Bulk Cooking How To

Once a month or bulk cooking is a wonderful way to save time and money for your family. Even if you are an empty nester, having pre cooked items in your freezer to prepare makes life so much simpler!

 

It is very simple really; it is a matter of cooking and prepping certain ingredients of your favorite meals ahead of time and then either freezing, canning, drying or refrigerating. The most common is to freeze, whether you have a large one or just the one on top of your refrigerator.

 

Whenever you are going to prepare a family favorite, double, triple, even quadruple the recipe if it will keep in the freezer. 

 

There are several different approaches to bulk cooking. You may like one approach better than another, or you may find using a combination is the best. Try each one and see what you are comfortable with! Experiment! Take chances! There is no wrong way as long as you are using common sense and being safe!

 

• If you want to share this with a friend or two and get together and put together say up to 20 different recipes and freeze them, this can be a fun way to get together with friends and help each other with cooking! Doing this takes a lot of pre planning as far as what recipe’s, how many of each to prepare, and doing the shopping. This takes money planning as well so the cost is split fairly.

  • Master Recipes – This is an important part of bulk cooking that is preparing and freezing specific ingredients that you add to other fresh ingredients when you prepare the meal. Such as having several freezer baggies or containers of browned ground beef. Some can be flavored with just onions, salt and pepper for use in casseroles or as pizza topping. Some can be flavored with taco seasoning to make taco night easier. Cook up several whole chickens in stock and debone. Freeze them in airtight freezer bags for casseroles, chicken salad, soups, etc. Many meats can be done up this way such as beef, chicken, turkey, sausage.

  • Meat Loaf is another excellent item that can be made in large batches and frozen. Mix up a large batch and put them into disposable foil pans, wrap well in freezer bags and if they will be frozen for more than 2 months, I suggest wrapping them a second time in freezer paper to help prevent burn. You can do beef, turkey loaf or salmon loaf this way. I do recommend that salmon not be kept for more than a month in the freezer. It tends to freezer burn no matter how well wrapped.

 

• Pre season ground beef and make burger patties, freeze them on cookie sheets then transfer them to freezer bags. Great way to save time when grilling. Just take out as many as you need, let them thaw partially and grill.

 

• Meatballs for spaghetti and meatball subs the same way as the patties. You can freeze them raw or precook them and freeze with or without sauce.

 

• Bulk Grilling - especially in the summer! Designate a night a week or at least two nights a month for grilling. It is easy, delicious, and your hubby can get in on the act. Grilled meats can be used in salads, pitas, as fajitas, in sandwiches - you name it! Imitate those fancy restaurants, but make it yourself! Even grilled hotdogs and burgers freeze well to heat up for a quick meal for the kids.

 • Utilize your Crockpot – A crock pot or slow cooker can turn almost any cheap piece of meat tender and delicious! Slow cook a roast in the and freeze some of it sliced, some shredded and of course saving the stock for use in soups, gravy or any recipe requiring meat stock. You can cook beef, pork, turkey breast or ham this way.

  • Bulk cooking homemade pizza is another great way to have quick and easy meals. You can make them full size or mini. If you want you can purchase cardboard circles from any cake decorating store or section of your local discount store to put them on to freeze them. (I do not recommend cooking them on these circles as I am not sure they are treated for oven safe the same as ones the pizza manufacturer uses.)

 • Bulk cookie dough made into walnut sized balls and frozen is a great way to have hot fresh cookies whenever you want. Just take out as many as you need, bake them fresh and you’ll never throw away a stale cookie again!

 

• Brownies also can be bulk baked and frozen, but not for more than a month.

  • Cakes can freeze okay but with box mixes it is easier to keep several of them on hand to bake up fresh.

 

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do pre select about 20 recipes to use that are tried and true and your family loves. Plan a week’s or month’s worth of menu’s based on your bulk items in your freezer to save time deciding each day what you will have for that meal.
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• Don’t freeze items made with mayonnaise, salad dressing, sour cream or cooked eggs. These items should always be added fresh as freezing changes their texture.
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• Do cook recipes that save you more than a half hour prep time.
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• Do plan around what’s on sale when shopping. Watch for bulk ground beef or turkey, roasts, hams, etc that can be purchased in large quantities and prepped for the freezer.

