Once A Month Cooking, Part 2

How I Began

I first started by sitting down to make a master list of my family's favorite meals.  I just thought it through without looking at cookbooks or online recipes.  That way I knew it would be the TOP favorite meals and the most go-to dishes.  I didn't think it would be many, but I ended up with 18!  I realized I could stop there, but that wasn't quite a month.  So why not double 18 and end up with more than a month rather than think up more meals?  Wouldn't that be nice??  I printed out a table with all of the meals to have on my fridge.  I did NOT use a calendar or date the boxes of the table.  Leftovers are bound to become a meal, and what if I wanted to try a new recipe one week or we ate somewhere else one night?  Then the whole dated meals would be thrown off.  This way, I could just move through the meals one at a time.

My 36 Meals... Fish 'n Chips was added as a reminder Hubz likes it.
So I might throw it in somewhere for his sake.
Do feel free to read through the meals if you want ideas of what can be done!

Once I had my menu, I then began the monumental-but-doable task of assembling my grocery list.  I made up a blank list with categories based upon my grocery store's layout (something I use every time I shop).  Then I went through each recipe, writing down the double amounts of each food item in the right category.  Only write down ingredients that will not perish: meats to freeze, canned goods, pasta, baking supplies, spices, etc.  (You'll buy produce and other perishable ingredients each week.)  Then if a food item repeats in recipes, just increase the amount on your list.  Very basic and easy, just time consuming.  At the end, you'll have what might be the biggest grocery list you've ever made.  But that's ok!  Think of how little time and money you'll spend at the store for the rest of the month!

Before I started the grocery list, I went through on my table and penciled in how much meat each meal would use on the first 18 meals.  I would use 4 chicken breasts for BBQ Chicken x 2 would mean I 'd need 8 chicken breasts on my grocery list for two meals of BBQ Chicken.  Spaghetti would use 1/2 pound hamburger x 2 meals, so I needed 1 pound of hamburger for two meals of spaghetti.  And so on.  I hope this isn't confusing anyone!  Do what works for your brain.  It just made it easier for me to add up the meat poundage for my list AND know how much to allocate to each freezer meal once I had it home for preparation.  'Twould be a shame to get all that meat home and not remember how many pounds went with each meal.  Talk about feeling lost!

Initial Tips

1) Make sure you don't make more meals than your freezer can hold!  If we hadn't had an extra fridge in our garage from when friends were living with us, I would have gotten seriously stuck in this process!  I hadn't even though about how much our freezer would hold (or not).  :-)  After we had been through a few days of meals, I was able to fit it all in our own freezer.  Whew!  And we got rid of the extra fridge... so I need to really think through storage space for my next OAMC!

2) Be sure to purchase storage items: parchment paper, aluminum foil, freezer zip-top bags in both gallon and quart size.  It is also helpful to have a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer.  This helps liquids in zip-top bags freeze flat instead of with ridges from the wire shelves.

3) Carve out a good chunk of hours for the shopping and cooking.  I did my shopping and cooking over two days, and it ended up being about 12 hours total for work time.  It would have been a bit more if I hadn't forgotten to purchase the Italian sausage for the lasagna.  So add maybe 2 hours (my sauce simmers for 1.5 hours).

4) Figure out which part of the recipes you can prep/freeze.  Here are a few examples:

• Asian Beef w/ Broccoli & Rice: roast can be frozen in zip-top bag with marinade; prep frozen broccoli and rice day of.
• Chicken Pot Pie, Fruit:  filling can be made and frozen (do NOT freeze raw potatoes...subtract two meals from my menu above); pie crusts can be frozen or made day of; purchase fruit week of.
• Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread:  sauce and garlic bread can be made and frozen; prep noodles, salad day of.
• Chicken Tortilla Chili: chicken can be boiled, cubed, then frozen; combine with canned goods and broth day of.  (beans can also be made and frozen if canned is not desired)

So now would be a time to get started on your own menu if you're interesting in trying this!  Go in easy.  Think of meals today, and write them down.  Do your list on another day.  Plan your shopping the next day.  How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  :-)

Next, I'll talk about a few tips on how to cook and freeze all the food!

