Getting dinner on the table is one of the great challenges of modern life.  Unfortunately too often we all resort to fast food, but that gets very boring very quickly.  Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg have written a book that should make everyday cooking so much easier with “Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites.”

           

The two authors are the inventors of the “Once-A-Month Cooking” system that has you shopping for an entire cycle all at once, buying in bulk and saving money.  Then you do all the prep for the cycle the next day, freezing and refrigerating, stocking the panty, and making up your menu of meals for the next two weeks or month.

           

The idea with this system is to save time and money.  It requires you to take a longer-than-usual shopping trip, spend the bulk of your month’s food money, cook half a day for a two-week cycle and a full-day for a month cycle.  This opens up possibilities for mealtimes at the same time taking the stress out of dinner. 

           

The opening chapter explains the system and then includes shopping, packaging, freezing and thawing tips.  It also includes the equipment you’ll need as well as preparatory steps for your first big shopping trip.  There is even a menu chart for each cycle that specifies the recipes, the servings, the method and whatever extra is needed to serve the meal.  And for shoppers there is an itemized list of what to purchase and how much from produce, dairy, meats and canned goods.

           

For each cycle there is an assembly order that tells you exactly what you need to be doing and when to do it.  So for Cycle A, first you put 8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves in the oven for 50 minutes, then you move into chopping all the herbs, vegetables and fruits, then the meats before you get ready to assemble the meals.  That may seem like a lot of work, but you are getting so much done at one time like making spaghetti sauce that you can use later for spaghetti or stuffed shells, or taking the baked chicken breasts and turning them into Sour Cream Chicken, Santa Fe Chicken and Lemon Chicken.  And all you need to do then is take them out of the freezer, thaw, and heat.

           

There are two one month cycles and five two week cycles in this book.  And the recipes are not just spaghetti and sloppy joes; there are also instructions for Texas-Style Lasagna, Country-Style Ribs, Adobe Chicken, Pork Roast, and Pot Roast.

          

So anyone who is so tired of the “what’s for dinner” question, try this new method to stock your freezer with great and fast meals.