The freezer is nearly empty so it's time for Once a Month Cooking! OAMC is a real sanity saver because for a month I don't have to think about what I am going to prepare for dinner. It's a real money saver also because with food in the freezer ready to go, I am not tempted to spend money on fast food.
My Mom is the OAMC queen. She has rotating menus with corresponding grocery lists already prepared, so each month she only has to choose one and she is ready to go to the grocery store. I, on the other hand, like to come up with new meals so I never use the same menu twice. While OAMC seems overwhelming to a lot of people, it really isn't. For years, I had purchased ground beef in bulk and then prepared it all at once, seasoned it, and used some for dinner and froze the rest. It was just easier that way. OAMC just goes a step or two further. Now instead of cooking 5 lbs. of ground beef, I cook 20!
There are dozens of OAMC recipes online, and I have found quite a few at Recipezaar. The easiest way to do OAMC is to choose 15 or so meals, and then make two of each. I don't like repitition so I usually come up with closer to 25 meals and then double a few. Here is our list for today:
Dinner-
Awesomely Special Cheesesteaks
North Woods Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Taco Chicken Nuggets
Philly Cheese Steak Soup
Decadent Sausage and Cheese Quiche (and pancakes)
Beef Mushroom Stroganoff
Homemade Pizza
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Turkey Casserole
Chicken Alfredo
Mexican Pizza
Chicken and Cheese Rice Bake
Chicken Bruschetta Casserole
Best Shepherds Pie
Chicken Nuggets
Perfect Chili
Best Lasagna
Beef Taquitos
Juicy Hamburgers
Cheese Potato and Smoked Sausage Casserole
Spicy Meat and Cheese Stromboli
Meatball Sub Casserole
Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole
Pork Steak Major
Mushroom Alfredo Lasagna
Fajita Mac-N-Cheese
Supreme Pizza Pasta
Hanky Pankies
Snacks-
Pint-Size PB and J Muffins
Banana Push-Ups
Frozen Chocolate Bananas
Lemon-Blueberry Twist Pops
Frozen Fruit Cups
Mini Cinnamon Twists
Sides-
Homemade Bread
Salad
Corn Casserole
Cheese Biscuits
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Last month my menu was totally different. This is also the first time I have added snacks or sides. I usually don't plan for lunches because we almost always eat leftovers. On the days we don't eat leftovers we have something like "Ramen Noodle Soup" or "Easy Potato Soup" both my creations to cook with what's in the cupboard, super quick and simple. Last month I spent $604 on groceries. That provided three meals a day, and I made them October 24. We still have 5 meals left in the freezer, so we were able to stretch the menu to about six or seven weeks. Not bad!
Last night I went to Aldi's for the first time. I know frugal folks swear by Aldi's but my Mom shopped there when I was a kid, and back then it was dirty and nasty. I just haven't been able to bring myself to shop there. I was pleasantly surprised though at the selection, and especially, the price. The meat looked fresh and the store was very clean. I left with 20 lbs. of ground beef, 18 lbs. of chicken, three lbs. of roast, three quarters of butter, 2 gallons of milk, 34 bananas, and a plethora of other things and my bill was only $175!!!! All told, this month's menu will run me under $500. That's way less than $1/meal/person...and that makes me happy.
(If you have questions about OAMC, or if you live by me and would like to start OAMC, I am happy to help you. I'll even help you cook!)
8 comments:
hey natalie!
you can't throw out all those good sounding meals and not provide clickable links to recipes! that's just crazy! give up the goodness! i've always wanted to try the whole cooking for the month thing....and we just got an aldi here, maybe i'll try it. these boys are eating me BROKE!
Wow. That all sounds yummy!
You had me at "beef mushroom stroganoff", you are my hero.
I want to do this. Can I join you after the holidays? I will start searching for new recipes!
Around here, a church does a freezer cooking coop. Each person is in charge of a recipe and then makes enough of that recipe so all the people in the coop can have one. So if there were 10 people in the coop and you were assigned enchilladas you would prepare ten batches of enchilladas. You then meet at church and hand out your prepared dish to the 9 other participants and collect 9 other dishes from them. I'm not in but a friend of mine is.
I don't do the once a month thing but especially since our family is small, I often freeze our leftovers or make double of something like lasagna so I can just pull it out. (I've got a stockpile going now that we're on the downhill slide with Kenson.)
update this thing! It's not like your busy with 6 kids or anything.
I'm making a list of recipes to make and groceries to get. So, do you just throw them in the freezer already put together, if it doesn't ave freezer instructions? Then just thaw out thoroughly before baking?
Hey I'm interested too - but can't find anything online like a starter month. Any tips would be helpful!!
erikakennett at gmail
Thanks Nat!!
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