Once a Month Cooking, Part 1

Food and drink.  Necessary for survival.  A blessing to be enjoyed.  And something to plan for!  Let me start by saying I feel quite inferior to the other blog posts and articles I've read about this "Once a Month Cooking" shindig.  It's cropping up everywhere on Pinterest it seems.  I've only tried it once, used my own recipes, and sort of just winged it.  How's it going now that I'm about two weeks in?  WONDERFUL!!!  Several friends have been interested in how I did it, so I thought I would share some of the basics from a non-professional OAMCook.  :-)

Why I Tried It

Because of all that has happened in the last few months for my family, there has been much good and bad stress.  On top of that, fatigue from life's duties and increased fatigue from my current MS flare have made it harder to function as a meal manager.  Spending brain power on menus and grocery lists proves to be a daunting task that takes longer than it used to.  Physically going shopping each week (sometimes with three kids in tow) and cooking every afternoon is hard on my back and energy level.  I began to loathe it all: the menu planning, the shopping, the cooking...  It made my impatience during the Valley of the Shadow (4:30 - 6:00 pm... you moms know what I mean) worse.  I'd be angry if my Hubz had to say he'd be later than planned (poor guy!).  I didn't enjoy creating food that would satisfy my family and make them smile -- I've always loved that about feeding people.  Something had to change even though I had tried several methods to make it easier.  So I got my Hubz on board with the OAMC idea (it's a bigger hit to the finances since it's all at once) and got the gusto to actually do it one weekend (Jan 28-29, '13).

Already Realized Benefits

1) I can't even begin to explain the burden that has been lifted from the Valley of the Shadow!  It's incredible.  Because there is much less prep that has to go into dinner, I have this strange time now that I can do...whatever!  I can say YES to reading a book or playing outside or sitting and snuggling with a groggy little girl who woke from her nap.  I don't have to be so tempted to use the Electronic Babysitter to keep them occupied without a fuss because I can be WITH my kids.  I can SIT down for a while instead of standing in the kitchen for an hour or more.  I can REST at the dinner table when we gather 'round rather than collapse in the chair with a sigh of relief that cooking is over.

2) The amount of brain power needed for meal management has been drastically reduced.  Slower cognition is actually a flare symptom of MS.  I've not talked to anyone except my doctor and those very close to me about it, and it's humbling to admit because it makes you feel stupid or forgetful or disorganized in front of others.  Very humbling, especially the disorganized part.  I think I'd rather limp or have a hand tremor.  Time to fess up.  I have experienced slower cognition over the last several months, some days much worse than others.  I think that, combined with the extra fatigue, is precisely what made meal management become SUCH a mental chore that I dreaded.  It actually makes me a little choked up when I think about how much more free I feel mentally when it comes to feeding my family.  Again, a huge burden - lifted.

3) Hubz had a good point.  With these meals made and frozen, should we choose to take a meal to someone (which we used to do often!) ... there's no extra prep or purchases necessary!  Gotta admit though, my knee-jerk reaction to that was selfishness.  "But if we take a meal to someone, that means one less meal for me not to plan!"  Silly Dawn.  Be generous!

Remaining Questions

1) How will the food budget at the end of using the meals compare to weekly planning/shopping?  Will we have come out ahead, the same, or will more have been spent?  My hypothesis is either ahead since more can be bought in bulk theoretically saving more, or it will be the same.  If we end up spending more, I think it will be because shorter grocery lists can sometimes give rise to feeling like you have more wiggle room to spend week-to-week.

2) Just how long will this last?  I think I was still used to cooking for two families when I made my list, or I had forgotten the exact amount my family eats by itself.  Several of our meals have extended into two dinners or even three  (Roast/veggies, leftovers, then a beef pot pie).  So making a date-less table already paid off (explanation in Part 2)!  I started out with 36 meals, and we have already gone beyond that.  This may end up being Once A 1.5 to 2 Months Cooking!

Next, I'll talk about what I did to prepare for OAMC!

Allrecipes Trial: Mouse's Macaroni & Cheese

Allrecipes and Pinterest.  Two sites I love to get new recipes from.  My most recent trial was Mouse's Macaroni & Cheese.  My Hubz had a potluck lunch at work and requested that I make macaroni & cheese... with the specification that he wanted it to be smooth and cheesy.  As in not the recipe I instantly got giddy to make (Ma Meador's Mac!) which is the down-home Southern type.  As in... more of the Velveeta type.  ::grin::  Some people just like the typical American way better -- processed.  And I admit, it sure is indulgent and tasty!  Just not the best for every day.

I doubled the recipe which made it fit nicely in a 9x13.  The only change I made was to use 2 lb of Velveeta rather than half American and half Velveeta.  Really... aren't they the same?  I actually Wikepeida-ed it.  Velveeta is indeed an American cheese, but it is made in such a way to melt more smoothly than regular American.  Who knew?

The biggest tip from the reviews that rang true for me is NOT to add more pasta.  When you first mix the partially cooked pasta and the cheese sauce, it's a soup.  But by baking it in the oven, the pasta finishes cooking by absorbing some of the cheese sauce and you end up with the creamiest mac!  I topped it with a bit of shredded mild cheddar once it came out of the oven.

