Cook once- Eat for a month and other recipes.

First, let's recap the basics. The typical family of four (two school age children and two middle aged parents) would spend $132.70 per week according to USDA 2009 stats for the thrifty plan.

I actually have three adults in our household and a child. We actually spend about $ 65.00 on food. I have been spending $75 , but we have developed too large of a stock and I will be reducing my grocery bill until we go back to a more realistic stock.
$128.80 ( 2009 stats) . That's about 1/2.

The basic plan to achieve this is three fold. Plan and organize, shop wisely, and cook from scratch.

1) Plan your meals
2) Stock your non perishables at the lowest prices.
3) Only buy real food-- not convenience food .
4) cook from scratch.

I went to a class years ago on cookimg for a day and freezing your meals so that you have meals for a month. A regular freezer in your fridge will hold dinners for a month for a family of four. You package most everythimg in gallon bags and lay them flat.
Personally, I don't like this concept because I don't have the stamina to cook for eight hours. It is more efficient, but probably best done with a buddy. I call it, marathon cooking.

The new TASTE OF HOME cookbook (The ultimate freezer Cookbook) ( Costco for 7.00)
On the magazine rack, talks about it too.

I, however, do batch cook. If I grind or buy a lot of hamburger, I will make meatballs or a meatloaf, taco meat, and some just plain hamburger.
Chicken can be roasted off and the remainder of a roast chicken meal can become chicken cubes or pieces for pizza, casseroles, or chicken pot pie and soup stock. I buy sausage in quanity at Costco and fry it all, bag it into 1/2 lb bags and use it for pizza, egg dishes, soup.

Roast beef can be a roast one night and thinly sliced and frozen for roast beef a jus sandwiches other nights.

When I want a really quick meal, I run cold water over the food saver bag of meat while I make some a jus in a small frypan on the stove. When the meat is thawed enough to separate it, I turn off the a jus and let the meat " heat" while I make a green salad and toast hard buns.

Pork loin becomes pork chops, pork cubes, pork roast and BBQ pork sandwiches.

All of these meats come in at around $2.00 a pound average.


Next time, chocolate decadence... A real treat.

Thanks for stopping by, tell a friend you think might benefit, and let me know what you might want to see here.


Jane