Cooking for a Month--Take 1
I've attempted this a few times in the past without much success. THIS time, I'm committed to making it work. Two other friends also have this same commitment (I hope)! We planned twelve meals-- 3 per week. Some will yield leftovers and the other days we can fill in with the usual stuff. After prepping/cooking these meals we've decided that some just aren't worth it. We also want to get as healthy as possible and will try to work on that. Trying to please the picky eaters in all three families was also a challenge, but we are hoping that the meals will be tolerable for most people. I'm already excited to start planning next month.
Step #1 Plan Meals
This was harder than I thought because of food allergies and pickiness. You kinda get used to your own family and then adding the other families issues means a lot of stuff that gets cut out.
Step #2 Shop
With three large families and lots of babies, this kept getting put off. Plus, trying to shop cheap & healthy was a challenge. I ended up at 3 different food stores--Aldi, Costco, and LowesFoods. I think one of the other moms is a much better bargain shopper & she may have done better than me. But I had to shop on a Saturday with both twins (have you ever shopped with two babies?!?), so I feel pretty good that I did it at all!
Step #3 Prep
We did this in 2 days. I did a lot myself the first day because the twins took STELLAR naps and my other two were off with Dad. It was a fun afternoon. I did 4 meals that involved no cooking prep. Today one of the other moms joined me for the bulk of the prep. It was comical at times (we forgot a main ingredient twice), but overall it went well and was fun. The twins provided minimal disruptions and the older 2 were at school.
Step#4 Freeze
You may think you need a deep freeze to do this, but really you don't. Most meals freeze in gallon ziplock bags. 12 bags isn't that much.
Tips
*Write the directions directly on the ziploc. No recipes to lose. One mom may print these out on labels next time, but she's a little type-A and likes organization more than I do.
*Shop the sales. I didn't do this. Good grief, I barely got to the stores. But it would probably save a lot of money, especially on meat.
*Prep better. We were kinda chaotic in the kitchen and decided next time to do a few things differently--like prep all the chicken at once instead of one meal at a time
*Only do meals that need no cooking prep. For example, we'll nix meals that need to have ground beef cooked ahead of time. It was too much work. Crockpot and grilled meats are two great ones to use a lot.
You could do this, right? Seriously, you could! If our three massively busy, crazy families can do it, so can you. I'll try to post our successes and "don't do again" meals so we can remember what we like :-) Let me know if you want recipes for any of these...although you may want to see if we like them before you request the recipe.
Menu #1
Italian Crescent Pie (ground beef)
Meatloaf (ground beef)
Buttermilk Herbed Chicken
Stove Top Chicken Bake
BBQ Chicken
Chicken Fajita's
Carne Asada (beef)
French Dip Sandwiches (beef)
Ravioli Lasagna (sausage)
Pork Taco's
Cheddar Salsa Pork Chops
Quiche (veggie)
I'll try to add pictures later.
Step #1 Plan Meals
This was harder than I thought because of food allergies and pickiness. You kinda get used to your own family and then adding the other families issues means a lot of stuff that gets cut out.
Step #2 Shop
With three large families and lots of babies, this kept getting put off. Plus, trying to shop cheap & healthy was a challenge. I ended up at 3 different food stores--Aldi, Costco, and LowesFoods. I think one of the other moms is a much better bargain shopper & she may have done better than me. But I had to shop on a Saturday with both twins (have you ever shopped with two babies?!?), so I feel pretty good that I did it at all!
Step #3 Prep
We did this in 2 days. I did a lot myself the first day because the twins took STELLAR naps and my other two were off with Dad. It was a fun afternoon. I did 4 meals that involved no cooking prep. Today one of the other moms joined me for the bulk of the prep. It was comical at times (we forgot a main ingredient twice), but overall it went well and was fun. The twins provided minimal disruptions and the older 2 were at school.
Step#4 Freeze
You may think you need a deep freeze to do this, but really you don't. Most meals freeze in gallon ziplock bags. 12 bags isn't that much.
Tips
*Write the directions directly on the ziploc. No recipes to lose. One mom may print these out on labels next time, but she's a little type-A and likes organization more than I do.
*Shop the sales. I didn't do this. Good grief, I barely got to the stores. But it would probably save a lot of money, especially on meat.
*Prep better. We were kinda chaotic in the kitchen and decided next time to do a few things differently--like prep all the chicken at once instead of one meal at a time
*Only do meals that need no cooking prep. For example, we'll nix meals that need to have ground beef cooked ahead of time. It was too much work. Crockpot and grilled meats are two great ones to use a lot.
You could do this, right? Seriously, you could! If our three massively busy, crazy families can do it, so can you. I'll try to post our successes and "don't do again" meals so we can remember what we like :-) Let me know if you want recipes for any of these...although you may want to see if we like them before you request the recipe.
Menu #1
Italian Crescent Pie (ground beef)
Meatloaf (ground beef)
Buttermilk Herbed Chicken
Stove Top Chicken Bake
BBQ Chicken
Chicken Fajita's
Carne Asada (beef)
French Dip Sandwiches (beef)
Ravioli Lasagna (sausage)
Pork Taco's
Cheddar Salsa Pork Chops
Quiche (veggie)
I'll try to add pictures later.
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