Once a Month Cooking...August

Sorry I haven't posted this sooner but with the start of school I have been preoccupied!

I decided to give Once a Month Cooking another try.  I had a few issues with last month's recipes and how much money I spent on food, plus the amount of food I wasted.

So this time I read all the recipes first.  I got them here.  From that list I decided to make Roasted Tomato Bisque, Dijon Baked Chicken, Crockpot Mongolian Beef, Spinach Stuffed Chicken, BBQ Meatballs, Orange Teriyaki Pork, and Chicken Cacciatore, plus I had some left over pork chops so I made an addition Pork marinade.  The other recipes just didn't appeal to me this month, so I skipped them and made these to 6 servings.
I decided this time to do my shopping at Sam's to save money on certain bulk items.  From there I purchased a large pack of chicken breasts (containing 6 VERY large breast, that I portioned out for 6 meals), a large pack of THICK pork chops (enough for 4 meals), a package of Flank Steak (which had 3 HUGE steaks, enough for 2 meals plus I cut up the last one for breakfast...steak and eggs!), about 6-7lbs ground chuck (enough for 2 meat loaves AND I portioned the rest into 4 ground beef servings to cook later), and 2 roasting chicken that were on sale...Add in most of the produce, eggs, milk, and diapers, etc and I spent $250. I did have to go to Winn Dixie for a few things I didn't need in bulk, but I only spent a little over $50.  So strictly counting the food for these recipes I spent about $225.

  Altogether, this yielded me 14 meals, plus 4 servings of ground beef left and 2 whole chickens!  Minus the soup, because I only cooked half, which was still a HUGE pot and between my husband, my oldest son and I we ate a whole pot of it in less than a week.   That figures to about $16 a meal or $4 a person...and it really is a bit less because of the soup!

I thought it went really well, and I really liked the recipes I chose.  In the next few days I will go through each recipe!

Once a Month Mom....My thoughts

I started this experiment because I was in a cooking funk and needed to get my butt in gear.  I am the kind of person who loves projects, and to follow a set of directions...so I thought, "Why the hell not?!".

I spent over $400 on groceries.  What I got from that was 4 meals worth of Mom's Pasta E Fagioli, one meal of Buffalo Burger Quesadillas, one meal of Baked Bean Chicken(Pork), 2 meals of Aloha Pork Chops, 2 meals of Aunt Sissy's Poppy seed Chicken, 2 meals of Chicken(steak) Alfredo Pierogie, 2 meals of Roasted Veggie Lasagna, one meal of Asian Steak Kabobs, one meal of Turkey Verde Enchiladas(I haven't made this yet), 2-3 meals of Chicken Spinach Flautas, 2 dozen Blueberry Oatmeal pancakes, 12 Make Ahead Melts(to be honest I don't think anyone is going to eat these), and 6 Tutti Fruitti cups.  I have the supplies to make the corndogs, but we still have store bought ones in the freezer....It will make at least 16 corndogs, which is about 8 snacks for the kids.  There is a chicken salad recipe as well, but to be honest it didn't look too appealing to me, so I am opting out of that one.

So that's approx 19 dinners, and not counting the melts and TF cups about 4 breakfasts, and about 14 snacks (corndogs and TF cups).   Considering I spent about $420, that's comes down to $12 a meal/$3 a serving.

There was some waste.  I over bought pork chops, and had some veggies go bad before I could cook them.  This was poor planning on my part, and now I have a better idea on how to prep better next month.

My thoughts...

Overall I think this works for my family.  I liked getting a list and following the directions.  Next month I will take a few hours to read every recipe first and tweak to our tastes, BEFORE shopping.  Next month I think I will also try to get my meat from Sam's.

This was a fun project for me, and I am willing to give August a try...after I clear out my freezer again!  As soon as I make the enchiladas and corndogs I will post about them...

Once a Month...cooking part 4

This part continues my experiment into once a month cooking...

So far I had 3-4 hours shopping, a day of prep, and cooking on Monday and Tuesday!  I pick this back up on Wednesday.  First up Baked Bean Chicken***  I made it with pork instead.

5lbs boneless chicken breasts I used about 3lbs boneless pork chops instead 
20oz tomato sauce
2 cans red kidney beans
4 cans pinto beans
2 cans black beans
2.5c chopped onions
2.5c brown sugar should have been about 1c less
1 1/4c vinegar
5T Worcestershire sauce
2.5T mustard powder I doubled this
2.5T minced garlic should have been more
1 1/4t Tabasco sauce
2.5t pepper

Place all ingredients in the crock-pot and cook for 4-6 hours on high. 

