp/2012/02/shaping-up-freezer-chicken-pot-pie/
I haven't made these yet, but this is the recipe I intend on trying out this go-round.

Spicy Chicken Cacciatore:
italian.food.com/recipe/tias-crock-pot-spicy-chicken-cacciatore-333106
H and I both really like this, I typically serve it over rice.  It is a crockpot recipe, so I cook it in there and then portion it out into individual portions (half a chicken breast, 3/4 cup rice, then divvy up the peppers, sauce, etc. evenly among however many containers you have going).

I'm still searching for my favorite enchilada recipe for freezing.  Skinnytaste's stuffed shells are good and freeze well.  I've also got three large spaghetti squash sitting on the counter waiting for me to cook them up then portion and freeze.  I'll be trying to lose weight after the baby, so stocking up now when they're $0.50 at the farmers market and freezing it beats paying more later on in the winter months.  I like Costco's bags of frozen veggies to have on hand as a side.  Salad stuff, too.  I'll make mashed potatoes and then freeze them in the disposable bread pans for an easy side.  I also make some of our favorite baked goods - banana bread, muffins, etc. to have on hand.  I just flash freeze these then throw them into a Ziploc together for long-term freezing.

[janiejones]

Oct 1, 2013 15:10:36 GMT -5 Que? said:

Oct 1, 2013 14:53:44 GMT -5 janiejones said:

I haven't exactly, but I have prepped stuff for the freezer, or will always make 2 lasganas or baked zitis.
I just bought 6 new Anchor glass casseroles with lids on sale (2/$6!!!) to get into this again.

I love when those things go on sale!!

I don't do this regularly, but sometimes I just go in a rampage and cook a ton of shit.

I try to incorporate a freezer meal or two into my meal plan, so if I'm making a marinara I double it and freeze one, or a lasagna or Sheperd's pie or something.

And you know it was a Canadian Tire.  Holla!
I felt like I was robbing them.  They were nearly as cheap as buying foil cake pans.

[nomad100]

Thanks everyone.  I think I am going to try it.

Though I will probably be using a combo of our usual loved recipes (I have a few marinades for chicken and beef, meatballs to be used with pasta and meatball sandwiches, meat sauces again to be used with pasta). 

I checked out a few books from our elibrary and while a couple look, well downright unappetizing (lots of Cream of X soups used), others look pretty good.  Fix, Freeze, Feast looks like it has some decent recipes that don't use a ton of processed foods. 

I hope to tackle this the weekend of the 12th.  So wish me luck. 

If anyone wants, I can report back on how it all went. 

[janiejones]

Oct 1, 2013 15:36:38 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

Oct 1, 2013 14:53:44 GMT -5 janiejones said:

I haven't exactly, but I have prepped stuff for the freezer, or will always make 2 lasganas or baked zitis.
I just bought 6 new Anchor glass casseroles with lids on sale (2/$6!!!) to get into this again.

Instead of freezing in the containers (since they take up so much space), I line the dish with foil before I put the food in. Then, once it's frozen, I can pop the foil out and wrap the frozen food up and put the directions on it. Then, we can just stack the frozen meals without needing the space for the casserole dishes, and we just pop it back in a dish before we defrost it. 

I have done that too, but my deep freezer is so empty I think filling it might be more energy efficient.  (Isn't that how freezers work? they consume less energy is the stuff helps keep the chamber cold? I don't really know).

[thebuddhagouda]

Oct 1, 2013 16:06:43 GMT -5 janiejones said:

Oct 1, 2013 15:36:38 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

Instead of freezing in the containers (since they take up so much space), I line the dish with foil before I put the food in. Then, once it's frozen, I can pop the foil out and wrap the frozen food up and put the directions on it. Then, we can just stack the frozen meals without needing the space for the casserole dishes, and we just pop it back in a dish before we defrost it. 

I have done that too, but my deep freezer is so empty I think filling it might be more energy efficient.  (Isn't that how freezers work? they consume less energy is the stuff helps keep the chamber cold? I don't really know).

No idea, but it sounds good. SCIENCE.

[TrudyCampbell]

Does it count if I only cook once or twice a month and then order take out or eat cereal all of the other days?

[aaxoxo75]

I really dont think I would enjoy frozen food, once and while is good but not for everyday. I believe the best options are either crockpot dishes, or stir fry are also quick and healthy.

[cinnamoncox]

I tried it once. It took about seven hours on a Sunday.
It was my first attempt so I'm sure I I did it regularly, I would become more efficient.
It didn't seem worth it rather than just spending half an hour or so each night then having leftovers (making two meat loaves at a time etc) than taking seven straight hours.
I never did it again
I should do a more modified version of it.

[thatgirl2478]

I have. It takes a bit of time depending on what level you prepare your meals to. It works well with some foods - casseroles, soups, chicken/meat marinades - and not so well with others. I like knowing I have a shit ton of food in the freezer should something unexpected happen (need to provide a meal for church/sick friend/family, I get sick, one of us loses a job etc). The hardest part is getting everything prepped IMO (dicing onions is a PITA when you have to do 8 or 10 of them!).