Oamc?

[Telephus44]

Just wondering how many people here do OAMC (once a month cooking) or some variation (once a week, etc.). Does it really save a lot of time? Since I'm currently staying home it seems to me like I already have plenty of time to cook dinner each night, and I'd rather not give up a weekend with my family to spend the whole day cooking.

Just wondering what your thoughts on the subject are.

[Edna_E]

I do when I anticipate a very busy week, in which I might not eat properly if I have to "start from scratch". I prefer to make dinner every night, however, although I often have something leftover in the freezer to use just in case I'm running late - that has at least as much to do with the lifestyle of my occupation as it does with my kitchen habits.

I know, however, that my mom swears it is less expensive.

[AmyMCGS]

I do when I anticipate a very busy week, in which I might not eat properly if I have to "start from scratch". I prefer to make dinner every night, however, although I often have something leftover in the freezer to use just in case I'm running late .

Same here.

I've done full-blown OAMC sessions, but they really don't suit me.

I do more bulk cooking to speed up prep times. I boil 5-10lbs of ground beef and onions at a time, portion it out into 1lb bags, and freeze. Then when I want to make a casserole or something in the crockpot that needs browned ground beef, I just have to grab a bag and defrost it, rather than standing over the stove browning the beef each time. Sometimes I'll also season some of those bags with taco seasoning- pull it out, nuke it, heat up some taco shells, and dinner is done!

I do basically the same thing with stew meat and chicken-- cook in bulk and freeze for later use.

An easy thing to do with chicken is dump cooking.... dump the amount of chicken you'd need for a meal in a bag with a marinade (Italian dressing or marinade of choice). Pull it out to defrost in the fridge all day, and while it's defrosting, it's also marinating. Then just grill or broil the chicken and make some sides for a quick dinner.

I also sometimes will double recipes & freeze half. Or, if a recipe makes a 9x13" casserole, and it's just us for supper (DH, 3 yo DD, and me) I'll make it in two 8x8" pans and freeze half. That prevents us from eating the same thing two nights in a row, puts an extra meal in my freezer without it feeling like any extra work.