Here is the doubled, slightly edited recipe:

Mouse's Macaroni & Cheese

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup butter
4 Tbs flour
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp ground black pepper (I used about 1.5 tsp)
4 cups milk
2 lb Velveeta, cubed
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (I substituted shredded cheddar)

Preheat oven to 400*.  Butter a 9x13 casserole dish.  Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add macaroni, and cook until not quite done, about 6 minutes.  Drain.

In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Blend in the flour, mustard powder, and pepper until smooth.  Slowly stir in the milk, beating out any lumps.  Add the cubed Velveeta cheese, and stir constantly until the sauce is thick and smooth.

Drain noodles, and stir them into the cheese sauce.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top (optional).

Cover the dish, and bake 20-25 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and bubbly.  Top with shredded cheddar (optional).

I just saw that I forgot to cover my dish to bake.  Oh well!  It worked out fine anyway!  :-)

Holiday Decorating Simplified

Do you realize there is a "major" holiday nearly every month?  I really like holidays, all of them.  Well, most of them.  I like decorating for the holidays, but I'm not very creative.  To be even more honest, I'm lazy.  Dawn doesn't do a lot of decorating either, but her excuse is that lots of decor looks cluttered which is not her preference. And we all know more decor means more storage space needed.  We both prefer to just do little touches of festivity for the bigger holidays except one...  Christmas is the only holiday I go all out and decorate multiple rooms in the house and the one in which Dawn uses more decor than just little touches.  Though I confess, I find it a chore...mostly the putting everything away after Christmas.  (Boy, do I sound like a downer??)  Despite the laziness, I do like to decorate for the biggest holidays...Valentine's Day being one of them!  So I thought I would show you how I decorate quickly and easily for Valentine's Day.  You could do this for any holiday.  If you want to plan for the future -- and save money!! -- wait until after the holiday and purchase decor when it is on mega-sale.  So here are my little Valentine's Day decorations!

I have a pair of decorative salt and pepper shakers.  They are difficult to fill because the hole
on the bottom is quite small.  Here's a simple tip to fill them without making a mess!

Take a small piece of tape and cover the holes.
If you don't, you may have a "duh" moment when you turn it over.  :-)

Next, place your tape-covered shaker in a container to keep it propped up.
Put in a small funnel, add salt or pepper, replace the stopper.  You're ready to go!

Salt and pepper shakers are only one part of my decor.  I have
these clear glass floating candle holders.  They are wonderfully versatile!  

Whichever the holiday, I can usually find something to fill
the candles holders.  For Valentine's Day, I use "conversation
hearts."  I would use chocolate...but it would get eaten.  :)
I have had these hearts for four years.  They just don't go bad!

I add the salt and pepper shakers to the candle holders and
end up with a nice little centerpiece for dining room table.

The only other places I have decor are on my front door and in my kitchen.  Wreaths are easy to switch out and offer guests (and yourself!) a festive entrance to your home.  Kitchen towels are a super easy way to keep a touch of fun with the functional!

Using simple decorations like these allows your home to be a touch decorated and festive for the holidays without all the fuss 'n muss and expense.  AND... it's easy to clean up, put away, and switch out for the next holiday!  What are some ways you decorate for the holidays?  Which is your favorite holiday to decorate for?

One Week Down

Month of Freezer Meals...

LOVE.  After one week, both my Hubz and I have noticed how much smoother things run.  Especially in that Valley of the Shadow between 4:30 and 6:00.  I know I'm not the only SAHM that knows how hard those hours are!  With at least the main part of the meal already prepped, so much stress is taken off of that part of the day.  Hubz even had to call one night to say he'd be home an hour later.  Normally, I would NOT be happy with that but would try to suck it up and push through, desperate for help to come home.  This time?  "Ok, that's fine!  See you then!"  Because I knew that dinner prep/cooking was not going to be a big ordeal.  Dishes have greatly been reduced post-dinner which frees up time for family.  Oh, and reduced prep means more time to just chill with my kids.  Another bonus?  I had all of 8 items on my grocery list for this week.  Crazy!  I totally can do 8 items with 3 kids if I choose to go mid-week.  And I didn't have to use brain power to come up with a menu and list -- can't tell you how huge that is since quick thinking hasn't been one of my fortes the last few months.  Summary: We are lovin' it!

Health & Fitness...

