Freezer Cooking - Revised

As my freezer slowly regained the space it once had before I loaded it down with over 30 meals in various shapes, sizes and flavors, I started to realize that the opportunity I was provided to spend an entire day cooking was most likely NOT going to present itself again, but I really enjoyed the freedom Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) gave to me as well as the money it saved at the grocery store (being able to buy in bulk when items were on sale instead of buying what I needed, when I needed it, at whatever price it happened to be). So, I decided to do a revised version of freezer cooking:

I was still able to buy all of my meat on sale (no cut above $2.00/lb) and all at once. I bought a good variety of different cuts of beef, some chicken legs, thighs and breasts, as well as some pork (I didn't buy pork last time because it isn't our "favorite", but it was only $.97/lb - how could I pass that up?). This time, however, I came home and put it all in the freezer, instead of the refrigerator, and decided to take it slowly. I made my menu for the month and took the how-do-you-eat-an-elephant-?-one-bite-at-a-time approach:

Saturday - Slow Cooker Roast (3 1/2 lb)

• 1 1/2 lb - Saturday Evening with Roasted Veggies
• 1 lb - Monday Tacos with Rice and Beans
• 1 lb - Into Freezer for a meal later in the month

Sunday - Salad and Fryer Chicken (no left-overs)

Monday - BBQ Beef and Shrimp Kabobs with Rice (no left-overs)

Tuesday - Chicken Drumsticks (5lb)

• 2 lb - Chicken Soup (2 servings - one for tonight and one for the freezer for later in the month)
• 3 lb - in slow cooker to be shredded and used in 3 different chicken meals for later in the month
• Bones, Broth and Left-Overs will be used to make Chicken Stock tomorrow for the rest of the month's cooking

Wednesday - Pork Loin (5 1/2 lb) - cooked in slow cooker

• Wednesday Night - BBQ Pork with Baked Potato and salad (1 1/2 lb)
• The remaining 4 lb will be used in 2-3 other meals for later in the month (haven't found anything yet, but at least one of them will be BBQ Pork Sandwiches)

Thursday - Chicken Breasts (5 lb) - Broiled

• Thursday - Chicken Cordon Bleu with mashed potatoes and veggies
• The rest of the chicken will be cubed and made into three different dishes for the freezer- chicken pot pie, Chinese Chicken Chow Mein, Chicken Taco Salad

Friday - Ground Beef (4lb) - used in various ways

• Friday - Mexican Lasagna (Brown 2 lb together, use one for Lasagna and one freeze for tacos later in the week)
• 1 lb make meat balls for Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball Soup - so good)
• 1 lb make Meat Loaf (we never finish a meatloaf made with 2lb so one if fine and we just use a smaller pan) for later in the week

Saturday is left-over day and Sunday we'll start pulling stuff out of the freezer. After this week's cooking and freezing, I will still have about 10 lb of meat in the freezer waiting to be used, but I will also have about 14 meals already prepared and waiting to be served. I will alternate between freezer meals and "from scratch" meals throughout the remaining weeks until all of my meat is gone and then start the process all over again. I think this might be a good adjustment to OAMC for me!