To be honest, this recipe had some flaws.  The sauce was very thin and VERY SWEET!  I love a sweet BBQ sauce, but this was sickly sweet!  I had to double the mustard powder, and it needed more garlic as well.  I did sub in pork chops, because frankly pork chops were on sale and chicken was not...Once I thickened the sauce, and added much needed spices, it was really good.  My husband's only request was that it have more meat.

Next is Buffalo Burger Quesadilla

2.5lbs ground beef
2/3c buffalo sauce
2/3c BBQ sauce
2.5c monterry jack cheese shredded
20 large whole wheat tortillas



Mix ground beef with sauces.

Form patties and fry in a sauce pan.  WAY TOO MUCH SAUCE TO FORM A FREAKING PATTY!!!!

What a freaking mess!  So I fired it up as a loose meat, think sloppy joes.  Once the meat was cooked and cooled, I froze it.  When I am ready to have this meal, I will thaw the meat and sprinkle on a tortilla, top with cheese, and top with another tortilla...and cook like a quesadilla.

The next recipe Aloha Pork chops is more of a prep/marinade/freeze instructions, then thaw and cook on the day of serving.

10lbs boneless pork chops I used closer to 6lbs
2.5T lemon pepper
2.5t olive oil
2.5c sweet and sour sauce
50oz pineapple chunks, drained
2c green bell peppers, sliced
2c red onion wedged
6 quart size Ziploc bags
2 gal size Ziploc bags

In two qt bags, divide pork chops, olive oil, and lemon pepper.  try to squeeze out all of the air and seal up bags.  In the next two qt bags, divide onion and bell peppers, seal.  In the last two qt bags divide the pineapple and sweet and sour sauce, seal.  In each gallon bag place one of each qt bag and seal and freeze.  To cook, fry chops until just done, then add veggies for 2 minutes, then finish with sauce.

Haven't cooked this one yet, but it is prepped in my freezer ready to go...very colorful! 

While I prepped that one, I went ahead and prepped Asian Steak Kabobs

3.75lbs sirloin steak cubed I used what was on sale, flank steak
9c yellow bell peppers quartered, then cut into chunks
2.5c red onion wedged
3c Vidalia onion wedged
1pt cherry tomatoes
4c zucchini sliced in chunks
2.5c pineapple chunks next time I will not include this
10t ginger powder
10t garlic powder
 7.5t sesame oil
15t soy sauce
bamboo skewers

In a bowl, mix together seasonings, oil, and soy sauce.  next time I will add some of the drained pineapple juice to make it slightly sweeter, plus it needed something hot to kick it up a bit.
To marinate, place cubed steak in a qt ziploc bag and cover with half of sauce.  In a gal size ziploc bag combine all the veggies and fruit and remaining sauce.  Marinate overnight.

When ready to prepare, soak skewers in water and make kabobs.  Grill.

The pineapple got a funky taste from the sauce, but other than that, these were supper yummy.  My husband and K loved these!

One more for today, Chicken Alfredo Pierogie Casserole

1lb of potato pierogies for my local peeps, this was in the freezer section at Winn Dixie
2c chicken cubed I opted for steak, because it was cheaper than chicken
2c frozen peas
2 jars of Alfredo sauce I used a mushroom Alfredo sauce

I cut the steak into strips, and pan fried them.  In 2 8x8 disposable baking pans I divided the pierogies, the peas, and the steak.  Cover with sauce.  I HATE Alfredo sauce strait from the jar, so I jazzed mine up first by adding Parmesan cheese, seasonings, and a little milk to thin it. Cover and bake for 45 minutes until pierogies are heated through.

This was really yummy.  The pierogies were an interesting alternative to pasta.  My husband loved that I made this with steak instead of chicken.

My final thoughts in the next post!

Once a Month...Cooking part 3

Sorry for the long time between the OAMM posts, but stuff came up, we went out this weekend, and then I wanted to post about something else.

So up to this point, mid Tuesday, I have completed 4/15 recipes.  The next recipe to make is the Chicken and Spinach Flautas.

5c boneless chicken breast, cooked I cooked this on prep day, in the slow cooker, I used about 2lbs
40oz beer I used 2-3 12oz bottles of Michelob Ultra
5c water
2.5t paprika
2.5t kosher salt
2.5t garlic powder
2.5t cumin
2.5t chili powder
2.5t chopped jalapeno
1 1/4c chopped onion
1 1/4c chopped red bell pepper
5c baby spinach chopped
13 large flour tortillas, cut in half
16oz shredded cheese, Mexican blend

Pre-heat oven to 450.  Place cooked chicken in a sauce pan and cover with water and beer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain chicken, reserving about a cup of the liquid.  Shred the chicken and place in gallon size ziploc bag, add seasonings, seal bag and coat chicken.

Place reserved liquid, and veggies back in pan and saute until cooked.  I thought it needed much more spinach...

