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Two crock pots, two large chickens each. A half pound of whole mushrooms in each, add a cup of sherry.
Cook on “high” for eight hours.
One large skillet. Very large. Six pounds of ground round, 2 cups of onion. Cook until browned, drain, bag and let cool.
One ten pound center-cut pork loin. A bit of greek seasoning. Place in a large foil covered pan, roast for 2 1/2 hours. Let cool.
Chicken breasts, thinly sliced and marinated in teriyaki. Pork loin, thinly sliced and marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs. Round steak, cut into strips and marinated in red wine, olive oil, rosemary and thyme.
Meatballs, pulled pork, shredded and chopped chicken. Marinated pork, beef and chicken packaged for individual meals. Chicken broth with mushrooms and sherry. Waffles ready for the toaster with bags of frozen blueberries and homemade blueberry syrup. Eggs McMom. Spaghetti sauce and soup bases.
What appears to be an extremely bizarre menu is in fact my rather modified approach to the phenomenon known as Once A Month Cooking.
My days are getting increasingly busy. Daily visits to the rehabilitation facility where my Grandmother is receiving treatment is eating into what little spare time I have. Top that off with the approach of the new school year and an additional student (I’ll be teaching six this year) and it’s easy to see that I need to streamline my approach to mealtimes.
I’m no stranger to OAMC. In my early homeschooling days it was one of the best ways for a mom who was teaching, nursing and/or pregnant to provide creative and nutritious meals without the constant shopping, planning and prepping that is necessary to feed a large family. I never really managed to prepare an entire month’s meals – I didn’t have a freezer and most often wasn’t able to afford all the provisions to stock the larder. So I improvised. A couple weeks of dinners, breakfast casseroles and sandwiches, soups and breads and I was a happier and much more efficient mommy.
And then I quit. I have no idea why…I just seemed to slip into writing the occasional menu, planning my grocery list according to this or that week’s whim. I do enjoy spontaneity, but it only works if you have the time and I don’t.
So…I hit the computer, opened up a few tabs and pulled every online grocery ad for my local stores. I quickly compared prices, noting the best buys and making sure all stores were within close proximity of one another. I decided to start with the main course and determined that to feed this family of nine for 30 days, we would need approximately 70 to 80 lbs. of meat. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s less than 3 lbs. per day and allows for days of abstinence.
How did my comparison shopping fare? Amazingly!! By searching out the best prices, I was able to locate the best and leanest meats and spent an average of $1.60 per pound. The total cost? @ $120.00 (we ended up buying a bit more…sandwich meat and cheese at a local farmer’s market).
I spent the entire afternoon cooking, slicing, labeling and bagging. It feels really good to know that I’ve saved a tremendous amount of time and money and just need to round out the evening’s meals with fresh veggies from the garden, homemade bread and fresh fruit.
The freezer is stocked with a month of main courses, as well as several options for breakfast and lunch. It was well worth the effort – a month of mealtime freedom purchased with a couple days labor. Buying in bulk saves time and money. This month’s grocery expenditure will be at least half of last month’s and that is a blessing!
Looking for ways to save money? CouponMom has a lot of great ideas and is also an excellent resource for the discounts and coupons. Frugal Mom and Mommy Savers also have quite a few suggestions to help stretch a dollar.
Well…off to pack a little picnic for this evening’s Shakespeare In The Park. Measure for Measure…I can’t wait!
You are AMAZING! How do you handle the dozens of interruptions that must occur with many children when you are up to your elbows in food? I love the idea of doing this kind of thing, but I have enough difficulty just getting dinner done most days. Do you send the kids to grandma for the day? That’s an option I don’t have, so I need to figure something out.
I know that menu planning is the weak link in my organization skills. If I had dinner already half made in the freezer and menus planned out in advance, I’d have more time to keep up with other chores.
A 30-day plan is super, but I’d be thrilled with 3, or even 2 weeks in advance.
Once again: you are amazing!
Nadja:
You’re too kind…I’d hardly call it amazing that my children don’t want to be in the hot, steamy kitchen where mom is sure to put them to work! Truly, I do believe it makes a difference that my house is not air conditioned and the kitchen is the last place that anyone wants to be when mom is using multiple heat sources. Dad was also a tremendous help. He’s rather intrigued by the whole process and was more than happy to slice meat and label bags.
It’s not as intimidating as it seems. Start out simple. Try two weeks at a time and stick to preparing main courses. Two baked chickens can equal a pot of soup, a chicken casserole and chicken salad for sandwiches. This is the quick way to start. The most important factor for our family is affordability. Buying in bulk, adjusting our menu to what’s on sale and then preparing it is the only way we can afford to stock up. Every little bit helps. If you can’t make the main courses, then start slicing and freezing veggies that you normally use for cooking. Keeping bags of chopped and frozen onions and peppers are definite timesavers. Making twice as many pancakes and freezing the remainder is helpful as well. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
May God bless you in all your efforts as you lovingly serve your family!
Yes, I do some of these things already, slicing onions and peppers, or cooking up batches of ground beef with peppers and onions. We are only buying chicken and fish these days, as we have our own beef and pork. I am a beginning gardener and I stink at anything other than tomatoes and herbs, but I sure hope that changes with experience, as we hope to be moving to a larger property (27 acres) in the next 2-3 years. I also will be canning for the first time, hopefully this week. And trying my hand at cheese making next month when our cow freshens.
Where do you live that you can breath in the summer without air conditioning? We are in TN, and I’ll suffer it to get up to 85 degrees in the house with the ceiling fans on, but then I need the AC!