Once A Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson, the NEW Version

So this was the book that started it all for me……. about, gosh, maybe fifteen years ago (or more) someone mentioned this book and said that she had been having great success getting organized with this method. I was a homeschooling mom with (gasp) three children and I knew that if I was to survive, organization was the key…so I snagged the book and read it…read it again…and began what would be called, to this day, Hell Day at the Audet’s.

Ahh…you laugh..you snicker…but it is true. There is nothing more stressful than creating thirty meals to feed eight to ten people, over a twelve hour period of time. There is also not much more satisfying, short of giving birth. People want to know why I would even think about doing a personal chef business (yes, I am thinking about it, currently..I need something to do in my spare time)…well, realistically, that is what I am doing for myself when I use this method.

There are several other books on this subject, Frozen Assets is one, and they are good, but this is my favorite for the beginning Once a Month cook. Easy to understand, well written, and friendly, Mimi Wilson has created a user friendly book to help with a great system.

The new book version was written with Mary Beth Lagerborg, and has a ton more recipes, hints, and suggestions. I am enjoying this updated version alot.

If you have been thinking about doing once a month cooking, if your interest has been piqued by the recipes I have given here, then you should get ahold of the book that started it all. Reading through it you will have a much better understanding of how to do it, than you will by just reading the helps that you find on the internet.

Recipes include homemade chicken nuggets, which I love because you get the ease of frozen food without the additives and junk that you get from the commercial product. This is the book that I got my original recipe for chicken tortilla soup from, and I love it. I have tried nothing I liked better. It is short on side dishes and desserts, and has no breakfast things but once you know how to do it, adapting recipes is a simple matter.

There is also a chapter on Table Talk. Ideas to start real conversations at the table. Now, I need to copy these off because our conversations tend to revolve around farm things…and in the spring and fall it can get..uh..pretty earthy. Going by a list might be just the thing!

Here is one of my favorite recipes from the book. I have adapted it for our family, but it is based n the original and works really well.

Green Chile Enchiladas

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 1/2 c chopped onion

1 tbs chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 c grated monterey jack cheese, set 1 cup of it aside

12 flour tortillas

10 oz can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup half and half

1 1/2 c sour cream

2 4 oz cans of chopped green chiles

1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the beef with the onion until the meat is cooked and brown, about 15 minutes, Drain the fat.

Combine with the chili powder, cumin, and cilantro.

Place the reserved cup of cheese in a small freezer container to use when serving the meal.

Mix the the sour cream, soup, half and half, and chiles.

Spoon some of the meat mixture and some of the cheese into each tortilla and roll. Place seam side down in a 13×9 inch pan that has been oiled wiht a little olive oil. When all tortillas are rolled and in the pan, spoont he sour cream mixture over the top. Cover, label, tape the container of reserved cheese to the top and freeze.

To prepare, thaw overnight. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

8 servings