 Mix chicken into veggies. Add a small amount of filling on tortilla, top with a sprinkle of cheese.  Roll filling length-wise into tortillas, starting on the flat side and place seam side down on a lined cookie sheet. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 450, flip Flautas, and bake another 10 minutes until crispy. 


I filled 24 half tortillas and had filling left over.  I I thought the filling needed more spinach, but overall this is a tasty recipe!

Next up is Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

5 med red bell peppers halved I used 3 green and 2 red, as green are cheaper, and I sliced them in thick slices
11c sliced yellow squash  I used about 5 med 
1 1/2c chopped onion
5t chopped garlic
2.5c cottage cheese
1 3/4c shredded cheese Italian blend
1.25t Italian seasonings
3 3/4T flour
1 3/4c milk
1.25t Italian seasonings #2
1 box lasagna noodles uncooked
2/3c shredded cheese Italian blend
2.5c spinach-I did not include this in my recipe

On prep day I roasted the bell peppers on the broil setting in my oven for 20 minutes and froze them until I was ready to use them.  Same with the squash and onions.  In a medium bowl combine cottage cheese, shredded cheese and Italian seasonings.  Put to the side.  In a sauce pan combine flour and milk and cook until thick, add seasonings and pour into a bowl to cool.  I had to double this to have enough sauce for the amount of lasagna this recipe made.

In two 8x8 disposable baking pans I layered the dry noodles, roasted veggies, cheese mixture, and sauce.

I got about 3 layers, stopping with noodles and sauce, then top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I froze these lasagnas, so I don't know how they taste yet, but they smelled really good!

 
One more for tonight!  Aunt Sissy's Poppy Seed Chicken

5c cooked boneless chicken breast I used about 3lbs, slow cooked on prep day.
2 cans cream of chicken soup I used one cream of mushroom and one cream of chicken
2/3c chicken broth I used a bit more for a thin consistency
2/3c sour cream
2 sleeves of Ritz crackers
1 1/4T poppy seeds Winn Dixie didn't have poppy seeds so I left this out
1 box of ziti uncooked-I added this

Combine soup, broth, and sour cream in a bowl.  Season to taste.  In 2 8x8 disposable baking pans, I divided a box of uncooked ziti between the two.  I then added the cooked chicken, and poured sauce on top.  

 In a large Ziploc bag, crumble Ritz crackers and add 4T melted butter.  Sprinkle mixture on top of chicken pasta mixture.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350.

Again, I haven't served this yet, but I did taste the sauce before cooking and it needed lots of seasoning!



 

Once a Month...Cooking part 2

So now it's Tuesday, and my OAMC project id now on day 4.

I am following the instructions and next on the list is Make-Ahead Muffin Melts.  The recipe I just linked is NOT the recipe on the Google doc for printing.  I did not know this.  The one I made called for sausage instead of bacon...bacon would have been MUCH better!

So the recipe I had...

20 hard boiled eggs, peeled I did this on my prep day
3 1/3c grated cheddar cheese I grated a blend of sharp and NY sharp
1 2/3 lbs of breakfast sausage
1 2/3c mayo
2t Dijon mustard
1t garlic powder
2t Mrs Dash
5t Worcestershire sauce
12 English muffins split

Chop boiled eggs, mix with cooked sausage and rest of ingredients.  Spread over English muffin, and Broil for 15 minutes.  Once they cool, wrap individually in saran wrap, and place in a Ziploc to freeze...to reheat place in microwave for 1-2 minutes. I thought that made them soggy and chewy, so I recommend using a toaster over or regular oven to reheat!!!

I am very torn on this recipe.  I looked at the original, the one I did not see before hand, and that one looks much yummier than mine.  This was like egg salad on a toasted EM...kind of a weird texture.  If I make these again, I will definitely use bacon, and reserve the cheese for topping, instead of mixing it in.


 Next on the instructions list is Parmesan No-Fry Corndogs.  I decided not to make them yet, because I already have store bought corndogs in the freezer, so it doesn't make sense right now.  Next on the list is Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes.

5c oatmeal, soaking in 5c buttermilk overnight
5 eggs
5T vegetable oil
1 1/4c whole wheat flour
2/3c sugar
2 1/2t baking powder
2 1/2t baking soda
1 1/4t salt
1 1/4t vanilla
2 1/2c blueberries

This recipe just said to mix everything together except blueberries, then fold blueberries in gently.   However, when ever you make pancake, you should mix wet ingredients in one bowl, and dry in another...then mix the dry into the wet, then fold in blueberries.  I used 1/4c batter for each pancake, on a hot griddle.  These pancakes took a while to cook because of the oatmeal and blueberries.

