Once A Month Cooking

Today I jumped feet first into bulk cooking, or monthly cooking. Often I will make large batches and divide things up to freeze, but I've never done it in this quantity even though I've thought about it. Lana did this a few weeks ago and filled her freezer and I was inspired. So I set off. My comfort zone was bulk spaghetti sauce divided to use for different recipes, so I began there with my list and then moved on. I brainstormed with things I know and love, things friends have fixed, and a few things I had found on recipe blogs. I am pretty excited to have a full freezer, but Idon't want to eat it-I just want to look at it-and cook more so I don't run out :)

I spent $98.60, but subtract $12.60 for things that didn't involve what I cooked-so that makes it $86.00. I built my meals around chicken with bone in for $.99 a lb and the ground beef I bought was not the lowest fat, but the better meat, and was $1.99 a lb. The meals divide out to $4.30 per meal-I even purchased noodles, tortilla shells, etc. I will need to add a vegetable, fruit, salad, etc. but the biggie for me is not having to decide what to fix for a main course, or go spend a zillion dollars at the store to fix it. And I have a freezer full of veggies like squash, zuchinni, green beans, and corn, that were Russell's grandparents are always so gracious to share with us. I have decided that I will go get a few packs of chicken while it is still on sale and have some in the freezer for if I decide to cook "fresh" or have company-both of which happen occassionally. I also want to get some cheese-I don't usually buy pre-grated, but got it for $1.39 today :)

Beef round 1:
-Beef strogonaf
-Taco Casserole
-Tacos
-Shepherds Pie
-Sloppy Joes
-Taco Soup (x2)

Beef round 2:
-Spaghetti
-Baked Spaghetti
-Calzones
-Baked Ziti
-Lasagna

Chicken:
-Chicken and Dressing Casserole
-Chicken and Wild Rice w/ veggies
-Chicken and Broccoli
-King Ranch Chicken
-Chicken Tetrazini
-Angel Chicken
-Italian Chicken (think chicken spaghetti)
-Chicken and rice