This week saw me stepping out like never before to truly be disciplined with what I eat and exercise for both health and internal wellness.  I feel a strong need to get my body into good shape for the future since MS is unpredictable in it's timing and symptoms.  It has gone WONDERFULLY!  I attribute the new found discipline to making it a spiritual endeavor this time around.  Actually praying and asking God to help me choice by choice, day by day (with a few friends also praying for me!).  He is faithful to answer!  I also was led to My Fitness Pal, a website that helps you track food and exercise.  I checked into it -- and it is amazing!  I have never counted calories before, and it has turned into a challenge for me.  It also really helps the discipline with what I eat.  I can also plan out my day and "save" calories if I know of something I'll want to eat later (i.e. a restaurant where an MS seminar is held or Super Bowl snacks...).  My Fitness Pal also has an app which has been helpful when I can't sit on my computer.  If you are wanting to lose weight or are already working on it or you just want to see how many calories/nutrients you regularly eat, you should try it out!  It's free!  Within the calorie counting, I have also made sure to keep sugar intake extremely low and keep carbs/dairy on the lower side but NOT out completely.  My body still needs the nutrients found in them!

Weekly Tips...

* Do NOT freeze raw potatoes.  They turn BLACK and soft as well as leak liquid all in the container/foods they are in.  There goes both my chicken pot pies for the month.  :-P

* Buy your local grocery store's deli pizzas when they are on a good sale. Snip in half, plastic and all, with kitchen shears and wrap with foil.  They'll fit in your freezer for one of those nights and save you money!  Safeway's deli pizzas are big and go on sale for $5.00.  Two for $10 is better than any Pizza Hut special!

* Top Doritoes with shredded pepper jack and heat either in the oven or microwave.  YUM!  Thank you, Super Bowl, for the opportunity to have one of our favorite snacks!

Um...Hi.

Obviously, from our last post, readers can see that life was in a bit of an upheaval.  That was...[checking files]...October 18.  It's January 28 today.  Oh well!  I was indeed diagnosed with MS and in addition to some back trouble, I have had more doctors' appointments than I can count (and they aren't over just yet).  MS and its symptoms/appointments, plus having a dear church planting family live with us plus homeschooling meant that any extra time and mental capacity I had was usually spent resting!  I'm not giving up on posting, so I hope our readers don't either!  I may not post AS often due to life, but I'm gonna try.  :-)

That said, I have no idea what to post for today!   :-)

I have been thinking a lot about how fun it is to USE the things I pin on Pinterest.  I saw an idea to try to implement at least one thing you post on Pinterest each week.  It's a nice goal and ensures that you are not on Pinterest JUST to waste time.  ;-)  I have been able to do small things -- tying a scarf in a new way, trying a hairstyle, a different recipe, a chores/reward method.  It's fun to use the ideas, whether they work or not.  You know what they say, "You'll never know if you don't try!"  I think it's also good for the brain.  We home managers can get so stuck in a rut sometimes that we are tempted to see life as boring and humdrum, becoming discontent with the same ol' same ol'.  But, throw in one twist however small or large each week, and you've upended "routine" -- and perhaps found a really cool new way of doing something!

My latest endeavor, inspired by Pinterest and a good friend, was to shop and prep/freeze meals for several weeks.  Most of the articles I saw started small with 2 weeks.  I figured, if you can do 2 weeks, why not double your recipes and then you have a whole month!  So I did.  :-)  Hopefully in a near future post, I'll be able to give you the basics of what I did to show you that it really isn't as daunting as it may seem as well as update as to how I like this way of meal management.

Enjoy your family today!

Spiderwebbing: Made for Each Other

(resurrection (n): the act of posting on a blog after a long hiatus due to numerous family life circumstances impeding the posting)

Do you ever have quiet moments when a profound thought enters your head.  You chew on it and mull over it when all of the sudden it leads to another profound yet related thought?  I love when that happens.  It's in those moments that the Holy Spirit "visibly" increases your faith, gratitude, and therefore outlook on life.  I had one of those moments tonight.

How does this spiderwebbing relate to 31:27?  Because we all need to remember that God knows what He's doing when He places people in families together.  When we remember that, our focus turns upward and causes us to serve our families with more fervor and cheerfulness!  On to the story...

The Set Up:  Five sleeping children.  One sick and sleeping husband.  The other two adults having a lovely birthday dinner out.  No electronics on save for that upon which I type.  Perfectly QUIET house (pause...I need to take it in again...).  Then there is coughing from upstairs.  Oh right, I need to go give a treatment to EA.

