For anyone who doesn't know already, I've been working on a program to make my once a month cooking a little easier. Right now, I'm doing it in MS Access but that's just because I don't know any programming - Ryan says once I get the functionality I want he will help me convert it into a web app. Eventually I want it to have TONS of functionality but for now, here's what i want to get working:
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Today's task: Cook enough food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for Ryan and I for the next 5 weeks. Here's the recipes i chose:
Breakfast: Banana Bread Muffins, Breakfast Burritos Lunch: Chili, Buffalo Chicken Casserole (new recipe) Dinner: Quiche, Pop-up Pizza Pie, Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Stovetop Sausage Mac N Cheese, Seafood Casserole, Italian Meatball Burgers, Meatball Sub Casserole, Chicken Risotto, Apple Meatloaf, Spaghetti Pie (new recipe) & Tuna Noodle Casserole Other: Dog Treats for Willow :) I decided what order to cook the recipes in based on what meats was in them and also trying to order them so that I wouldn't have multiple recipes that need to go in the oven at the same time. Then i just started cooking and kept going until everything was made. It took quite a while this time (about 11hrs) but I cooked for 5 weeks instead of 4 and Ryan was only helping for part of the day (the rest of the time i was on my own). Here's a few pics of what I made: About a year ago, I started doing Freezer cooking or "Once a Month Cooking". There are many different styles and ways to do freezer cooking but mine is based mostly on www.onceamonthmom.com. This site has lots of great recipes but even more amazing is the amount of planning. If you have never done freezer cooking and want to try it, this is a great way to get started. Each month, she puts out a menu (several now, a regular menu, diet menu, etc) and includes printable recipe cards, labels, cooking instructions and a grocery list. Everything you need to get started.
I followed the instructions on that site to start generating monthly cooking menus based entirely on my menus. Each month, I determine how many days I want to cook for, how many servings I need and then how many recipes I will cook. Usually for a 4 week period, for just Ryan and I, I will make 10 recipes. I make enough of each recipe to fill (4) 8"x8" pans (check out Glad Ovenware), it's awesome. One of those pans is usually enough food for both of us to have dinner and have leftovers for lunch the next day. I also make 2 breakfast recipes. We usually are able to eat at home around 5-6 nights per week for dinner and around 4-5 days per week for lunch (and everyday for breakfast). Tomorrow is another big cooking day for us (Ryan is helping this time). But I won't be able to cook again in four weeks, I won't be able to cook for 5 weeks. So my cooking list and grocery list were a bit bigger. And on the downside...we hit $300 for the groceries, yikes! But it still comes out to only about $3-$4 per person per meal. And it keeps us from eating out. My favorite part of once a month cooking (OAMC) is that when I am driving home from work (I have a 45 min commute) Ryan can heat up dinner and it's ready when I get home. Plus, after we eat, there are almost no dishes - just our two plates and the pan we cooked the food in. I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow and let you know how it went :) Wish me luck!! |