“In this homemaker’s equivalent to The One-Minute Manager . . . a system whereby a month’s worth of family dinners can be cooked and frozen in one day.” —Publishers Weekly
Since the first edition of Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth’s Once-a-Month Cooking was published in 1986, its proven, practical method has helped hundreds of thousands of families reduce their cooking time and still enjoy nightly home-cooked meals.
You don’t have to be a super savvy chef to pull your family together each week for these light and simple, easy-to-prepare meals. Updated to reflect today’s healthier diet, this revised edition explains how to: plan ahead, spend less time at the supermarket, cut down on prep time, group similar kitchen tasks together to get them all done at once, make kitchen clean-up more manageable, and use the freezer, computer, and your head to create a month full of delicious meals!
Contains many easy, make-ahead recipes for dinner time success such as:
—Baked Jambalaya
—Chicken Lasagna
—Chicken Taco Salad
—Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork
—Veal Scaloppini
—And more!
Whether you are a busy parent on the go or you just want a quick dinner to warm your spirit, you’ll be instantly hooked on this cookbook classic and its fool-proof Once-a-Month Cooking method!
ASIN : B00MLMSACK
Publisher : St. Martin’s Griffin
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : September 2, 2014
Edition : Revised, Expanded
Language : English
File size : 1.5 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 209 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1466880269
Page Flip : Enabled
Alyssa Hahn –
Great recipe book, especially with a friend!
A friend and I did the one of the two week plans. We split the ingredients to prep and the dishes when they were done. The recipes were easy to adapt as we had a lot of beef, and there plenty of recipes that were easily replaced from chicken to beef which was excellent. There were a few recipes that we thought should have been named differently, but that is just a matter of opinion. I am very much looking forward to doing this again. I will say, it is a lot of work, so I highly recommend doing it with someone else, and you will probably find that it will it may take one or two times to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
F Coopcoop –
Once-A-Month-Cooking Convert
This is a great book to help you organize your meal preparation and save time. I was skeptical because so many similar books have recipes and ingredients my family and I just wouldn’t eat. Mom was a from-scratch-only cook and I developed the same snobery – which has made cooking hard for many-a-year.Once A Month Cooking has taken me over the hump, with delicious and nutritious recipes. Each recipe section offers plenty of variety, so you’re not eating chicken or hamburger for 30 days. The master ingredients list cut grocery shopping to 70 minutes. The easy to follow cooking plan and simple recipes, put hot home-cooked food on the table nightly with a minimum amount of preparation and fuss. Hallaleuah!I’m so happy with this book that I’ve shared it with 3 friends. We are planning a cook-for-a-month day together to supply 3 families with meals. One of them said, “If you ever get depressed, you can cheer yourself up by thinking ‘I have a whole month worth of meals in the freezer.'”
A. S. Jimenez –
A good way to start if you don’t like cooking
My daughter gave me this book for Christmas because I don’t like to cook but need to restrict sodium and fat and therefore have to cook. I’m 66 yrs old and have been cooking since I was 8. I like the explanation of the process and of how to vary it. I started with the 2-wk low fat series. Since I am now a family of one, I had to cut most of the recipes in half or even thirds. With the help of a photocopy of the master shopping list for that cycle, I had no problem deleting the items for recipes I didn’t like and adding items for my own preferences–mainly more fish and vegetarian meals. Even so, I got more than a month’s worth of meals, with considerable repetition, which I don’t mind. It has also inspired me to measure out baking mixes for both quick breads and my bread machine, also portions for hot cereals that I need to eat for the fiber.I am now working on refining this technique for another cycle with more heart healthy recipes. It’s not the solution for everyone but, with some thought can help both the busy person who has to cook for a family (which I once was) and for others who need to control both their diet and their budget. Warning: this isn’t a “money-saving” plan per se. It helps because there is less waste and, with thought, can be more economical.
Ratrace –
More please than expected
I did a 2 week cooking session and was not sure if we would enjoy all the meals. We are ale to stretch this into 4 weeks with other quick and easy family favorite meals (tacos, chinese) once a week and a weekly left over clean up night. Well I have to tell you so far everything we have had my family really enjoys. The Mexican stroganoff was fantastic. The best part is now we pick what we want the night before and pull from the freezer. I can come home, warm dinner, read have a glass wine waiting for the timer to go off. Clean up is a snap. So far the only family complaint I have had was there was not more to have as left overs.
Carfash –
An adventure in cooking
Although it seems like a lot of work while advertising the opposite, one needs to try the method to see if this is something one can live with, preferably something one can have fun with. I find that prep times in recipes are mostly false unless you spend extra time making a mise en place with all things measured, weighed, cut and sliced before actual cooking. It takes me the whole prep time just finding all the ingredients. Maybe this method will cut down the workload. For me, itâs yet to be seen.
LynnardB72 –
Life Saver
I originally found this book in my local library. I checked it out, did a 2 week plan with my sister and we loved it so much I bought the book. The recipes are tasty, quick and not your normal frozen dinner. We have found double check the quantities to the recipes. Like 9 pounds of chicken might not be the right amount of breasts when it comes to the recipe. Either way we love it because this saves me from the dreaded question…. “What’s for dinner?” This book also has some great side dishes and I loved the table conversation ideas. This book is worth every penny!
Shelly Ulmer –
I Love This Book
I purchased the first edition of this book about 20 years ago when I was a nursing student. I cooked during school breaks and fed my family inexpensive and healthy meals all semester. I have used the Once-Month system since college. My old copy is battered and well used.I recently purchased the current edition. I am very happy with the new recipes. We especially like the Baked Jambalaya and the Twelve Boy Curry.
NewMommy –
So far, so DELISH!
We started out with a two week plan. So far, the meals have come out delicious! We spent the whole day cooking, and the grocery list provided was pretty much perfect, unlike others have suggested.. we ended up with very few “left over” ingredients. This book saved us lots of money on groceries and lots of time and effort figuring out what was for dinner. Since there are only two of us, we actually got nearly an entire month of food out of a two week plan!! Definitely worth the $$ spent on the cook book.
Louisesinclair –
I love the monthly plans but could do with blank monthly meal plans. I love the monthly shopping needed for that month. All the menus were so easy to follow. Well worth buying if, like me, you want easy meals to cook in one slow cooker
Amanda –
Die Rezepte sind für mich nicht so gut umsetzbar, zu amerikanisch. Allerdings haben die Hinweise zu Lagerhaltung und der Art des Einfrierens mir sehr viel gebracht, ich verborge das Buch laufend. So simpel all diese Ideen sind, im meinem Umfeld ist noch niemand draufgekommen. Man spart damit viel Zeit und Mühe- und es ist erstaunlich, was man alles einfrieren kann und wie viel man auch in einem kleinen Gefrierfach unterbringen kann1
HellTempest –
this book is realy rubbish! i bought it for starting out doing freezer meals. found it useless! found better books!
Coffeenut –
Love this recipe book but it was not in great condition.
Liz –
Think there could be simpler recipes. Some of the ingredients were expensive.Tried several menusand decieded to make my own.It WAS a learning experience..