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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Once A Month Cooking For Tasty, Economical Meals

/ On : 1:20 AM

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By Christine Szalay-Kudra

You might like cooking but do you really enjoy having to do it every single evening? If you have family responsibilities and lots of commitments, having to think about what to make every day can be stressful, especially if you do not have much time to cook.

The best way around this is to do your cooking once a week or once a month, divide the meals into portions and freeze them. Freezer cooking, or once a month (or week) cooking means that you can spend one day doing the cooking for the rest of the month and not have to cook for the other twenty nine days. Does that not sound like an appealing way of feeding your family?

The Best Meals to Cook in Bulk

Many different foods can be frozen and they taste nice when you thaw them. Cooking a lot at once can be a timesaver and if you have a busy day, you can simply thaw your family's meals in the refrigerator and warm them up in the evening.

You can often get great discounts when you buy in bulk. A big package of boneless chicken pieces, for example, works out cheaper per pound than buying a pair of chicken thighs or chicken breasts. Perhaps you spot some ground lamb on special offer one week or turkey another week.

You can choose from many types of meat, fish, and poultry recipes if you want to do freezer cooking. Chicken or meat in a sauce will keep in the freezer for up to six months. Maybe you want to try making some classic dishes like sausage casserole, beef bourguignon, cannelloni, or lasagna. A chicken curry recipe is another good choice.

Tips for Freezer Cooking

Pick a day when you will not have many commitments or interruptions. Make sure there is enough space in your freezer and make sure you have all your necessary ingredients ready. Remember too that you can save time buying other frozen foods on special offer like precooked meatballs or cooked shrimp. Simply add these to your thawed meals to liven them up.

You can either cook one type of meal at a time or, if you are more experienced in the kitchen, cook various dishes at once. When your food is cool, you can put it in the freezer. Wipe the edges of your plastic containers or freezer bags before freezing them. Store the food flat, in zipper food storage bags, and you will find that even a small freezer is capable of holding two week's worth of entrees.

You will need plenty of freezer bags, aluminum foil and plastic wrap or plastic food containers. A marker pen for labeling the food is a good idea too and it is important to write what the meal is and the date you made it, as well as the cooking instructions and whether you need to add anything else to it.

Sometimes you can make a creamy dish but cream does not freeze well so leave it out of the meal and add it when you reheat it. Potatoes do not always thaw well either, so you can either use slightly undercooked barley or pasta as a replacement or add fresh potatoes when you reheat the dish. - 24553

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