Comments on: A Primer On Once A Month Cooking

By: DaKine

DaKine — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:01:28 +0000

I agree with Frozen Assets by Debbi Taylor-Hough. She has the blog, but it is also a book you can check out of the library with info on freezer cooking once a month, twice a month and for singles.

By: Gregg

Gregg — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:00:35 +0000

Margo,

I read your comment about freezing fish. When I was in Louisiana many years ago, the locals put their fish filets and shrimp in either a zip lock bag (or small 8 ounce milk carton) and filled them with water, so the fish was completely covered.

I tried this with amberjack, and it stayed fresh for years.

To remove the fish taste/smell, squeeze a lemon in a small bowl, and rinse the fish, then pass it through the lemon juice before seasoning. I then found a good season salt mix and cayenne pepper removed the taste and smell.

Gregg

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 01:10:19 +0000

The best book I have found for once-a-month cooking is “The Freezer Cooking Manual” at http://www.30daygourmet.com. The book includes simple recipes along with calculations for multiple servings. They also provide worksheets, shopping lists, nutrition information, and advice about how to prepare your big shopping day…or to do smaller sessions if you can’t devote an entire day to cooking (like me.)

By: cyndi

cyndi — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:14:54 +0000

I also read the article on once a month cooking and the book I saw mentioned was Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Lagerborg I got it for under $10 on the Jessica’s Biscut website & it’s loaded with wonderful recipes(NO VELVEETA CHEESE) – It also provides you with recipes for side dishes to be made with each main meal. Totally worth checking out.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:37:30 +0000

I agree with savingdinner.com. It helped us save money, find interesting recepies, and streamline the cooking process (we also used the weight loss one, and we did lose weight).

And if you want to do the freezer food, she has menus for $3 that rely on one main ingredient (say chicken) and make 5 freezer recepies, or there are larger ones for $9 that make a month’s worth of recepies for the freezer. I’ve used some when I know something is coming and I’ll be unable to cook. All have been very tasty.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:32:35 +0000

We use a vacuum-sealer – the Food Saver

Though we use it to package/repackage foods for the chest freezer, not to store individual meals.

By: reulte

reulte — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:58:09 +0000

margo
I used to have one of the vacuum-seal thingies. It did work ok, but it was simply something else to do along with cooking and it crowded the counter space. It was one of the older (1970’s model) ones. I’m sure the newer ones are more compact. I just use freezer bags – sucking out excess air with a straw for a ‘vacuum’ seal — and reusable cartons. One secret with fish is to freeze it with a little milk then let it thaw with a bit more milk to take away some of the freezer taste. Of course, that is before cooking. After cooking, I just haven’t found a way to freeze fish well and just use the fish with a strong sauce or make a ‘tuna’ salad spread with it for next day’s lunch.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:42:27 +0000

I should probably get into this more when I have some freezer space as I can’t stand washing up.

Having only a fridge at the moment, the only way to cook and eat multiple portions is to eat the same thing two or more days running. I live to eat, so that is not fun.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:28:12 +0000

My problem with once-a-month cooking is that I think a lot of dishes don’t taste right after being frozen (or the texture gets funny). That said, I’m always looking for ways to reduce time spent in the kitchen. Robin Miller’s recipes (from the Food Network) are great.

Also, another once-a-month cooking resource is Debi Taylor Hough’s Frozen Assets: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/cooking/freezer-cooking/

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:58:54 +0000

By trial and error, I’ve found that making a weeks worth of food works pretty good for me. Making any more than that and I get “bored” eating the same combinations and then tend to ignore food in the fridge. Usually half a day on the weekend is spent on cooking for the week. What I end up doing is cooking up a huge batch of a couple of main dishes and smaller quantities (2 or 3 days worth) of side dishes. So we have to cook a couple of side dishes towards the middle of the week, which is not that time consuming. There is also a lot of variety this way, which is important for us.