Shopping:
Master lists - Once you have gathered your recipes, make a "master grocery list" of all of the ingredients listed in the recipes. Combine like items and make sure you will have enough for all of the dishes you are going to prepare. Make sure to include side dish ingredients, desserts, snacks, etc. that you may need.

Cooking:
There are several approaches to the cooking part. You could do it in a couple of days, Day 1: shopping and prep day, and Day 2: cooking and assembly.

 

Prepare long-cooking items like soups, stews, slow cooker recipes, dough’s and large meats first, then work on things that take less time, such as chopping, grating, mixing, and measuring. Don't get discouraged if you don't get as much done as you want to, just put it in the fridge and do more the next day. Practice makes perfect!

Preparation - This is your day/time to prepare master recipes, chop vegetables, shred cheeses, etc. Combine all like steps in recipes and do them at once. For example, if several recipes contain chopped onions, chop all the onions for all the recipes at one time. (You can go even further and chop all of the onions you have and freeze them, for present and future use). You can also prepare dough, sauces, marinades, etc.

Cooking - Finish cooking your master recipes, then prepare them for use in the other recipes you are making them into. For example, cook the turkey or honey baked ham, then divide into the parts for the other recipes (such as turkey or ham slices, potpies, etc) that they will be used for. Boil, bake simmer, fry, do all of your cooking steps now.

Tips:

Make sure your counters are clear of clutter and you have lots of paper towels, sponges and towels for quick cleanup, along with aprons and a mop!

Have your recipes where you can easily see them. Tape them to the upper cabinet or whatever is easiest.

Remove distractions! Keep the pets out of way so you are not having to step over them or get their fur in the food! If you have small children, same thing, get a sitter or send hubby and the kids out for the day.

Assembly: Assemble your dishes, cook if needed, or freeze. Make sure you label everything that goes into the freezer and put any reheating instructions on the label if you think you may forget.

Freezing Supplies:
Use good freezer bags to put the meats in. You can also freeze sauces, shredded cheeses, chopped veggies and other items in ziploc bags, close them tight and put them on their side, patting them flat. You can get a lot of food in a small freezer this way. Be sure to use good brands of bags as you do not want them bursting open in the freezer.

 

Freezer containers in a variety of sizes are necessary! I find the most useful sizes to be the 2-cup (good for sauces and gravy), and 5-cup (good for entrees that are put on rice or pasta) sizes, as well as the larger 11-cup sizes (good for casseroles, fried rice, any dish that is served whole with nothing else added).

Aluminum foil - Great for freezing in, I like to wrap up pizza in foil. Just don't forget to label your foods!

Plastic wrap - Another alternative to double bagging. If you want to reuse Ziploc bags, wrap the meats thoroughly in plastic wrap, freeze on a cookie sheet, then place in a Ziploc. Take the meat out of the Ziploc before it thaws, so no blood gets in the Ziploc. If in doubt, throw it out! Don't take chances!

Foil containers – There are a variety of shapes and sizes and can be used for most anything. You can even find divided ones that you can make your own ‘tv dinners’ on with a meat, mashed potato and veggie!

 

Divided Paper Plates – work great to make your own microwavable ‘tv dinners’.

 

**** Freezer inventory - keep a list of everything you freeze, and mark it off when you use it up. This is very important! Put it on the side of your fridge or freezer so its handy.

 

Safety:

 

Here are some general freezer guidelines. For more information, check out the website for the National Food Safety Database:

 

Never refreeze raw meat! If the meat was frozen raw the first time, you must cook it before refreezing!

 

If in doubt, double bag it! Protect your food investment by making sure it is protected from freezer burn.

 

Don't allow meat or eggs to defrost at room temperature. You are creating an opportunity for bacteria to grow, which can result in food poisoning! Instead, thaw these foods in the refrigerator or use a microwave on defrost setting. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

Breads and other baked goods can be thawed at room temperature quite nicely and safely. They can also be refrozen but may get dry.

 

If you are in doubt as to whether a food is still good, toss it!

 

Most items keep well in the freezer from 3-6 months.

 

Once A Month Cooking

Once-a-month-cooking (O.A.M.C.) or Bulk Cooking is a very old concept. Your mom's and grandma's perhaps practiced it without really knowing they were starting a trend!

And maybe even you have done it! Have you ever been making a meatloaf or a pan of lasagna and decided to make two? Freeze one and bake the other for that night? Well that is basically the concept of O.A.M.C. It is a fantastic way to keep food costs down and can help to cut back on the number of times that your family may eat out each month because there is always something easy to make at home.

