Once a Month

It seems no matter what I do I always seem to feel like I am in adequate as my job as a mother, wife and friend because I am always running out of time. I never seem to have enough hours in the day to cook a home cooked meal, grocery shop, dishes, laundry and get the kids where they need to go and then organize my hubby with everything going on. I have 4 children with 3 living at home along with a husband who should also count as an additional child! *wink*. I know woman have been doing it for centuries and most likely alot better than I, so I am always looking for ways to stretch a buck, save time and etc.

About 6-9 months ago I was surfing the Internet and came across this website about Once a Month Meals and it intrigued me. At first it seemed overwhelming and I just moved on then about 2 months ago I got a burst of energy (call it spring fever) and decided to look into it again. This time I sat down and checked out all the menu's, grocery list, and checked out the cooking day instructions and made some tweaks that would fit better for my family. I then hauled Andy off the grocery store with my list and the Kaos began! Andy grumbled and groaned the whole process of shopping because he knew he was going to be my cooking partner and he was not looking forward to it. After all the cooking and such it became a learning experience for me to tweak the process even more for my family and I knew I would do it again!

Well we gave it a try 3 weeks later and still having some meals left we tackled the process again. This time my hubby was more than thrilled to help. I think the reason for that was the benefit of having a a home cooked meal on the table each night when he came in the door and we also stopped eating out. We have taken the time to shut the TV off and sit at the table TOGETHER and just talk about our day and etc. It also benefits my family because we are not eating processed food out of a box or bag. Another upside is I can take a pan out of the freezer either the night before and put it in the refrigerator to thaw or on the kitchen table in the morning or the crock pot. It's as simple as that! I then throw it in the oven and open a can of veggies, get a bread or make a salad. I can not express enough to you how much this has helped with my time management.

Here is the menu I tried this time:

(3) Asian Peanut butter Pork loins
(3) Hot Roast Beef for open faced sandwiches
(4) Chili cheese casseroles
(4) Meat loafs
(6) Chicken ranch pizza's including dough for crust
(4) Ham and hash brown bake
(2) Ravioli Lasagna
(4) Beef enchilada's
(2) Chicken enchilada's
(2) Freezer Mash potatoes
(24)Slices of cranberry, walnut stuffed french toast
(24) Bacon Brunch bites
(4) Ham farmers casseroles
(2) Bacon farmers casseroles

here is a look at my freezer


I should of kept my receipts for this months meals so you could actually see what it cost me. I am going off memory here but I think I bought everything except meat at Walmart for about $100( i had to buy tons of spices I didn't have also), and the meat was about $50. Last months was right around $200. Not to shabby for all of our main dishes for during the week.

I just wanted share




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