Once a Month Cooking

newcs
newcs Posts: 717 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone else do this? I got an upright freezer for Christmas last year and am looking to start "feeding the freezer" with things other than desserts. I'm thinking homemade pierogi, ravioli, meatballs, portioned shepherds pie, healthier alfredo sauce and maybe some tomato sauce or just roasted tomatoes. I've been looking at this site for ideas: http://onceamonthmom.com/

Anyone have any other good resources for this? What's your favorite thing to make ahead and freeze? Any tips?

Replies

  • denise032
    denise032 Posts: 108 Member
    That's a great idea! I wish I had/could get a bigger freezer. I usually make chili in bulk and freeze it, along with some of my mom's homemade chicken and veggie soups in the winter months. :)
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    Hmm...I might have to get into soups more. I got potatoes and leeks from my farmshare so I made/froze some potato leek soup the other day.

    What do you freeze in? I got the 8oz wide mouth canning jars and the plastic lids and have started using those to freeze portions. I have a vacuum sealer that I use but usually for balls of cookie dough or for portions of raw meat.
  • denise032
    denise032 Posts: 108 Member
    Glad containers -- http://www.glad.com/products/food-storage/containers/soup-and-salad/ . They're freezer and dishwasher safe. They're microwave safe too, but I usually defrost and reheat on the stove. :)
  • butterflylover527
    butterflylover527 Posts: 940 Member
    I made this last week and it was yummy!!

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/shepards-pie-lightened-up.html
  • ANB22
    ANB22 Posts: 64
    bump i have been looking for somehting like this for months
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    *bump!* My sister's done this. Also, I just bought a freezer on Saturday!
  • Emily_fitat30
    Emily_fitat30 Posts: 32 Member
    Biryani is one of my favourite foods to batch cook & freeze :)
  • Lazygal53
    Lazygal53 Posts: 294 Member
    Bump
  • ohnoetry
    ohnoetry Posts: 129
    I LOVE my freezer. Living alone presents a lot of cooking challenges, so I make stuff all the time that I can freeze. Baked beans, soups, pastas, tarts, etc.
  • wrinju
    wrinju Posts: 93 Member
    bump
  • KelseyDawn84
    KelseyDawn84 Posts: 129 Member
    I make a HUGE batch of spaghetti sauce once a month (I add a LOT of fresh cut up veggies) and freeze it in separate portions; It's my son's favourite, so I usually make spaghetti once a week (at least every two weeks).

    I portion enough sauce for one supper and one meal of lunch leftovers; Then all I need to do is cook noodles and nuke sauce when I get home after work.
  • NikkisNewStart
    NikkisNewStart Posts: 1,075 Member
    I use the books Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer and More Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer. I freeze anything and everything from enchiladas, ribs, parmesan garlic chicken, soups, bread dough...

    Get a whole chicken, cook it in the crock pot, pull the cooked chicken off of it and freeze it. Ready to go for salads, casseroles, anything... return the bones to the crock, add about 5-6 cups of water, cook on low for about 10 hours and then strain through a sieve. Let it cool, skim the fat off the top, pour in muffin tins and freeze. Pop out of tins and store in gallon sized ziploks... "ready to use" homemade chicken broth (no sodium too!) for use in any recipe. So you've just saved a bundle there. I use the broth to cook my veggies instead of water... loads of flavor!
  • dadzpeach
    dadzpeach Posts: 174 Member
    bump
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    Are you on Pinterest? There are always tons of posts for freezer meals on there. I don't have a big enough freezer to do most of them.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    I use the books Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer and More Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer. I freeze anything and everything from enchiladas, ribs, parmesan garlic chicken, soups, bread dough...

    Get a whole chicken, cook it in the crock pot, pull the cooked chicken off of it and freeze it. Ready to go for salads, casseroles, anything... return the bones to the crock, add about 5-6 cups of water, cook on low for about 10 hours and then strain through a sieve. Let it cool, skim the fat off the top, pour in muffin tins and freeze. Pop out of tins and store in gallon sized ziploks... "ready to use" homemade chicken broth (no sodium too!) for use in any recipe. So you've just saved a bundle there. I use the broth to cook my veggies instead of water... loads of flavor!

