I’ve always been intrigued by make-ahead cooking. Methods like once-a-month cooking or even weekly cooking are very appealing to me and though I’ve bought a couple of books with recipes and techniques, I just can’t seem to find the time to even get organized in the first place!

My favorite book that I’ve found so far is The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet. I actually bought it years ago and didn’t get around to really looking through it until about two years ago. I’ve used several of the recipes for just one-off dinners, though I have doubled up on …read more

When I make lasagna… I make lasagna. It is just as easy to make three or four lasagnas as it is to make one (if you have the baking dishes available). When I buy lasagna ingredients I buy enough for several lasagnas and make extra to put in the freezer.
Here’s my lasagna recipe, this recipe makes one lasagna, but it’s a great once a month cooking (OAMC) recipe to make in bulk.
I get out a large skillet to brown the ground beef, and a large pot to heat the sauce.
Once a Month Cooking Lasagna Recipe
One box lasagna noodles
1 lb lean …read more

Beef and linguine casserole makes a great freezer meal! You can double, triple, or whatever this recipe so that one is ready tonight and more are ready for another day The basics of Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) can be found at the link, and I’ve got other great OAMC recipes here.
Beef and Linguine Casserole
8 oz cottage cheese
1 c plain yogurt
8 oz cream cheese
1-1/2 lb ground beef
Green pepper, chopped
Onion, chopped
Salt
15 oz can of tomato sauce
16 oz linguine
1/4 to 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
To make and serve immediately:
Mix the cottage cheese, yogurt, and cream cheese …read more

Asian casserole is a hot dish of comfort food! It has lots of familiar tastes if you grew up before the time that we’d discovered a lot of now-common ethnic cuisines. This was about as exotic as my family got, back in the day, and of course we called it “Oriental Casserole” back then
The casserole is an easy thirty minute meal, and can also be made as a Once-A-Month-Cooking dish. Make a double batch, and you can have one tonight and save another for later in your freezer!
Asian Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1 stalk of …read more

Here’s a super-easy Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) recipe that you can throw in the crock pot this morning and eat tonight, or that you can prepare really easily and freeze for future meals. To make this for a freezer meal, pre-cook the tenderloin in a minimal amount of water in your crock.
Slow Cooked Pork Tenderloin
1 – 2 lb pork tenderloin
2 – 3 c apple juice or cider
1 – 2 c cranberry sauce
Sesame seeds (optional, to add before serving)
To make as a freezer meal, combine the pre-cooked tenderloin with the juice and sauce in a freezer container and freeze. …read more

This is a great Once-A-Month-Cooking recipe that you can double, triple, or quadruple very easily. For extra speed in preparation, you can use one of those 1.25 oz packages of taco seasoning and a can of prepared chili. Usually, I would prefer that these things be homemade, but sometimes for OAMC recipes, we’ll make an exception!
Even if you don’t get into OAMC, this is a great recipe to make ahead, either early in the day or even a couple of days ahead.
Taco Soup
2 – 15 oz cans chicken broth
15 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can black beans, drained …read more

Do you have turkey for Christmas as well as for Thanksgiving?  Apparently lots of people do, while others indulge in prime rib, ham, lasagna, or all of the above    So, here’s something you can do with the double scads of turkey that you now have sitting in your freezer: make this great turkey mole, which you can double or triple and freeze for later.  This is a great Once A Month Cooking recipe: simply reheat in the oven or a skillet, and serve it over rice with chopped scallions for garnish.
Don’t forget the list of Leftover Turkey …read more

We have been having prime rib for Christmas dinner for the last couple of years, so there haven’t been any leftovers, thankyouverymuch!!
Dang, I love leftovers, especially when there are a couple of good Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) recipes that I can make in double or triple batches, enjoying one tonight and others later when I’m in a hurry.  So here are some recipes to help you use up your leftover ham, if you’re fortunate enough to have some, in style.  A couple are OAMC recipes, and others are for serving fresh tonight!
Cranberry Ham Grill – an OAMC delight
Baked Jambalaya …read more

A lovely fall stew to make with either hard cider or the regular tame stuff This makes 4 very hearty servings or 6 medium ones. Since it’s a wonderful OAMC recipe, think about whether to double it so that the time invested is more profitable. This takes a long simmering time to taste its best.
Cider Chicken Stew
Olive oil
4-5 shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
Unbleached flour
Salt and pepper
2 lbs boneless chicken parts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups hard cider (or regular non-alcoholic)
14 oz can of chicken broth
1 T flour
1 c water
2 c butternut squash, peeled and …read more

Here’s a delicious Once A Month Cooking treat for you: jambalaya that you’ll eat with a fork instead of a spoon! You can double, triple, or whatever this recipe to make multiple batches. The recipe below makes enough to feed an average family of four. I like to add something green to the meal on the day it’s served.
For a refresher on how OAMC works, visit the link above. Go here for more OAMC recipes.
Baked Jambalaya
1/2 c celery, chopped
1/2 c green pepper, chopped
Scallion, chopped
Clove of garlic, minced
1/2 lb kielbasa, cooked and sliced
1/2 lb ham, cooked and diced
1/2 t …read more