Once a Month Cooking

So for those that know me well, you know how much I hate cooking.  I hate the planning, I hate the time commitment each and every day, and I hate trying to do it all with a little person climbing up my leg.  But, I hated it before that sweet little addition; she just makes it that much harder!

Back in Utah, Derek and I went to Dream Dinners.  We'd spend 1 1/2 hours once every month and make 12 meals for $200 to last us that month.  I liked it, but you couldn't choose your meals (they had a different menu each month, but they chose what you were having) and sometimes they weren't that good.  It helped with the cooking hating, but not so much for the taste.

Back in December, I did a month of cooking on my own.  I wanted to have some meals on hand for when Samantha came in January.  It definitely helped.  With the meals people brought us, and the meals I had made, we were set for more like two months.  It was awesome!  BUT, I was 8 months pregnant with swollen feet and it took me FOREVER!!! I told myself I wouldn't do it for a LONG time because my feet were so sore and I was spent.

Fast forward to September 1.  Last month.  I decided I could do it again.  Samantha was old enough that she could play in the other room by herself with Derek keeping an eye on her, so I could cook all day.  I didn't make nearly as many as back in December.  It was probably 8-9 dinners, and it only cost me a little over $100.  It was sweet.  My feet didn't hurt, the dinners were delicious, and I was happy because I didn't have to plan and cook a meal every day (well, at least I didn't have to do that much!).  Those 8-9 dinners lasted us until this week.  We ate out a couple of times, had dinner at Gary and Judi's, forgot to put some in the fridge so made pasta, etc., etc.  Anyway, I was hooked!

So today, I decided to take it on again.  I went to onceamonthmom.com (thank you pinterest) and made their ENTIRE menu. Go to the website and check out the October Traditional Menu to see what I made today.  It has links to all of the recipes!

It took a lot of initial planning.  I searched store flyers to try and get as much bang for my buck so I ended up going to 4 stores.  But, I did this over the course of a couple of days, so it wasn't too big of a deal and I saved a lot of money doing it this way.  If you count it up, I spent $245.58.  That may seem like a lot, but keep reading to see what I got out of that.  This isn't just dinners here.  This is every meal for a whole month (or in my case, several...)

I spent all last night chopping vegetables and other prep style stuff that needed it (browning ground beef, sausages, cooking pastas, etc.)

But today I did ALL the rest.  It was pretty intense.  From start to finish it took a good 8 hours.  Well, maybe a bit more, because as I type this, I'm making Derek do all of the dishes and cleaning...  He's such a good guy!   My feet are definitely sore (that's why I'm making Derek do the dirty work) as is my back. But, I HAVE SO MUCH FOOD!!! This is what they said I'd get out of it: (everything is x2 because you make each meal twice)

3 Breakfasts x 2 = 6 BREAKFASTS
4 Lunches x 2 = 8 LUNCHES
8 Dinners x 2 = 16 DINNERS

For some reason, some of them made more than they said it would so this is what I actually got:
9 BREAKFASTS
11 LUNCHES
18 DINNERS

We'll probably end up using the lunches for dinners too, AND, most of these will also have leftovers, so we are SET! For at least 2 MONTHS!!

Just a recap: 38 + meals, $250.  That's all.  That's all of the food we need for at least 2 months.  CRAZY!!!

If anyone needs a meal in my ward, I've got it covered.  If we decide to have people over for dinner, I've got that covered too.  I'm pretty stoked.

Here's a look at all the stuff that will be occupying my freezer for the next couple of months.

It may not look like as much,  but each meal only serves 2 people + baby.

All snug and tight in our teensy little freezer.  I'm surprised it fit!

Let me know if you want an update on the recipes as we try them.  I can already tell you (since I snuck a few throughout the day) that the Pumpkin Pancake Bites are TO DIE FOR!!! Yummers!  Especially for fall.

Has anyone else done this before?  Any favorite freezer recipes or websites you want to share?