The only thing I would have added to the recipe was a little but more vanilla, and a splash of milk, as the batter was to dry.  Once I made all the pancakes I flash froze them...then stored in Ziploc bags, placing wax paper in between the layers of pancakes.  To reheat I place pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees until warm. 


These pancakes are SO GOOD!!!  My middle son won't eat them because he can see the blueberries, but the other two boys love them!

I need to take a break take care of my kids, but this will continue in part 3!

Once a Month...Cooking part 1

Monday night, I feel sick.  In fact I cancelled my class, which I try not ever to do.  I get home and figure I may as well start the first recipe, because it's a crock-pot recipe, so it won't take too long right?

Per the instructions I started with Mom's Pasta E Fagioli...which I still have no FREAKING idea how to pronounce...

 The recipe for 5 servings is as follows:

5lbs browned ground beef I used 3lbs
1.5c chopped onions
1.75c diced carrots
2/3c diced celery
2 cans Fire Roasted tomatoes with garlic
2 cans Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, and Oregano
1 can red beans
1 can white beans
10c beef broth
25oz spaghetti sauce
10oz uncooked pasta I used bow tie
4t oregano
2 1/2t pepper
6t fresh chopped parsley
2t Tabasco sauce

Basically you brown the ground meat, which I did in my prep, and dump all the ingredients except pasta in the crock-pot.  So I started to do this, but by the time I got to the beans, I realized that my 5qt crock-pot was too small for this recipe!

Apparently, this recipe makes 2 servings per person, so my 5 servings became 10!

So I redistributed half of the contents into a soup pot, and decided to slow cook half, and cook the rest on the stove-top.  The crock-pot portion, I cooked on low for 4 hours, then added the pasta and cooked for another 30 minutes, when the pasta was tender.
On the stove-top, I brought it to a simmer, then cooked on medium heat for about 2 hours, then added the pasta and turned off the heat when it was tender.

 

The best way to describe this dish is Italian chili.  I prefer sweeter Italian dishes, and this was on the spicy side.  My husband loved it, but told me to ditch the pasta next time.  I found the crock-pot version was too soupy, the sauce way too thin.  I liked the consistency of the stove-top version better, and so I mixed the two together when I stored it.  The only big complaint about this recipe is the amount it made!  I filled 5 quart size Ziploc bags to the brim, and still filled a large storage container(the biggest one that comes in the Rubbermaid multi-pack).  I froze 4 bags, gave one away to my mom, and my husband ate half of the container full for dinner on Tuesday.

While waiting for my soup to cool, I decided to make the next recipe,Tutti Fruitti cups.  

1.5c frozen orange juice concentrate

2.5c crushed pineapple drained if I make this again, I will not drain it

2 bananas 

3/4c strawberries

3/4c blueberries 

3/4c raspberries 

3/4c lemon-lime soda I used Sprite Zero

6T frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1/4c sugar

Put ingredients into a blender and blend until desired consistency.  Pour into 8oz cups, and freeze.  Once frozen, take out of cup and place into a gallon size Ziploc bag and put back in freezer.

Ok, so first off this is listed as a breakfast item!  This is a dessert at best, if it tasted better.  It is too sour.  I think this would be off set by leaving the pineapple juice in, and maybe another banana and for mommy, rum, lots of rum...  It is a good afternoon snack for the kids...they think they are getting a slushie treat, and they are getting lots of fruit!

In the next post I will be writing about my adventure of trying to finish this project, but being thwarted by the summer heat, and 3 kids!

  

Once a Month Mom

I have been reviewing my finances lately, and I realized that we spend entirely too much money on food.  I admit that this is all my fault.  I am the only one who cooks, and lately, most of the time I haven't wanted to.
Oh, I have a ton of excuses...it's too hot, I'm too tired, the baby/kids kept my too busy, blah, blah, blah!  So I cook crappy convenience foods, what the hell since one of my kids lives off of corn dogs and cereal anyway...or we eat out, which means crappy fast food or casual dining (which is never pleasant since I spend most of the time picking up after/feeding the baby, coaxing my Aspie to eat SOMETHING/begging him to stop eating the Sweet-n-low packets, and telling my oh-so-precocious 7 y/o to please sit still and stop talking up the waitress!). 

So while perusing the web today, I discovered something called once-a-month-cooking or freezer cooking, more specifically onceamonthmom.com .

OAMM provides a months worth of recipes for specific month, using seasonal ingredients, gives a shopping list, and directions on how to prepare all this food in one day, freezing ready to go meals.  They also have alternate versions for dietary needs, for shopping at Whole Foods, and for making a month's worth of baby food.  They offer this free of charge, relying on donations.

So I am going to give this a try, blog about it, and see if I save any money and eat out less.  The next post will be about the shopping list and my trip to Winn Dixie!