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10 Bright Stars
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Joined: Nov 16 2006
Location: Virginia
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| Posted: April 28 2009 at 4:52pm | IP Logged
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I thought I would share this idea with other moms who might struggle with the whole cooking issue and how to juggle it with school.
I spend a lot of time in the basement each day doing school. I don't seem to make it upstairs till 3 or later each day, and then I was immediately faced with my other hat screaming for attention; dinner. (or breakfast first thing in the morning, or lunch smack dab in the middle of the day. I know, everyone else has this "problem" too!  ) Anyway, I have prayed about this for a long time, and prayed the "Lord, WHAT in the world am I doing WRONG??" prayer all the time to no avail. (At least it seemed that way.)
Anyway, I woke up with a fantastic idea last weekend. Since I don't have the energy for a once a month cooking day anymore, I thought about a one meal at a time cooking day. So, one Sat. a month, I will bake things for breakfast, make up a lot of breakfast quiches to freeze, my husband made about 40 pancakes and put them in baggies for breakfast with approx. the right amount to feed our family. Then, the next Sat. I will focus on lunches. Maybe freeze some soups, burritos (which we did manage this past weekend too since hubby was helping cook)and things like that to just help on those days that life seems a little "much". Then, one Sat. I will focus on dinners. I even made brownies and froze them for dessert. I won't always have to use these meals every day, but it is there for at least half of the week. I call it my "conveinience store" (i.e the freezer) It has been great! So, for those who don't have the energy to do a once a month cooking day with 30 different meals for dinner, maybe just a fun baking morning where you cook what you want to help out for the next week, focusing on one mealtime per Sat. I can't believe how much fun it has been, the whole fmaily got involved, and there was just one clean-up afterwards. Sure beats cereal every morning or the 15 eggs it takes to feed my brood each day. I think it will save money in the long run and I am feeling much more domestic and pro-active instead of reactive.
It also made for a fun, creative morning since I cooked with what I had on hand, found recipes to use things up that I had in the pantry instead of having to conform to a ready made set of recipes, (as with once a month) which is great in certain circumstances, but can also be a lot of pressure. I should also say that I have really fallen in love with baking and cooking again after a long hiatus since this makes me feel more prepared.
Hope it helps someone. 
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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Philothea
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| Posted: April 28 2009 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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This is a great idea. I was just thinking about doing something like this today, but what you've written is more complete than my thoughts were. Thanks for sharing.
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stellamaris
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| Posted: April 28 2009 at 8:14pm | IP Logged
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This sounds like a great idea! A little more fun and less exhausting than the once-a-month marathon (which I did until about child #4,and then it just got too overwhelming...too much food, cost, and work all at once with too many helpers in the kitchen).One thing that works for me is just to make extra of whatever I'm making on days when I have a little time/energy. For example, I'll triple the pancake recipe and make some for breakfast and the rest to freeze for two other days. It's no extra clean-up (I'd have to do the griddle anyway) and only a little extra time. Same thing for dinners, soups, muffins. Dinners require the most extra work (because I have to use extra pans). Another huge help is to keep "convenience" frozen ingredients in the freezer, like lime juice and lemon juice frozen in ice cubes trays and stored in ziploc bags, chopped onions, chopped peppers, chopped celery, grated ginger. This has really sped up my cooking and saves money and dishes, too.
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to  dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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mooreboyz
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| Posted: April 29 2009 at 7:57am | IP Logged
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Funny...I did just the same thing this past weekend. Although for me it was preparing for a move. We will be moving in a couple weeks and I know from past experience how things get so busy unpacking and such that the day flies and before you know it it is 2:00 and nobody had lunch yet and you're all starving.
So, I made about 50 flour tortillas and rolled them into bean and cheese burritos and froze them. Made a lasagna and 2 other hot dishes and froze them. I also made a loaf into French toast and froze that and a bag of 50 or so pancakes. I'd like to work on some chicken meals this weekend. I haven't done this since I was last pregnant and it is so fun to get prepared. I can't wait to use them...although I'm finding it difficult to keep dh and oldest son out of the burritos.
I'd like to continue doing this because it is so nice to pull out good food at a moments notice.
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Jackie
7 boys - 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17 years
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: April 29 2009 at 8:22am | IP Logged
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Extra prep whenever you're making meals helps too. Yesterday we were chopping several ingredients for pizza toppings...while we were at it we cut extra for a mexican casserole we're having for oldest ds's birthday today. I like to chop extra onion, peppers, celery, etc. and freeze them, sometimes individually, sometimes layered for soups or casseroles. Browning and frezing ground beef is another helpful tip. Prepping before you do your weekend meal extravaganza can lighten the load even more.
Kim, your idea is so much more realistic than once a month cooking! Thanks for sharing.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: a twist on once a month cooking
