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I have spent the last 2 hours reading your newsletter and wonderful recipes. I have already printed a whole bunch I want to try. I love them because they are using ingredients one has on hand. I love that and just wanted you to know how much we appreciate all your hard work in putting together this newsletter. Thank you very much.

Anna


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       Volume I - June 15, 2007

Summer Serendipity...
With Once a Month Cooking!

by Alice Osborne

Consider devoting a couple hours after work or on a Saturday to preparing and freezing several meals in advance. You’ll love how investing a little extra time now, can free you up a LOT later.

Here’s a couple ways to approach this adventure:

  • Mini-Sessions: Take a couple hours to simply triple a few recipes.
  • Protein Type or What’s-On-Sale: Build several recipes around these purchases.

    Whichever approach you choose, just think and cook BIG.

    Plan your menu:

  • Decide number of days to plan for.
  • Select recipes.

    Plan your shopping and approach:

  • Tally all ingredients needed (3 green peppers, 6 lbs ground beef, 4 cans cream of mushroom soup, etc.)
  • List all processes needed (chopping: celery, peppers, onions; grating: cheese, carrots; browning: stew meat, ground beef, etc.)
  • Plan work order according to which recipes call for oven, crockpot, etc.

    Then shop! Purchase fresh foods no more than 2-3 days prior to assembly day.

    Prepare! Do as much prior to assembly day as possible: cooking and browning meats, dicing chicken, making coatings and sauces, chopping vegetables, etc.

    Assemble! If you’re a first-timer, understand it will take about twice as long as it will when you become experienced at it. Wear supportive shoes to minimize fatigue. Clean as you go to reduce after-the-fact major cleaning up. Work with one type of protein at a time. Work with cooked protein first, then move to raw protein.

    Freeze! Cool food quickly before freezing (in fridge or atop ice in an ice chest). Label everything with a “use before” date as well as any reheating instructions.

    Final note:

    We’ve also found this habit really makes “summertime serendipity” possible also. You know—it’s Friday morning and family says, “Hey! Let’s go camping this afternoon!”. No problem food-wise: Most any freezer meal can be popped into a dutch oven and cooked in a campfire. Grab your gear and go!

    Or,

    “Hey! Let’s go for a picnic tonight!” Again, no problem food-wise: Just defrost a dish in microwave, and bake while you assemble the rest of the picnic. Grab your gear and go!


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