I’ve gotten many questions about my Cooking for a Month post and my Preparing to Cook for a Month post and so I thought it may be beneficial to get the answers in one place for those of you who are interested.
I will preface this all by saying that this was my experience. I am not an expert on Cooking for a Month, I’ve actually only done it twice, but these are my findings.
How long does it take?
The time that cooking for a month requires will differ from individual to individual, based on the meals that you are cooking, your amount of advance preparation, and the amount of help you have drafted. The first month I did this it took four hours. There were four of us doing the prep work… like chopping and preparing meat to go in the dishes.
This past month, I only had one little helper and the job took longer. So, depending on the amount of help you have and the other variables, cooking for a month takes approximately 4 to 6 hours.
How much does it cost?
Once again, this will differ depending on the meals you make, the number of people you are cooking for, and where you shop. The supplies for this monthly meal plan, feeding 6 people dinner for 34 days, cost approximately $230.
Did you save money?
The amount I spent to shop all at once was pretty comparable to what I spend regularly. But I saved money on “grabbing a bite” elsewhere and those spur of the moment grocery trips where I run in to get sour cream and spend $20. You know the ones, right?
Did you save time?
This one gets a resounding YES! My 4-6 hours on Saturday saved at least 30 to 45 minutes each day on prep, cooking, and clean up.
Did the food taste different?
We are not picky eaters so little variations in taste or texture may exist, but we did not notice them. I did notice that the chicken in the chicken fried rice recipe was a bit chewy (my family, however did not agree with me). Someone suggested that I cut it in smaller pieces or shred it to solve this problem.
I’ve also been asked if the pasta in the dishes were mushy. In the dishes that call for the pasta to be precooked, I cook it al dente and then mix it into the recipes. I think this keeps the pasta from getting mushy.
What storage system do you use for freezing?
I use the words “storage system” lightly. My “system” is dollar store foil pans, foil, and freezer bags. A reader suggested that I purchase a glass baking pan with a lid each month so I can avoid purchasing foil pans each month. I think this is a great plan, I do however enjoy being able to throw the foil pan away after using and not having to do the clean-up.
Would you do anything differently?
Yes. When I prepared the meals I froze some of them in gallon freezer bags and laid them flat to freeze. That is a great space conserving way to do it.
However, for some of the meals, I did not plan to thaw them before I put them in the crock pot and so when I put them in the crock pot, the lid would not go on and consequently I had to wait for it to thaw before actually starting the cooking process. In the future, I will freeze in smaller portions and not lay them flat to freeze.
So, this was my experience with Cooking for a Month. If you’ve got any more questions, feel free to ask. I’ll do my best to answer them and I’ll add them to this post for others to see too.
Happy Cooking,
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Do you cook the freezer meal in the ziploc bag? This seems to be something I can’t get a straight answer on. I search other people’s instructions and none suggest cooking in it or thawing the food and dumping it into the slow cooker and tossing the bag. If you could help out I would appreciate it! Thanks!
No Dana, I do not cook any of the meals while in the ziploc bags. I freeze soups and other things I am going to put in the crock pot in ziplocs and either thaw it and then pour it in the crock pot to cook or just tear the ziploc bag off the frozen contents and put it in the crock pot to cook. I do freeze my enchiladas in a ziploc but then take them out of the bag and put them in a baking dish before baking.
Dana, I remove the frozen meal from the ziplock bag before cooking. If I remember to plan ahead, I move the ziplock bag from freezer to refrigerator the night before so it can slow thaw out in the fridge. Other times I am grabbing at the last minute, so I pull the frozen bag from freezer, run a little hot tap water over the still-sealed-up bag, then remove the ziploc bag and cook the contents while still frozen–just takes longer for it to cook if you start with “frozen”. But whether fully frozen or thawed, whether using crockpot or another cooking method, I always remove the meal from the bag and throw the freezer bag away before cooking.
You could cook it in the container you froze it in if you freeze it in a foil pan–I do that sometimes, and using HEAVY DUTY aluminum foil to cover it with before freezing is the key to avoiding freezer burn. If you freeze in corning ware or some other casserole dish, you can also cook in that but would want to let it thaw and get up to a higher temp before cooking because going suddenly from very cold to very hot could break your casserole dish. Anytime I freeze in ANYTHING other than good quality freezer bags, I use a generous amount of heavy duty aluminum foil to wrap well before freezing.
Freezer cooking can save some money if you find a great sale on meat, buy that sale item in bulk, and use if for your freezer meals. But whether you are saving $$ or not, it is definitely an amazing time saver!!
Dana, When I cook for the freezer, I pack in different items depending on how I know I’ll cook it. Casseroles will be baked, so I pack those right in glass pans with removable lids. Cookie dough will be thawed and then scooped/sliced to bake so I wrap it in plastic wrap. Slow cooker meals will be defrosted than dumped so those are packed in baggies. Stromboli will be reheated in the oven so those are prebaked than wrapped in foil.
This also saves a ton of time on cooking day, not having to repack my food a second time – it just requires some preplanning before the big cooking day.
love your blog always looking for ways to save will be following you now found you on thrifty tuesday I’m lorraine at http://lorrainesresources.blogspot.com
I trying to start monthly freezer cooking…again. I saw your picture with the crock pot and remembered a tip I read in a 1950s freezer book (I own it) fit for you: line the crock pot with foil, freeze in crock pot, then take out, wrap, and store. Hope it helps.
Thanks for the advice Kim. Sounds like a great idea!
Oops! I just wrote that elsewhere.I should have read everywhere first. I apologize.
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Confesso que quando vi a aletria na receita, imaginei-a, tal como na sobremesa, como algo doce. Pensei então que a ideia fosse contrapor com o amargo do limão. Obrigado pela referência e atenção mais uma vez 🙂
Great tips, thanks!! I have been determined to do once-a-month cooking and never have. I really need to, so I can make a very small grocery budget go a long way. Yes, I know about those “pick up 1 item & spend $20” trips to the store. 🙂
Awesome, post! I think it’s a fabulous idea to prepare and freeze the meals a head of time. I know this really would help out my family right now. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks for sharing, I would love to be able to pre cook like this! I need to try =)
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Thanks for the FAQ, this is much more helpful than a lot I’ve seen! I’ve had the problem with freezing them flat, too! Found you through WFMW.
This is a great post with lots of great ideas! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend!
Miz Helen
Ok, so when you forget to thaw anything and really want to eat the freezer meal, is there anything you do? Or not a good idea to do it when not thawed? Thanks!
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Approximately how many days are your prep ahead months worth of freezer meals expected to last?