Tag Archives: Once a Month Cooking

Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning Advice (1)

Remember that this is just how I did it, and not how it has to be done. I am just showing you one way to ensure you always have a great variety of meals. One of the things I did at the start of freezer cooking, and have worked hard to try and maintain throughout the years, is to spend a little extra time every couple of months or so, preparing meals. Here’s why. At the start, I had decided that I did not want to spend one freezer cooking session creating several totally different kinds of foods, I’d rather … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning (2)

Meal Planning is an important step in the freezer cooking process. Knowing what you are going to make, and when you are going to make it, is imperative in being able to successfully enjoy your new way of cooking. Another thing to consider, is how long a meal will take to prepare the evening that you plan to make it. On Wednesday night, my two oldest children go to church youth group, and because of what time I have to get them there, I have to make dinner a bit earlier than I normally do. This can affect what I … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: Meal Planning (1)

After you have chosen the recipes you wish to make for the month, comes the meal planning process. It is actually fairly simple to accomplish. However, you might want to grab a calendar with upcoming events written on it (so you know what is happening each night), to complete this process, as well as grabbing a blank calendar page or piece of blank paper. This is what to do. I usually have our school schedule, my calendar and a list of activities that commonly happen throughout the week. I also have a pencil and blank calendar page. My recipes that … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: Choosing Your Recipes

The first step to actually beginning the process of a freezer cooking session, is choosing the recipes. You can choose as many, or as few as you’d like, but try to stick with things your family likes, or that you can purchase multiple items for. For instance, three recipes that might call for sour cream, etc. A good number is ten or fifteen recipes. Remember you can choose different recipes the next time you do a freezer cooking session. Keep in mind, that if you choose ten different recipes, and you plan to cook for a month, those ten recipes … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: What I Love Best (2)

As I explained in the other article, there are many different reasons that I love freezer cooking, but there are a few reasons that I really love it and a few ways it has changed me and my family. I already explained a few, but here are a few more. Open Door Policy The other thing I really love about freezer cooking, is that if you have a last minute dinner guest, or you wish to have friends stay for dinner, you have meals all ready to go. Just grab them from the freezer and prepare as directed. You always … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: What I Love Best (1)

While there are many different reasons that I love freezer cooking, and why it is the perfect option for me and my family, there are a few reasons that I really love it. It would be silly not to mention the ease of doing it, the time it saves and the amount of money it saves, but I can do better than that. No More Nightly Ties To The Kitchen That was probably my primary reason originally to begin freezer cooking. I wanted to avoid standing in my kitchen, trying to decide what’s for dinner, and then having to spend … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: What Are The Best Storage Options?

Storage is an important process in freezer cooking. Before ever starting a freezer cooking session, you will need to be sure you have enough baggies, containers, glass pans and aluminum pans to complete your entire cooking process. Nothing is worse than when you finish assembling everything, only to find out you have no way to store it. There are several methods for storage: Plastic Baggies: These are great for gravies, meat, sauces, pasta, and other items. They are easy to write on with a permanent marker and they take up the least amount of room. For best results, be sure … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: What If I Ruin It (2)

As I mentioned in the previous article, many first-time freezer cookers are worried that they will make a mistake or ruin a meal. There are several questions I have been asked, and I’d like to answer them for everyone. What if I want to try a new dish and I am not sure about how it will freeze or turn out when I am ready to serve it? I have an easy answer for that actually. Something I do often. Prepare the meal for your family one night. Take out a small portion and freeze it. Wait about a week … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: What If I Ruin It (1)

Everyone who is just starting out with freezer cooking has lots of questions. Going into something, you might not know what will work and what won’t work. Many first-timers worry about ruining their meals. I will not lie to you, it can happen. However, there are some preventative measures you can take to ensure that you don’t waste a meal and have it turn out bad or worse yet, not turn out at all. The first thing there is to learn is that mistakes do happen. Even after you’ve been doing it a long time. I once made this delicious … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking: My Freezer Is Too Small

A common complaint about the frugal minded person interested in freezer cooking, often seems to be “My freezer is too small”. And that can be quite a problem if you plan to cook an entire month at one time. However, it can be done, and I will explain that in just a minute. You can do your cooking in mini-sessions instead if you store other items in your freezer (Popsicles, ice cream, sale items). Cooking enough for one week can still be a huge time saver and money saver! In order to save more room in your freezer, whichever method … Continue reading →