Monday, November 30, 2009

I've been meaning to write this post for months.

Once a month cooking. Or OAMC for those of us too cool to write out the actual words. Jenny and I recently teamed up for our fourth OAMC day. It's fun, it's exhausting, it's gross (lots of raw meat!), and it's so worth it. Here's what we made:

Mini meatloaves
meatballs
chicken bundles
lasagna
mexican casserole
potato soup

After she left I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and a triple batch of waffles.
We make enough of each entree to feed our families twice. The meatballs were an exception, we made enough for three meals. Of course, these are not the only options for dinner. We will still be having our usual homemade pizza, fajitas, etc. But, this does knock out a lot of the cooking for the next few weeks. Interested in doing your own oamc? Here's a few things we've learned:

1. Don't try to freeze anything with egg noodles. They turn to mush.

2. If you freeze a dish with potatoes or pasta in it, undercook them a bit so they can finish cooking when you reheat.

3. You will get grumpy and tired and wonder why you ever thought it was a good idea. It is worth it, I promise. It took us about three hours to accomplish everything in the picture.

4. If you make a dish with sour cream, add it after you defrost. Sour cream turns watery after it's frozen.

5. Have a partner. It really does save time, we divide and tackle.

6. Line your pans with foil and then lift the dishes out when frozen solid. Wrap up tight and stick back in the freezer. This takes up less space and keeps your 9 by 13 pans in commission.

Need recipes? Here are some good places to look:
oamc at recipezaar
once a month mom

Linda's bbq meatballs freeze wonderfully, just leave the sauce off until you bake.

Have any of you done oamc before? What were some of your favorite recipes?

3 comments:

Hillengrandma said...

Wow, do I feel important!!!! I made your oamc list. Thanks.

Chrissy said...

Thank you for this!!! I am working up the nerve to try it!!! SO glad you are back to blogging!

rachel said...

Linda, your bbq meatballs are one of our all time favorite meals!! So good!

Chrissy, you can do this, really. It's sooooo worth it!