By: Brip Blap

Brip Blap — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:54:20 +0000

The general principle is to fix multiple servings at once. I don’t have the patience to cook multiple servings of multiple dishes in one day, and certainly don’t have the freezer space unless I invest in a freezer unit for the garage. But no-one should cook a single serving dinner – even if you’re single you should cook enough for 3 at once. Just don’t eat it all at once!

By: kazari

kazari — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:23:20 +0000

If you are after some great OAMC recipes, try http://savingdinner.com/
I definitely recommend them – and there’s no ‘convenience food in them’. You buy a mega-mailer, and it has 20 meals for 4 – a shopping list, and prep instructions. I like it because there’s a vegetarian version, a low-carb, and a heart-healthy one. Sorry for the shameless plug, but I’ve found it incredibly useful.

By: Grayson De Ritis

Grayson De Ritis — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 21:21:06 +0000

Elaine, I didn’t mean it in the sense of making larges meals every night :-) Just meant that prep time is reduced dramatically for me when I prepare a lot of meals at once and freeze them. Very bachelor-esque; works so well for me though.

By: Jess

Jess — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:31:39 +0000

I usually make double or triple batches of our favorite meals. I keep the reheating instructions for whatever is in the freezer taped inside the cabinet to the left of the fridge so my husband can pop something in the oven if he gets home first. I like it because, even though I love to cook, after a full day of work, I don’t always want to. And, I know everything that goes into my recipes – and you only get everything dirty once!

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:23:49 +0000

Who says I cook every morning and night? Fresh fruits and veggies don’t need to be cooked, or if they do, a quick steaming for 5-10 minutes is all you need. A lot of things are only in season for a short time, so I take advantage of it as much as possible.

By: margo

margo — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:07:36 +0000

I am one girl, living alone 50% of the time (my boyfriend travels extensively for his job). When I cook something, I better be prepared to eat it 4 – 6 times over the next couple days, or I’ve wasted a lot of time and food.

I’ve tried freezing things before, and found that alot of times I end up with badly freezer-burned or very icy meals that just aren’t very appealing. I do freeze, for example, 3 out of a package of 4 chicken breasts from time to time with good results. But, with fish (for example), high-quality but purchased for much less than normal at our local farmer’s market, I tend to not get good results.

I have a keen sense of smell and I don’t like to reheat fish even 24 hours later.

Lately I’ve considered buying one of those appliances that vacuum-seals food for you, and possibly doing more of the freezing individual portions of meat and fish. This would enable me to defrost one serving at a time, and cook up simple recipes with a single portion of frozen veggies and maybe some quick-rice in the evenings.

Does anyone have one of those vacuum-seal appliances? Do you recommend?

By: Allura

Allura — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:00:12 +0000

A variation on this that provides recipes & shopping list is the “Freezer Menu Mailers” at http://www.savingdinner.com (no affiliation). The whole thing is a bit overwhelming for me, but I’m thinking of giving the 5 beef/chicken/etc ones a shot. These you do all the prep work ahead, but you don’t cook it till that day.

By: Michele@Philoxenos

Michele@Philoxenos — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:58:46 +0000

I agree with your opinion on the book. I got it out from the library a few years ago and was sorely disappointed. I made a few of the recipes and they were bland and not at all exciting. It’s much better to focus on making things like sauces, which are what take the most time in a meal. Also, meatloaf is a great thing to freeze. I don’t do pasta as much because I just don’t like how it reheats.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:53:00 +0000

I second the request for your tuna casserole recipe. Do you bake then freeze or freeze before it’s baked? After it’s frozen, how do you heat it up again?

By: Grayson De Ritis

Grayson De Ritis — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:51:50 +0000

Elaine, I wish I had the time to cook every morning and night :-) I love taking advantage of fresh produce and meat, but being that I’m a bachelor, this is far from ridiculous and saves me a lot of time and money compared to my other option of eating out :-)