September 17, 2008
OMAC My Favorite Sanity Saver
It doesn't seem to matter how much time I may have spent homeschooling, therapy-ing, and being the Mommy, my family still always expects dinner.
Even if they just had it, you know, last night.
Who came up with the bright idea to eat dinner every night, anyway?
Because about the last thing I want to do after a busy and tiring day is cook.
One sanity saver that I have employed for many years is the fine art of Once A Month Cooking, or OAMC.
OAMC is a technique where you take one day out of your month and cook many meals that then go into your freezer to be pulled out on those nights you simply have no desire to face a stove.
Your cooking sessions don't have to be just for dinner either.
You can create breakfast items to stash in your freezer too.
My girls and I made about 50 egg, sausage and cheese or ham and cheese breakfast burritos last weekend. I wrap each one in a large and sturdy paper towel so that my family can grab one, nuke it and go! Super quick and no mess left for Mom in the microwave!
Barb, from A Chelsea Morning gives an excellent tutorial on how to make large amounts of egg burritos.
We make ours a little differently. Did I mention I have a household of picky eaters?
Some benefits to OAMC:
*You save money because you are cooking from scratch and following a menu and budget plan.
*You can make healthy meals rather than reaching for the cereal or ramen noodles for the third time in a week.
*Less Clean Up.
*You can get your kids involved! Think of the learning that could be happening while you are cooking together!
There are many variations on the OAMC theme.
*Some get together in OAMC groups that meet at one person's home to make their dinners.
*Others have formed groups where they make several of the same dinners at their own homes and then meet as a group to exchange dinners.
Because my family is so picky, and our budget is so tight, I tend to just do my own thing.
Interested? Here are a few links to get you started:
30 Day Gourmet <--- My favorite site!
Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month!
The Friendly Freezer (This site also comes with a mailing list!)
There are many books that have been published on the topic of OAMC. But, honestly, if you ran a google search you could find all the same great info online.
Some freezer friendly items that I try to never be without:
*Frozen mashed potatoes. I take a 50 pound bag of spuds, turn them into mashed potatoes, package in family sized servings and freeze.
*I make up extra pasta and then freeze it. Simply thaw and warm up in the microwave. You can do the same both rice and beans.
*Freeze meat in a freezer bag with the marinade already added. As your meat thaws it also marinates.
*Make up large amounts of rice pilaf, homemade mac and cheese, lasagna, soups, and casseroles….and then freeze them.
One of my family's favorites is Taco Rice. We eat this as a main dish, or wrap in up in a whole grain tortilla. It is also an excellent base for taco salads! Yum!
Taco Rice (This makes enough for four meals)
4 lb. ground beef (or chicken or turkey)
4 cups diced onions.
4 packets of taco seasoning
64 ounces canned tomatoes (we can our own)
8 cups cooked white or brown rice (we cook ours using home canned salsa)
shredded cheeseBrown meat and drain. Combine meat, onion, taco seasoning packets, cooked rice and tomatoes in a large pan. Simmer until thick.
Cool, and then divide into four meals, putting each meal in a freezer bag or other freezer container. Place shredded cheese for each meal into it's own freezer bag and freeze with the taco rice.
To eat: Thaw. Warm throughly. Sprinkle with cheese.
Enjoy!
You can find Tammy and Parker hanging out at their other blog, Praying For Parker.
Filed under Day In And Day Out, Family, Food, Tammy, homeschool by Tammy and Parker
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20 Comments on OMAC My Favorite Sanity Saver »
#1 - Christine @ 1:54 pm
I'm off to buy some freezer bags!!
Cooking dinner is definitely last on my list of things I want to do at the end of the day!
Great ideas!
#2 - Amanda (Sarah's mom) @ 3:10 pm
This is awesome! Now that I'm back to school & working part-time, the last thing I want to do is come home & be bombarded with "what's for dinner mom??" I know what I'll be shopping for this week!! Thanks.
#3 - Amazing_Grace @ 3:24 pm
I cook a whole bunch of enchiladas and freeze them. We have Mexican Night every Friday so after a long week of school and all that junk that goes with it, it's a nice break.