    Oh wow. This is awesome. I got a whole chicken in the freezer that I need to cook when I feel industrious! Need to go buy a muffin tin now.
  • blb1230
    blb1230 Posts: 69 Member
    BUMP!!! Wonderful ideas!!
  • VickiG36
    VickiG36 Posts: 350 Member
    Pintrest has a ton of links to just this sort of thing.
  • bethmillerwilson
    bethmillerwilson Posts: 43 Member
    Once every few months I do a big cook that lasts a while. I use the Jean Paret Company's Coming series book called Make Ahead Meals. She gives lots of great tips for freezing and some pretty great recipes.
  • MdmAcolyte
    MdmAcolyte Posts: 382 Member
    Get a whole chicken, cook it in the crock pot, pull the cooked chicken off of it and freeze it. Ready to go for salads, casseroles, anything... return the bones to the crock, add about 5-6 cups of water, cook on low for about 10 hours and then strain through a sieve. Let it cool, skim the fat off the top, pour in muffin tins and freeze. Pop out of tins and store in gallon sized ziploks... "ready to use" homemade chicken broth (no sodium too!) for use in any recipe. So you've just saved a bundle there. I use the broth to cook my veggies instead of water... loads of flavor!

    I do this too! Once a month!! Yay!!!

    Well, I dont use muffin tins... I pour a cup into plastic cups, freeze the cups, and pop them into a freezer bag when they are frozen. You can run the cups through the dishwasher and reuse them ;)
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    Buy turkey when It's on sale ( xmas and thanksgiving) . Cut it up and bake it off ( if your familiar with cutting up a turkey/chicken) Strip meat from bones, place on a pan and freeze it. Take chunks of frozen turkey and place in tupperware like containers in freezer. Now you have ready access to cheap healthy protein. Take a chunk out for soups, stir fries, sandwiches,taco's, etc. Don't forget to use the bones for stock. I cook a whole turkey, split in half on my electric bbq in one hour. Give it a whirl. :wink:
  • anslog
    anslog Posts: 2
    You can freeze pretty much anything. Anything that is cooked in a casserole dish is easy to freeze and reheat (lasagna, enchiladas, etc). I use the Pyrex dishes with lids. If it is a soup or chili or chicken tenders, stuff like that, I just use freezer bags. I have been cooking from Rocco Dispirito's Now Eat This Cookbook lately. I double most every recipe and freeze half for later. I have done the enchiladas, jambalaya and sloppy joe this week and last week. All of the recipes in that book are under 350 calories.

    About a year ago, I was in the habit of cooking 1 day a month (I mean a full day and sometimes 2) and it was awesome. Now I just do it a little bit at a time. I usually cook more often now and put a meal in the freezer every time I cook for the days that I don't want to cook.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    I need to remember to book mark this later or write down ideas.
  • kikicooks
    kikicooks Posts: 1,079 Member
    Are you on Pinterest? There are always tons of posts for freezer meals on there. I don't have a big enough freezer to do most of them.
    Was going to say this. Here's one of them...
    http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    Take a Beef, Eye of the round roast, remove the silverskin, and cook it to a medium. Cool, slice in half inch sections, place seperated pieces of cooked meat on a baking pan and freeze, remove from pan and store in a air tight freezer container. You now have instant access to cooked beef for soups, fried rice, etc. :wink:
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    I don't set aside a day to do large volume cooking. I do it continually. For example if I'm making Borscht because I got a killer deal on beets and beef, I will make a very large pot of it instead of a small one, or I will make two large pot's of different soup's ( that have similar ingredients such as onions, carrots and celery ( Mirepoix) ) and then freeze in portion sized containers. It doesn't take long to build up a stock ( sorry bad soup pun) of soups if you do it this way. :wink:
  • Desterknee
    Desterknee Posts: 1,056 Member
    Ugh I want a deep freezer.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I made this last week and it was yummy!!

