Once-A-Month Cooking

Well, I did it. I've talked about for years. My sister-in-law Kerry and I used to discuss it, but we never got around to making it happen. When I was trying to get our schedule together for the new year, it seemed like meal time was always in the way. Don't get me wrong, I like to cook most of the time. What I don't like is going to the store with four kids. I don't like being busy up to meal time and then trying to get it all together. I bought the Once-A-Month cookbooks a long time ago. I've had them a while, I know I bought them in Iowa at least a year ago. Anyway, while I was organizing my kitchen, I saw them and decided to go for it. So, after much planning and making lists, my fridge went from this:

to this in my freezer:

The grocery shopping was never ending. I hit Wal-mart, Sam's, and Aldi. Once the shopping was done, there was no turning back!

It was the longest day ever! I messed up by not following all the rules. Does that surprise you? The cookbook gave all these helpful hints and one hint was to wear comfortable shoes. I didn't wear shoes at all and I paid for it. My back hurt for days!

I had help, of course. This was our school for the day. Lot's of math!

Callie just stole bites of food. Especially the freshly grated cheese!

Gannon did a lot of supervising and sampling!

I planned to take pictures of things as the day went on, but there wasn't really a stopping point! Once you start, you just have to keep at it. Too much money goes into buying a months worth of food for six people. I wasn't about to waste anything!

We learned a lot that day about what to do differently next time. We have a list of things to try and buy for next time that will make the job easier. A lot of dishes can be frozen in 9x13 dishes. I was going to just buy a few more at Wal-mart, but they are more expensive than I remembered. I don't know if I have ever even bought one. I think the ones I have now were wedding gifts! So, we're going to look for some at garage sales and places.

I have planned (but not cooked) weeks of meals at a time for a while. I have cooked more than one meal sometimes, or cooked and frozen a few things, but never a months worth. I even included some stuff for lunches and breakfasts when we cooked. So, it was a LOT. One reason I had put this off for so long is that I thought it would be a lot of casseroles. It's not. I made very few. So far we have like most of what I made. We mixed some new recipes with some of our tried and true go-to recipes. Now that I have the idea of how this works, it will be simpler to do with almost any recipe.

In the end, it has been soooo worth it. The pluses are having a meal plan, I know what we are having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner up until Valentine's Day. I have most of the food in my freezer and fridge. The only things I don't have are the few fresh items that we pick up each week. Another plus is the amount of time I spend in the kitchen at dinner time. I am still cooking, but it is quick. Think Hamburger Helper, but good and healthy. I am spending more time on side dishes, which we are enjoying. My favorite is that there are very few dishes after dinner! We are able to put what we use on the table in the dishwasher and we can go to bed with a clean kitchen. (I do not hand wash dishes!) I am loving this part of it. I like to be done after dinner. Of course, a mom is not done after dinner, but at least the cooking and cleaning can be done! Also, I tried to make sure and make the recipes so that we would have enough leftovers for Todd to take a lunch, so another bonus!

But, the absolute best...I haven't been to the grocery store with four kids in weeks! I have hardly been to the grocery at all. Woo-hoo! Now that I haven't been, I realize that this is really what has been stressing me out. I love to shop, don't get me wrong, but not for groceries. It is so nice to have all the time that I would have normally been going to the store. I am thinking it is probably saving us money too. I haven't set down to figure that out yet. I need to get through a whole month and see what I spent all together and compare to another month where I didn't do this.

So, we will probably try this again. I already dread the day of cooking! But, this time I know the reward will be worth it. Think there could be a lesson in this?

Holidays are coming!

Are you excited about the upcoming holidays? I am. I love holidays. I am sure it is because we always had the best times growing up. I was one of the lucky ones that had fun family times and special traditions every year. They were not anything fancy, just the same thing every year. My little family holidays have not been that way, for obvious reasons. I have to really battle being sad every year because we never know what our holidays are going to bring. The first hitch in our get-along is Todd's job. Please know that I am forever grateful for his job, he has a job which I know is no small thing. But, retail and holiday celebrations do not mix! The last two years, Todd has had to work even on Thanksgiving morning. We have enjoyed our Thanksgiving, but it is quiet without a lot of extended family around. We had one Christmas where Todd had to go to the Club three times to turn off the alarm that someone had not set properly the night before. All the Santa presents waiting patiently to be opened while daddy went to work. The last three years have really been crazy. So much travel...you have not traveled until you have traveled during the holidays! Of course two years ago we had a newborn, more craziness. Maybe there was craziness when I was little and just didn't know it :).

We are so excited to be closer to home this year. The holidays will still not be the picture perfect holidays that you read about, or dream about, but that is ok. I am finally coming to terms with this. Life is not perfect. Since Thanksgiving is the next holiday, I am hopefully going to be focusing on all that we have to be thankful for. The next six weeks will not be anything for Martha Stewart to write about, by any means! But, it's a holiday, how can it not be fun! What I am looking forward to is decorating my house, cooking meals that we don't normally eat, and seeing how excited the kids are. Gannon is five, a perfect age for holidays. Callie will be a blast as she starts figuring things out. Kellen and Garrett are getting old enough that we have memories to reminisce about. So, here is to reminding myself to keep this year low-key so that we can enjoy each other and the time we have together, whether or not it is picture perfect!

The cooking has begun. Cornbread waiting to dry out for dressing and mashed potatoes. I'm getting hungry!

Callie up early to help me cook the dressing. I love that we can make it ahead an freeze it. It is actually better that way!

Very serious about her stirring!

This is what happens when mama is cooking and almost two-year-olds are left to themselves! The boys saw her and actually said "I thought you knew she was doing this". Seriously?

Side note: Yes I do comb Callie's hair. She has crazy hair in these pictures because within five minutes of combing it, it is crazy. I hate to tell her that I think she may have inherited my hair :(. Do you think she is too young for mousse?

Back In The Swing…

We are getting back into the swing of things and it feels so good! What a blessing to have a house that doesn’t need fixed! There are things I would love to tweak at some point, but it is not a necessity. We have really enjoyed just spending time as a family. I’ve been cooking up a storm. We were all so tired of eating out for two months! The kids and I had some home-cooked meals, but Todd only had take-out or the occasional frozen something he made in his hotel.

I have a new favorite site for recipes! Whole Foods Market. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/. I’ve never been to a Whole Foods store, but the store always looks so yummy and healthy on Top Chef :). Wish we had one here!

Last week I made a beef stroganoff from their site. It was fine. The guys liked it. This is one of Todd’s favorite things so I made that for him :). I made a yummy chicken and rice soup. This was for me :), but everyone loved it. Yesterday I made Chicken Alouette. This was not from their site, I saw it on a blog I follow, http://southernhospitalityblog.com/chicken-alouette/ . It was so good and kind of fancy for us! Of course, like everything else I do, it did not turn out like the recipe. The recipe said it would make six, I ended up with twelve. Oh well, I am sure they tasted the same! This week I made Potato Chowder from the Whole Foods site. Everyone loved it, except Todd, who didn't get any! I made it on the night he closed, thinking the kids wouldn't love it so there would be some left, but no. We ate it all!

Hope this is a sign of things to come! We enjoy eating together and I enjoy cooking when things aren’t crazy everywhere else in my life! Here’s to happy cooking!