how many do once a month cooking?

[mama2James]

I found this website that seems to be very informative.....makes me want to try and do OAMC......we will see!


April 2010 OAMM Menu by Once A Month Mom | OAMC from Once A Month Mom

Just bookmarked this site! I can't thank you enough for posting it, it looks amazing and I think it will save my life since I am going back to work after my maternity leave next week. I work 12 hr shifts and don't get home until almost 8 pm, so my husband will really appreciate having meals that he just has to pop in the oven!

[MyMelody]

I did a lot of "OAMC thinking" over the weekend and came up with some ideas that might help other beginners:

-- try for a mix of Mexican, Italian, and "American" cuisine
-- I need to Google for Asian style recipes
-- vary the meat types
-- aim for 3 meals a week to allow for leftovers (just 2 of us)
-- use my kitchen tools (slow cookers, rice cooker, bread machine) to multitask, speed prep, and avoid heating the kitchen up
-- break tasks up over several days: make baking mixes and chop any veggies Friday night, cook 1/2 the entrees on Saturday, cook remaining 1/2 Sunday

Things I need to do to make this work:

-- eat from the freezer and pantry to make space
-- make a menu and comprehensive ingredient list, taking into account what I already have
-- write out a "game plan" for cooking day
-- go to Save-A-Lot for ingredients

[she who can not cook]

after reading everyone comments i have similar views

I do some elements, i double up in the oven when doing meals but i have found that some things are not worth it . I work out of the home and it is nice to come home to a ready meal ( crockpot ) and its nice just to have a ready meal from the freezer microwaved as well. SPACE is an issue so now instead of mince type meals bulk cooked i now just buy mince when its reduce to clear ( low code) and wrap it in a size suitable for us raw , a bit like a brown paper sausage . the night before i put it on a plate in the fridge still wrapped and let it defrost so when i get home i then add all the bits and brown for either cottage pie/ spagbol/ ect ect . On my day off i get my bread machine out and make finger rolls barm cakes and pizza's ( space here is an issue) so the pizzas i bag and freeze in single pizzas blobs and dont roll out as it were until i defrost and top them

[Paws]

I've found batch cooking works better for me...

I always keep cooked hamburger meat with onions, in the freezer, portioned out into 1/2 lb to 3/4 lb freezer bags.

Same for chicken. I roast either a whole one, or 8 or 9 bone in breasts...debone, cool, and freeze in separate freezer bags.

I've done this with meatballs...meatloaves...veggies...

When I'm planning to cook casseroles, soups, or lasagnas-I cook more than one, wrap, bag, and freeze.

These things come in very handy, but I'm not sure I'm quite ready for cooking a month's worth of meals in a single weekend...But the idea sounds great!

[Luckybustert]

It seems like most of the OAMC plans are for larger families. I need a OAMC plan that has me cooking for two.

[sunshine]

OAMC for singles and couples-- Ellen's Kitchen

[she who can not cook]

OAMC for singles and couples-- Ellen's Kitchen

this is in my saved LIBBies oamc cooking for singles and couples