Preparation For Cooking Ahead

Posted on March 18, 2008
Filed Under Recipes, frugal living |

One thing a little different about the Cooking Ahead or Once A Month Cooking is that it takes a tiny bit more planning. Or at least, more planning all at once. I think I actually spend more time figuring out my menus on a daily/weekly basis than when I do it all at once.

Since I am by myself most of the time, I will be dividing my dishes up into single serving packages. This means that I don’t need to cook nearly as much for the month as people with a family. The recipes that I am going to be listing are for 6-12 servings. In my own cooking I will probably halve the recipe so I don’t have 12 servings of one dish. Even I would get tired of eating the same thing every other day.

The first step is to look at what you have and what’s on sale. I bought several bags of frozen chicken breasts when they were two for the price of one so most of these recipes are going to be for chicken with a couple of others just to have some variety.

The recipes that I am using come from “Don’t Panic — Dinner’s in the Freezer” I got this book recently with an Amazon gift certificate so I’m looking forward to trying them out. So far the cookbook seems to deliver what it promised in light, quick economical meals.

I am going to do 7 different recipes:

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter
Cranberry Chicken
Hawaiian Chicken
Honey Pecan Chicken
Chicken in Rasberry Sauce
Pork Chops a la Orange
Beef Chimichangas

My shopping list is going to look similar to this:

Chicken Breasts
fresh basil
parmesan cheese
garlic clove
butter
flour
egg
bread crumbs
olive oil
fresh thyme (I will probably use dryed)
shallots
orange juice
whiskey? (anyone want to donate some?)
honey
cidar vinegar
pecans
pineapple slices
mandarin oranges
cornstarch
brown sugar
lemon juice
ginger
Catalina Dressing
dry onion soup mix
whole berry cranberry sauce
raspberry preserves (fruit only type)
frozen pineapple juice
soy sauce
rice wine vinegar
chili powder
curry powder
garlic powder
raspberries
pork chops
seasoning salt
paprika
orange juice
whole cloves
orange
lean ground beef
cumin
oregano
green chiles
taco sauce
sour cream
9 7inch tortillas

Whew! That seems like an awfully long list but I already have at least half of the ingredients so it won’t be so bad. I really never think about how many little things, spices, herbs, vinegars, etc that it takes to cook until I start typing out recipes. I put the things in bold that I actually have to buy.

I did not add the amounts because I will be changing the recipes a bit so that I don’t have 12 servings of Chicken in Raspberry sauce. Doesn’t it make you hungry already? Recipes will be coming over then next few days.

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Comments

One Response to “Preparation For Cooking Ahead”

pligg.com on March 20th, 2008 4:45 pm

Preparation For Cooking Ahead | Oh My Aching Debts

Spend a single day preparing and cooking meals for an entire month. Save money and time by buying in bulk, preparing and freezing meals ahead of time. When you are don’t have time to prepare a whole meal, these delicious meals are in the freezer jus…

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