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Planning Ahead for the Cooking Down-time

11 years ago

Frequent reader, infrequent poster...so apologies if this has been covered.

We are about in the middle of our kitchen remodel. Before we started, I decided to cook meals ahead of time to have in the freezer (we're trying to avoid 'packaged food'). A google search for 'freezable meals' brought up this amazing sight called Once a Month Meals (dot com). These ladies have a very cool site. They help you plan a month of meals that you cook in 1 day. I've heard of weekly cooking but this goes beyond. It even had the menus listed by types: paleo, traditional, vegetarian, etc. What to buy, what to do the day before, what to do the day of "the cook".

I cooked about 15 different recipes, 2 servings of each (there's just 2 of us). With the microwave, toaster oven, grill and hot plate, we've eaten great these past couple of weeks.

I'm not associated with them in any way. Totally jealous of their business model (subscriptions get you cool features). And totally impressed with the site.

Just wanted to share in hopes it helps someone during their kitchen down-time.

Comments (8)

  • 11 years ago

    I looked at that site a while ago but I was kind of annoyed by the assertion that you got an entire month of meals out of their deal but it only included 12-15 recipes. By my count an entire month is 90 meals. Even accounting for leftovers 12-15 isn't going to cut it over an entire month.

  • 11 years ago

    Prepping freezer foods is a GREAT idea before a remodel. I'm sure you're saving dollars and your waistline by not going out frequently.

    When my children were small, I tried to get into freezer cooking, but I just couldn't get the hang of it.

    Then I went to a place (I think it's out of business now) called Dream Dinners. It was cool: You'd sign up online for the meals you wanted to prepare -- so you could double up your husband's favorite chicken meal, while avoiding the ethnic recipe no one really likes at your house. Then you'd go in and go from station to station making your meals. It was quick because the foods were laid out in front of you, but you could customize them: Depending upon your taste, you could skip the hot peppers or double the garlic. That place helped me understand what type of foods freeze well, and I realized that you don't have to have EVERYTHING in the package (for example, I now freeze my wonderful spaghetti sauce but don't cook the pasta 'til the last minute).

    But on my own, what I've done mostly is "batch cooking". That is, I don't make ONE of a certain dish; rather, when I find pork chops on sale, I'll make 3-4 of our favorite pork chop casserole. When I find ground beef, I'll make two BIG pots of spaghetti sauce and freeze it in meal-sized portions. Batch cooking totally works for my family!

    Christina, I know what you're saying, but in the world of freezer cooking, people tend to say, "a week's worth of meals" when they really mean, "a week's worth of dinners".

  • 11 years ago

    Oh, I totally assumed it was for dinners only. I can't imagine making a month of breakfasts ahead of time. And lunch is frequently on the go.

    I recently had a very minor medical procedure and did some cooking and freezing so that I wouldn't have to go shopping or cook for a long week. I've fully recovered and still have food stashed away.

  • 11 years ago

    MrsPete, I live alone but there are some things I just can't make small, e.g., pot roast. So I cook like I used to, eat pot roast for a few days, and then parcel up the rest in meal-size containers to freeze. Same things with big pots of soup. I love home-cooked meals without having to lift a finger.

  • 11 years ago

    Good topic... I am planning to cook ahead also, and have been collecting some recipes and web links. We'll only have limited cooking appliances like a crockpot and toaster oven, so I'm factoring that in. I'm also thinking about getting a single induction burner.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Make-Ahead Crockpot Meals

  • 11 years ago

    DIY2Much2Do, I was going to link to that same website. Have you cooked any of her recipes? I'm thinking of doing some prep ahead and freeze crockpot meals and using the crockpot liners to help minimize clean up.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Healthy freezer crockpot meals

  • 11 years ago

    I do batch cooking as well. And I'm gonna check out all the websites you've all listed for more tips. My problem is I suck at keeping a good inventory of what's in the freezer so things sometimes get lost and not eaten until they're so old I'm afraid they're no longer good. I really must get better at keeping track.

  • 11 years ago

    If I had a larger freezer where I could stock up on pre-made meals before a remodel, I would post a list on it of what I had prepared (by serving) and cross off as I used each.

    I didn't have that option but I think we managed very well with the Foreman grill, MW, toaster oven and slow cooker. In fact, I became so fond of the grill that I bought a larger one recently off facebook. People seem to not like or use them that much, there are always some for sale cheap.