1 can refried beans
1 envelop of Taco Bell taco mix
1 lb. hamburger
2 c shredded taco cheese
Salsa
Sour cream
Brown hamburger, drain. Combine hamburger and taco mix with ¾ cup of water in frying pan and bring to a boil. Simmer about 10 minutes. Spoon hamburger mixture and refried beans down the center of tortillas. Roll and place seam side down in a 13 x 9 inch dish (put a little refried bean on the outer layer edge of the tortilla to “glue” the tortilla closed). Put some salsa on top, then sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Serve with salsa and sour cream.
#4 - Katrina @ 3:37 pm
Great post Tammy! I have been meaning to do this but haven't done it full swing yet. Thanks for the motivation and links!
Katrina
#5 - Megan @ 3:37 pm
I really need/want to start doing better with our food budget. This seems like a perfect thing to go along with that!
#6 - Jan @ 3:59 pm
Ok, now who wants to volunteer to make our OAMC for us, that's how much I hate to cook!
Great ideas, thanks so much.
#7 - cris @ 5:21 pm
Thanks Tammy. What an awesome idea. Since I'm working more, this would definitely come in handy.
Cris and Max from T21
#8 - Michelle & Kayla @ 5:40 pm
I've heard a lot of people say OAMC works well for them; I haven't bee organized enough yet to try it!
#9 - Amy @ 6:19 pm
wow. what awesome ideas tammy. i am going to have to try this out. my mom and i were thinking of getting together and making stuff like this every 3 months or so!
#10 - rylie's mom @ 8:35 pm
Thanks for all the great ideas. We recently bought an extra deep freezer, so I could start doing this type of thing.
#11 - Melody @ 8:38 pm
Ok, Tammy, you've put me to shame. I now have to do this.
Wouldn't it be great if all of us could gather for a OAMC party? Wonder if a virtual OAMC party would work?
#12 - Nicole @ 9:20 pm
Great post Tammy. I tried this once..when I was 9 months pregnant w/Marley, about 4 days before my due date. There I was pulling 2 carts at Wal Mart and looking like I had just eaten that much. LOL Needless to say I didn't have the best experience, though I did LOVE having dinners ready during the transition to having 3 kids.
Much love honey!
#13 - Kay Drakesmom @ 11:22 pm
Sounds great. Now I just need to find the one day a month to cook. We are gone everyday doing some sort of extra curricular activity. My kids love to be busy and I am glad that they are doing structured activities and staying out of trouble. But dinner usually is a rush. Have to find a healthy happy meduim. Thanks for the ideas.
#14 - Michelle and Elliot @ 6:52 am
This post was wonderful. What splendid ideas, and something that I should have employed years ago. Funny, our kitchen is torn apart currently as we are installing a new floor (my stove is in the GARAGE). I could have used a few 'grab, nuke and go' items this past week, and thanks to DH's perfectionism, way into next week as well. Thanks for the tips, Tammy. You're always so full of good ones!
#15 - vicki @ 9:49 am
great topic! i'm going to have to try some!
#16 - Carey @ 3:04 pm
Wow Tammy, great ideas. I've thought about it, but usually am not that organized. I do have to say though, you're a woman after my own heart, canning your own tomatoes and salsa! Woohoo! I thought I was the only nerd who did that. I suppose you've got a pretty great garden out back huh?
#17 - Barbara @ 3:26 pm
Hey, Tammy, I used to be you. Somehow we manage to hold onto some of cooking for long term, but it is not as planned and regular as before. I believe the big switch came as my children became teens. And our primary-parent-at-home took on part-time work. I've found new ways to make the cooking the meal shorter each day. Reading your post was like a sentimental journey for me. I'm not sure where you live, but if you are eating breakfast tacos I'm thinking you are in my part of the courntry(!). Thanks for a great post.
#18 - Renee, Johnny's mom @ 9:26 pm
We do something very similar! It helps so much with me a full time student and my husband working full time. Gone are the days when we used to enjoy cooking together in the evenings. Now we're lucky to thaw, serve, and eat all at the same time.
GREAT ideas. I look forward to more recipes and ideas that freeze well too.
#19 - Amanda Daybyday @ 12:36 pm
Thanks for this post! I love having meals in the freezer, but am bored of my own stand-bys. The freezer is full of baked goods, but the meals are a little more challenging. On my to do list has been to find some new recipes…and now I have some sources! I'm excited to make some new things.
#20 - Maddy @ 9:40 am
I bought a book similar to that several years ago in desperation but I never quite managed to pull it off. I'm strictly a week in advance now and that's more than enough of a challenge. Well done you.
Cheers