A Month of Meals

While on vacation in Texas, I received some great feedback on my blog.  I really enjoyed hearing what you think about my topics and what your favorites have been. A few weeks ago,  I received an email from one of my readers who was inquiring exactly how I accomplished my “organized cooking phase” and how I incorporated the slow cooker into my routine.  Rather than responding only to her, I figured some of you might be interested in hearing more, too, so let me explain.

I’ve talked to many friends who have organized their own rendition of monthly cooking.  My favorite was a neighbor in Oklahoma.  They had 4 families in a “group”.  Each family was assigned a week – during their week the cooking family was responsible for cooking the main course for their family and the other 3.  They delivered the food everyday at  a certain time.  The non-cooking family prepared their own vegetables and sides and received a home-cooked meal 4 nights a week for 3 weeks.  However, with our family size, and the fact that we have moved around so much, I was never able to find 3 other families with whom we could collaborate.

Instead, I decided to record a list of meals our family liked well enough to eat on a regular basis.  The list I remember included:  tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, chicken tetrazzini, chicken enchiladas, hamburgers, pork chops (couldn’t leave those out, 18f!), and ham.  In addition, I listed vegetables and sides that would complement our meals.  I actually cooked the entrées and some of the vegetables in one cooking session.  At the end of one month, I would plan the grocery list for the upcoming month.

Here's how my system works: I spent 2 days (usually) preparing the main courses.  I would begin by boiling, enough chicken for the enchiladas and tetrazzini.  While it was cooking, I also browned enough ground beef to cover the tacos, spaghetti, and lasagna.  While all meats were on the stove, I made patties from ground round and froze them individually in freezer bags.  Once the beef had been cooked, I separated the taco meat and seasoned it accordingly.  I then added the spaghetti sauce (either canned, or what I had also cooked on the stove).  Now I was ready to divide the meat sauce for spaghetti and lasagna.  I cooked the spaghetti noodles while I assembled the lasagna.  Once the lasagna was ready, the spaghetti could be mixed and placed in a pan.  I used all of my casserole dishes and reused Sister Schubert’s round aluminum tins to hold all of my prepared dishes.

The enchiladas and tetrazzini were also made in tandem.  As the tetrazzini ingredients melded on the stove, I assembled the enchiladas.  Once it was all said and done, I would have a total of 4 to 6 pans of tetrazzini (my recipe makes a ton), 2 pans of lasagna (8x8), 2 Sister-sized pans of spaghetti, hamburgers, 2 batches of taco meat, and 3 pans of enchiladas.  Once it was all done, I had at least 17 day’s worth of food for us to eat (and share when someone needed dinner due to a  new baby).  We still had sandwiches and grilled various meals, so really, I had more than enough to cover a month or two!   Looking back on those days, the task seems daunting, but it didn’t take too long.  After all, I had 3 kids 5 and under plus a newborn!  The hardest part was planning it all and being disciplined enough to spend that much continuous time in the kitchen.

I get tired of food on a regular basis, so I can’t serve something more than once in a week.  If we have left-overs, I will reheat and serve it, but I try to make the portions small enough that we don’t have to eat it more than twice in a week.

This plan really cuts out excess grocery trips during the week.  I found that I could go once a week to replenish milk, bread, and produce, thus reducing the excess that I pick up when I am there everyday!