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/shepards-pie-lightened-up.html

    Hmm...I'll have to compare that to mine. I have an awesome one that I adapted from somewhere. Mine's not terrible on calories but has quite a bit of butter in it.

    Also, I LOVE your avatar. Whenever I see a picture of him, I think of the outtake of him lip syncing to Eye of the Tiger...love it!

    ETA: Here's the recipe if anyone wants to tweak it or check it out:
    Beef Shepherd's Pie

    Ingredients

    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    4 tablespoons unsalted butter
    2 medium onion, diced
    1 large bag frozen corn (16oz maybe?)
    2 rib celery, sliced
    4 cloves garlic, minced
    1.5 tablespoon salt
    1.5 teaspoon dried oregano
    6 tablespoons tomato paste
    2 pound ground beef
    1/2 cup canned low sodium beef broth
    1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    Freshly ground black pepper
    4 cups Mashed Potatoes (2 large russet potatoes, 3/4 cup milk, 6T butter -- substitute sour cream, etc if desired)
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan, optional

    Directions

    Preheat oven to 375.

    Heat the olive oil and 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

    Add the onion, celery, garlic, half the salt, and oregano. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

    Stir in the tomato paste and cook until tomato paste has turned brick red, about 8 minutes more.

    Stir in the beef, the broth, the remaining salt, the Worcestershire, corn and some pepper, breaking up any large clumps of meat, cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.

    Transfer the meat and vegetables to a 9x13 pan and spread the mashed potatoes over the top.

    Sprinkle with cheese and dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter.

    Bake until potatoes brown and the juices bubble around the edge, about 40 minutes.

    Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

    As stated (using 2% milk), 338 calories per serving, 12 servings per batch.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I love all the ideas, links and book suggestions! I'll have to start checking out books and look into Pinterest more (I'm on it but mostly pin stuff I come across on the web in general or repin friends' posts). I had a great idea to save some of each batch of baked goods I make so that I could put together mixed baked good platters for gifts and events but always forget.

    Tonight I'm making this: http://onceamonthmom.com/buttery-balsamic-pasta-and-asparagus/ But will portion it out for lunches/dinners for the next few days. I'm planning on cutting down on the butter, oil and salt.

    I'm also going to make a quadruple batch of this: http://onceamonthmom.com/homemade-alfredo-sauce/ I'll freeze 1 portion plain, 1 with sauteed mushrooms, 1 with roasted tomatoes and 1 with browned sausage. It looks like it'd be awesome on pizza.

    I also ALWAYS have frozen pizza dough on hand. It's so absurdly easy to make and I just throw it on the counter or in the fridge in the morning and it's thawed by dinnertime. I don't use sauce on it, just shredded (usually reduced fat) cheese and toppings (usually fresh local veggies). I use this recipe and double it, plus add spices (oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder): http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/cheri-s-favorite-pizza-dough I don't use any oil but I do spray the bowl with Pam before I let it rise. I mix it in my KitchenAid, then pull the dough to the side, spray with Pam, turn to coat and cover with a plastic bag to let rise. I cut it into 4 pieces (since I double the recipe), shape into balls, cook 1 and freeze 3 in Ziploc bags.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    In case anyone is wondering...tried the buttery balsamic pasta with asparagus from Once a Month Mom last night and it was very good. I used less salt, only 3T of butter (recipe calls for 8 I believe) and didn't use the oil...I just sprayed the asparagus with Pam. I used slightly less asparagus because that's what was in my bundle (3c instead of 3.5c) and I used 8 1/2oz of chicken (as measured raw). It came out to about 350 calories. Next time I will possibly double the balsamic because I liked the taste but would have liked more (and it would add flavor without adding a ton of calories like butter). If anyone makes it...put your fan on when you start boiling the balsamic or it'll get a little overwhelming with the smell.

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