The Action:  I knelt by his bedside as he slept semi-peacefully despite the bouts of coughing.  I prepped his neb machine and figured out how to position the mask so it would not disturb him.  Do I just leave it propped up and go finish working on the grocery list?  Normally, I would (shame on me).  But tonight, I chose what was better.  To stay with my son, pray over him, think about him, take in his awesome good looks and tender childishness.  I sat there contemplating how precious his life is.  Sad that I can not remember my kids as babies (praise the Lord for videos!).  How rough his medical history is, all of 5 years. Having a child with chronic health problems means going through years of phases where you get as much sleep as you did with an infant.  We wake up to coughing, gagging, neb treatments, crying, a child on the end of our bed about to throw up...  So thankful it's just phases for us!  It's hard work.  Work that I can be so impatient with and even angry when he just won't  "calm DOWN or you'll only get WORSE..."  And then it hit me.

How good our God is to have given EA to ME.  A woman who grew up with asthma and allergies in the household of a doctor, often exposed to the medical world and therefore very used to it.  I know what asthma looks and feels like first-hand.  A woman who is capable and keenly attentive when it comes to medical hullabaloo.  And not grossed out by medical stuff.  God put EA in OUR family.  A family who can provide for him and who watches him closely, who gets him the medical care he needs.  If our God were not who He is, EA could have been born to someone who didn't care as much or couldn't provide as much.

And my son would die.

He would die if he were born into that kind of situation.  My friend D's daughters would die if they were born to someone not as attentive and caring as D is.  None of our kids would have made it very long at all.  Elijah maybe not even past 6 months which was when his first ER visit and hospitalization were.  Her girls not past the moment that the wrong food entered their mouths or the first asthma attack hit.

I suddenly found myself praising God for giving me a child with difficult medical problems.  Because that meant that this adorable curly haired, mischievous, compassionate, hunky chunk of spunk would live.  He would have someone to care for his unique needs and teach him the ways of life.  Someone to show him the love of Christ and teach him the ways of God.  How fun and amazing!  But if God gave EA to me, then that means....  Spiderweb alert!

God created me specifically for EA.

He knew that He had created me as a mother with the "stuff" necessary to persevere through the rough times.  He created our family for EA with what we would need spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally to make sure our sweet son grows as healthy as his little body will allow.  Does that mean my husband and I never have weak moments of tears, worry, impatience, anger, flippancy, and such?  By no means.  We are imperfect sinners.  But we can be assured that God has given us what it takes to parent a child like EA.  Because EA is ours.

God also knew that having a child like EA would be just what I need to stretch my faith and increase my trust in Him as sovereign God, Great Physician, Comforter.  Monday morning, when I woke up to hear Elijah starting to cry and cough terribly, I could not shake the sobering thought, "My son is going to die from this."  It was a battle against the flesh for a couple days, taking every thought captive as his fever spiked again... as he complained of not being able to breath with another 3 hours until his next treatment...  During a shower, I couldn't stop thinking about the whole "lay your Isaac down" thing.  Is he my Isaac, Lord?  Are You going to ask me to lay him down, like REALLY lay him down or maybe just proverbially?  Cuz I can do the proverbially.  But would You really ask me to give my sweet son up?  Are You going to ask me to deal with seeing him breathless and lifeless someday?  ....  Stop it, woman!  EA is God's child first.  And God should be your First.  If God asks you to cross that bridge, you'll have the stuff you need to do it.  (Not to mention, I have dear friends who literally have had to lay their children in the arms of God, breathless and lifeless to this earth -- so stop it, woman!  Don't travel that road in thought until your feet hit that path, if ever!)  Indeed, God knows I need a child like Elijah to grow me in specific ways to be more like Christ!  And if God gave EA to me, then...

Spiderweb alert!  God gave ME specifically to EA.  To my whole family.  Not just to their benefit in life, but because He created THEM with the stuff needed to have me as the wife and mother.  I've been through three weeks of testing to find out if I have MS.  (There, it's public now.)  I should find out for sure Monday at 2:00.  Even if I don't have MS (which it's looking very likely), I have a bad back.  The older I get, the more I will be limited in what I can do for my husband and children.  I don't like that.  I'm a Doer kind of woman.  I don't want their lives to be harder -- I'm supposed to be here to make it easier!  It's my job!  Add MS on top of my back problems, and that moves the Doer's fence in a lot tighter.  But God knew all that when He planned who would be in our family.  He created my husband, my sons, and my daughter(s?) with everything they need inside and out to live with a wife and mother who is limited.  What a comfort and relief that is!!!  It's ok to be limited because my God goes before and has prepared my family for this.  What a thought!  Flip side:  He created me for them, to grow them in the Faith.  You get the picture.  They are here for my sanctification just as I am here for their sanctification.  :-)

God gave EA to us...  He created us for EA...  He created them for me...  He created me for them...  And round and round it can go!

Only a sovereign Creator-Father could take imperfection caused by a broken world and make it work beautifully for His glory.