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As one of the oldest children
in a family of nine, I know that cooking for a crowd can
almost be a full-time job. Once-a-month-cooking has been a
lifesaver for our family. In the beginning though, when we
first heard of cooking 30 meals in one day, it sounded
rather impossible. It was not until we had tried it,
though, that we found it is not only possible, but it can
even be quite simple and fun!
Blessings
If you are skeptical about
taking on what might seem like an overwhelming task to
you, let me first share some of the blessings which have
resulted for our family from once-a-month-cooking.
• It has saved us many
hours of trying to figure out what to have for dinner and
answered the infamous question, “What’s for dinner?”
• We have been more
readily able to show hospitality to other families when
the main dish is already made and in the freezer. (We
usually plan ahead for this by doubling or tripling seven
to ten of the recipes on cooking day to use as “company
meals.”) In like manner, it is much easier to being
meals to needy families when you have casseroles in the
freezer ready to be pulled out and heated at the drop of a
hat. (We also plan for this by preparing many of the
dishes in disposable pans.)
• It saves time (You only
have to do mountains of dishes one day a month, not every
day! You also don’t have to start dinner at 4:30 p.m. or
earlier everyday… just pull dinner out to thaw in the
morning.) and money (You can usually save quite a bit by
buying in bulk).
• We are brought closer
together as we spend a special day as a family cooking
these meals.
• This is an excellent
lesson in Home Economics for your children. Mom always has
the oldest girls plan the menu, grocery list, and strategy
for the cooking day. She often has us do the grocery
shopping, as well.
Planning
Proper planning is
essential for a successful cooking day. I usually start
planning at least a week in advance. First, pick which day
will be your cooking day. Clear your schedule that day.
You will want to focus your energies entirely on cooking.
Menu Planning: After you
have chosen your cooking day, begin menu planning. Go
through your cookbooks and find recipes suitable for
freezing. Strive for variety. My list usually includes:
one-dish dinners, meatloaf, meatballs, layered casseroles,
soups, chili, hamburgers, meatless dishes, and so on. Make
sure that you include a number of family favorites, in
addition to any new recipes you may be trying out. You do
not want to fill your freezer with meals your family
won’t find appetizing! When you write down your menu,
make sure and write down the cookbook and page number the
recipe came from. In addition, mark whether you are
planning to double or triple the recipe.
Make Your Grocery List:
Using your menu list, write down the quantities of
ingredients needed for each recipe. I like to categorize
like ingredients on five to seven different lists (meats,
vegetables, cheese, pasta, spices, etc.). Take these lists
and combine all like ingredients onto a final list. For
example, if there are fifteen recipes calling for one
pound of ground beef, you will write “15 pounds ground
beef” on your final grocery list.
After you have made your
final grocery list, make sure and check your cupboards to
see what you might already have on hand. You probably have
most of the seasonings. But be sure that if you need four
teaspoons of garlic powder, you actually have that much in
the jar. I have not checked thoroughly before, and it has
been real headache.
I have found it most
helpful to keep a separate “food preparation list”
along with my grocery list which states what is to be done
with the items which I need large quantities (Such as, if
one the items on your list is “20 pounds of chicken
breasts,” note beside that item how many cups need to be
cooked and diced, how many chicken breasts need to be
cooked and left whole, how many need to be left frozen,
etc.).
You will also want to make
sure you have plenty of freezer bags and foil on hand.
These will be essential on your cooking day.
Cooking Day Strategy: It is
wise to develop a basic cooking day strategy of what you
will do when. This does not need to be an exhaustive list,
but it will save you time and effort if you have planned
the basic order of what you will be cooking when. If you
are going to be working together as a family on cooking,
plan who is responsible for what tasks. Although everyone
will need to be flexible, it will definitely save hassle
to have most of the schedule worked out ahead of time.
Shopping: The day before
you begin cooking, do your grocery shopping. Make sure you
do not rush through this. Read your list thoroughly and
check to get the best deal.
Cooking
The sooner you can start in
the morning, the better. Begin by cooking the meats,
grating the cheese, chopping the onions, or whatever bulk
preparations your “food preparation list” says you
need to do. If you have planned to make soups, you should
start these early on, as they usually need to cook for
longer.
Cooking the meat is one of
the most time-consuming projects and you will probably
find you end up browning ground beef and boiling chicken
most of the day! As much as is possible, use all of the
burners on your stove at the same time.
Keep soapy water in the
sink at all times and take turns being on “dish duty.”
As soon as a dish is used, wash it. This will save you
from having an enormous mess at the end of the day. You
might also find it helpful to take a five-minute kitchen
cleaning break every hour or so to wipe down the counters
and put things away which you are no longer using.
Freezing
What do you do with the
completed dishes? Here are some guidelines for freezing:
• We always designate the
kitchen table as our “finished recipe” zone. We often
have someone who is specifically just working on labeling
things and taking them to the freezer from the kitchen
table.
• Proper labeling is a
key factor in making sure you know what you have in
freezer. Make sure you label the containers with the
recipe, the cookbook it came from, the page number, how
many it serves, and any additional instructions for the
dish. Also write out a list with all of the recipes you
make and freeze and how many they serve on the outside of
your freezer.
• Transfer soup to a big
bowl and cool for about an hour. You can either place the
soup in plastic freezer bags or plastic containers with
lids (32 oz. cottage cheese and yogurt containers work
well for this).
• Most other recipes can
be transferred to plastic freezer bags. Do not fill the
bags very full, as foods expand when frozen. Do not put
anything which is still hot into bags. You will likely
split the bag at the seams and have a gigantic mess to
deal with!
• Use smaller labeled
bags for cheese or anything else to be sprinkled on top
once the dish is cooked. Make sure you keep these in a
very accessible place in the freezer.
• If the recipe is
something like lasagna which cannot be frozen in a plastic
bag, freeze it in the size of pan the recipe calls for,
cover with foil, and label.
I wholeheartedly encourage
you to give once-a-month-cooking a try. If you are like
us, you will soon wonder how you ever lived without
cooking this way! You could also simplify this plan and
just cook for two weeks at a time to start.
For further information,
ideas, and recipes, I highly recommend you read
Once-A-Month-Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth
Lagerborg and Dinner’s in the Freezer by Jill Bond.
Happy Cooking!
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About
The Author
Crystal
Paine is a 23-year-old homeschool graduate
and the owner of Covenant Wedding Source,
LLC (an online retail bridal business).
She writes articles on a variety of topics
and recently authored her first booklet
for young women, The Merchant Maiden:
Earning an Income Without Compromising
Convictions. She lives with her husband in
Topeka, KS. They are expecting their fist
child in January. For more information on
her business and booklet, visit her
website: http://www.covenantweddingsource.com.
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