As I was saying, I really want to improve in a few areas this year. One of the areas I really need to work on is meal planning. I always cook more than one meal at a time, but have never done a true once a month cooking day.

I am interested in little steps I can take to add to my freezer and some meal plans. I tend to make so much of the same old thing and am always looking for ideas of what others make that could be incorporated into the mini plan I already do.

I'm open to any meals as long as there's no fish involved.

I plan to have my little veggie garden to help out. (hopefully..lol if it grows, but let's think positive eh?)

It doesn't have to be dirt cheap, but if it is..that's a definite bonus.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Oooh Sara, I'm sure once Canadian Gardener sees this, she'll be answering your post. I'll remind her, because she is the queen of OAMC. :kokkie: She has a system down pat and its the best.

I have a book Dinner's in the Freezer by Jill Bond. She has a website http://www.megacooking.com/ and also has a website for families with autistic children. http://www.megacooking.com/PREACCH/ I love her book, I just haven't gotten into OAMC. You may have just got me started though on something new.

Here are a couple more sites:

http://www.mindspring.com/~debv/OAMC_101.htm
http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/oamc.html
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/oamcindex.html

You know Sara, I was just thinking "why have I never gotten into OAMC". I think my biggest answer would have to be I don't have very many cooking pots. I'll have to get a few if I plan on doing this big time. I only have a small set of pots and pans. Even when it comes to making a large batch of soup, I'm limited as to the amount I can make.

Do you have lots of pots and pans? If so, what size and how many?

LOL CJ I just got your email, here I am! I will likely overwhelm the unwary so I'll try to keep it simple and not scare the living daylights out of people. :coffee:

I've been doing OAMC for years and love it. I had to simplify and make it easy when I got sick with some kind of bad fatigue thing a few years back (add in some nasty arthritis and I wasn't up to much either energy or joint pain/muscle weakness)

so what I did was stop trying to cook a month in a day, and broke it down into bite size tasks.

I found that helped the budget a lot too.

I started what is termed batch cooking in OAMC circles. I would take a particular food such as beans or chicken and do up a bunch from that, often using a master recipe and making variations.

I'll go launch an OAMC tutorial thread in a minute with my favourite recipes and "batches".

Some other good sites (sorry if I haven't checked if they have been listed here, I'm typing fast before dh comes home)
OAMC 101 http://www.mindspring.com/~debv/OAMC_101.htm
The 30 day Gourmet http://www.30daygourmet.com/ which has probably the best recipe boards for this activity that I know of.
Organized Homes freezer section at http://organizedhome.com/freezercook/index.shtml is clear and simple without an overwhelming number of recipes
And my last favourite
Robbyn's Friendly Freezer at http://snider.mardox.com/OAMC.htm I used to be on their list but the email's were huge and I couldn't keep up.

Most people are terrified of doing it all in one day but when they see you can do it little bites at a time, when time energy and money permit, it becomes much more do able.

Don't try too much at once. Set a goal of one new batch plan a month and one or two conveniance things a payday.

Maybe making Bisquick and some cookie dough logs for the conveniance things

and boiling up a 5 lb batch of regular ground beef on sale and cooling and packaging and freezing it in 2-1/2cup packs.

That would be a good month of OAMC to start with.

Just look at it, like cooking doubles, and freezing one. It will multiply each month, till you look at your freezer one day and find out it became a way of life.

Along the way you will rack up some pretty impressive savings and

fine tune your pantry.

Making pancakes? Waffles? Tray Freeze the leftovers in meal size packs. Reheat in the oven on a wire rack over a cookie sheet.

Making muffins? Make an extra one or two dozen. Double or triple the batch. Freeze the extras.

All of a sudden you are OAMC'ing breakfasts.

Get a little daring, and try the Breakfast Quiche squares, or Breakfast Burritos.

You are off to the races! :kokkie:

Something you WON'T find in most OAMC books, is the use of the pantry for meals you put together in a hurry, from dry and canned goods or storage veggies.

It belongs in my philosophy of component cooking though because it's all about being prepared, having stuff set aside, storing for a rainy day financially.

I will be adding more of that type of recipe in the OAMC tutorial thread, but it's worth thinking a minute aobut why you do OAMC or component cooking.

I do this cooking to save time, money and energy

but also

to be prepared for grocery days, when I don't have much money at all, not my usual grocery money.

My pantry, freezer and system insulate me from the ups and downs.