Once A Month Cooking Book Review

Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites: More Great Recipes That Save You Time and Money from the Inventors of the Ultimate Do-Ahead Dinnertime Method by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson looked like good book when I saw it at the library the other day.  I really want to do more once-a-month cooking so I thought it would be worth checking out.

I read the whole book and found 42 recipes that I truly liked and thought that I could make.  I don't think that I would be able to follow the plan that they have in the book because I don't like 100% of the recipes in each cycle (we don't eat seafood).  They have done all the work and written the shopping lists and told you what order to do everything in.  If your family is more flexible than mine, it is a great book to follow the instructions step by step. 

Step 1 read the book, Step 2 follow the book to have a fully stocked freezer!!  I realize that this is sometimes easier said than done.  I am going to try to get better at doing it but I am still going to work with the sale cycles and not getting everything all at once to cook for one whole day :)

In reading this book, I realized that I did many of things that they suggested already.  When I buy boneless, skinless chicken, I cut them all in tenders so that everyone can take exactly what they want instead of leaving them in whole chicken breasts.  I put the marinates in bags and label them in the freezer so that later we have a list of the "meals" we are going to have based on the chicken in the freezer.  I also cook bone-in chicken breasts when I get them in order to shred the chicken.  I freeze the bags of shredded chicken to use for a variety of recipes.  It is great because it saves time and freezer space.  I took some out the other day and made a buffalo chicken pizza which was super yummy.

I hope to go one step farther and do some of the other tips in the book.  I am going to read through all the recipes that I thought were super yummy sounding and see what stuff I need to add to the grocery list to start a few new recipes.  I have some of the items on hand to make the spaghetti sauce and a few other recipes that I might try first.  I can't wait to try the stuffed shells :)  I have never made them before!!
Check out this book at your local library or bookstore.  I think that almost anyone can find a yummy recipe that they hadn't thought about before!!  I know that I did :)