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Cooking Day Yesterday

This is the newer version of the book I am using. . .I may have to get this newer version when I get tired of the food in the old one!
 Yesterday my friend, Gretchen, and I did our cooking for the month.  I haven't done it in ages and I'm so glad that I started up again.  It is one big trip to the grocery store (that I did at 5:30 yesterday morning because I had put it off until the last possible minute) and then one full day of cooking and cooking and cooking.  It is exhausting, but it is so worth it!

The first year I started it, I did it because we always had random people showing up for dinner and I was never prepared for company.  So, I started having these meals pre-prepared in my freezer and when someone would show up, I would just pop in my nice meal and it was great.

I restarted it again yesterday for a couple of reasons:
   1.  to save money (it really is so much cheaper)
   2.  so that my family could eat good and more creative meals instead of the same 2 I always cook

So, thanks to "Once-a-Month Cooking" by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg, my family has meals for the month.  (Their book is set up with several different menus that are two week or four week menus.  They have a shopping list and step by step directions so that your time in the kitchen is used in the most efficient way.)

And you may be asking, what is my family eating for the next several weeks?  Well, I did the two week menu A (yes, only 14 meals, but that will last us for a month with different evenings out or being lazy since Andy is out of town):
   Chili Verde
   Chicken Packets
   Mexican Stroganoff
   French Bread Pizza
   Calzones
   Spaghetti
   Wild Rice Chicken
   Balkin Meatballs
   Marinated Flank Steak
   Chicken Broccoli
   Linguine a la Anne (will never make again. . .takes WAY too long)
   Chili Hamburgers
   Baked Eggs
   Poulet de France

We'll see which of these are a hit and which of these are a miss for Braner Party of 7. . .I'll keep you posted on how I like cooking for the month for our family!  It could end up to be something that I can't live without!

Comments

Rachel Sparks said…
I wish I could have been there with you! I remember when we did this together!
January 24, 2011 at 9:16 AM
Unknown said…
A single day in the kitchen for the months makes this "i have a love affair with my kitchen" girl sad. But I can totally see how it would work for so many people. I'm off to the kitchen for the 2nd time today. 1st was eggs, Irish oats and bacon, 2nd is granola making and then tonight will be orange chicken over some sort of grain. Rice or bulgar or couscous maybe? The meals you all will be eating sure look yummy! Enjoy!
January 24, 2011 at 2:03 PM
Berg said…
How easy/hard were these recipes? My 'skillz' in the kitchen are lacking, but I would love to do this for myself! I think it would feed me for 6 months... haha.
January 25, 2011 at 1:56 AM
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