You do not need special recipes to do this, all you need is to multiply ingredients from recipe's you already use 3-4x and have a good number of freezer safe containers to put them in or freeze them in disposable foil pans. Of course freezer wrap / paper is helpful to keep things from freezer burn.

Some recipe's you will only need to prepare parts of it to freeze as the other items such as noodles or rice will need to be prepared fresh.

Keeping precooked/preseasoned meats in your freezer can be just as time saving and cost saving as preparing the entire meal and freezing it. It all depends on what your lifestyle requires. You could also co-op with other busy moms and do your bulk cooking together in a weekend.

Getting Started:

The idea of O.A.M.C. can be very overwhelming when you first get started. The thought of cooking 20-30 meals in one day is a lot to do! Here you will learn exactly how to do O.A.M.C.
If doing one big cooking day is too much, then start off with 2 Saturday's in a row or a Saturday and Sunday. Cook one weeks worth of meals and call it once a week cooking. The practice of once a month cooking is to simplify your life - not to burden you down!

Remember: Plan, plan, plan.

The more you plan, the better prepared you will be. This includes planning your time, your menu and most importantly your grocery list.

Here are the basic steps to Once a Month Cooking:

1. Decide on a day or days to cook. Be sure you choose a day that is free of other obligations or activities. If possible, have things planned for the kids or have someone take them for the day so you can focus on cooking. Another option is to cook in smaller batches in the evenings once the kids are in bed. An entire day is best but not always possible. Pick a day when you know you will have few or no interruptions.

2. Find your local store ads. When you check the local groceries stores for what is on sale, you are working towards saving money. Plan your meals around the things you can get on sale.
Purchase lean ground beef in bulk, this saves you money because in the long run you pay for meat not the fat. Whole chickens are the most economical priced, however if you watch for boneless breasts to be on sale and stock up, then freeze it for future use, you will save money and time in the long run there too. (Be sure to wrap them in freezer paper and label before freezing!) Boneless pork chops can be found on sale at times and purchased and frozen the same way as the chicken breasts, for future use on your O.A.M.C. day. Pork and Beef roasts can also be purchased in bulk and wrapped carefully and frozen. Or you can crock pot cook them and freeze the cooked meat. This is great for pulling out say 1 lb to thaw and use for hot or cold sandwiches or for meat to put into a casserole. Cubed meats properly wrapped and frozen for stews, casseroles and stir fry's is a great time saver also.

3. Meal Planning. Use a notebook or calendar and plan out each months meals. Not every meal has to come from the freezer as many recipe's are not adaptable to being frozen for up to a month. List the favorite meals your family likes and list the ingredients as well.

4. Plan you Grocery Shopping List. As you go through your recipes one at a time list the ingredients that you will need to buy. Then compile a master list of the total amount of meats, noodles, potatoes, rice, onions, celery, etc. right down to checking your spice cupboard to be sure you have them all on hand as well.

5. Grocery Shopping. This should be done a couple days BEFORE cooking day. If you plan your shopping ahead of time, you'll have time to find the best prices and sale items!

6. Cooking Day. Think smart and plan. Combine steps for recipes if possible. How many chopped onions will you need? Do them all at once. How many pounds of browned ground beef will you need? Save a pan and do it all at once! Then you simply divide it up once it is cooked. Do you see the importance of planning in saving time?

7. Freeze your Meals. - Here are some common methods for freezing meals:
Freezer Bags - This is the main way that to store food. The bags lie flat on the shelves and they all stack up nicely on top of each other. It is very efficient use of freezer space!
Purchase bags that are specifically freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible before sealing. Particularly for meals that have a lot of liquids.

TIP: Seal (zip) the freezer bag almost all the way and insert a drinking straw in the remaining opening, suck out the air and seal the bag as you pull the straw out.
Vacuum Sealer - These are great because they help to protect your food from freezer burn allowing the food to stay really fresh tasting. Any disposable, or reusable containers that are for the freezer. If you want to go from freezer, to refrigerator to thaw then to oven, you will want to use heavy duty foil pans.

Label all the food that you put in the freezer. Using freezer tape and a permanent marker, write what the meal is and the cooking instructions. (Freezer tape can be found in the section where freezer paper is sold.)