Flashback: OAMC, or simply put, Freezer Cooking

This was one of our very first posts on the blog but I've been thinking about it a lot lately as I try to figure out how to not only avoid takeout by being more efficient but also figuring out ways to save money on groceries. ~Lara by Jenn

I am very happy to write my first post as a contributor to this Blog!  I really believe that this blog will be a great way to help other parents in the Ottawa area in many, many ways!  I am not very good with figuring out new things to do with my kids (Jacob - 5, Zachary - 2.5), but I realized today that I do have something important to share.  Once a Month Cooking, also called Freezer Cooking.

Over the past 4 years since going back to work after my first child, I have struggled with getting proper, healthy meals on the table after getting home for the day after 5pm.   Then, last October, a friend posted something on Facebook about a place you could go to where you choose a certain amount of meals and then prepare those meals right there at the store.  They provide everything you need and have everything all ready to go.  You just have to follow a recipe and dump ingredients into Ziplock bags.  It sounded great!  I decided to give it a try.  It was a lot of fun, but it was also pretty expensive.  I justified it by convincing myself that we would end up saving money by not going out to eat. I thought I would just go once a month and make 6-9 meals.  Shortly after, I realized that we would not be able to do this regularly.  The cost was just too high.

Skip forward to February.  A different friend posted on Facebook how she had just made 12 meals in one day.  I immediately drilled her on how she did this.  It was that day that I was introduced to Once a Month Cooking / Freezer Cooking.  She suggested two books for me to have a look at - The Big Cook and Fix, Freeze, Feast.  I researched both books and decide I needed both of them ASAP!   So I ordered them online from Chapters.ca.  The day they were delivered, I went crazy planning my menu for the next little while, preparing a grocery list, and ultimately went shopping at Costco and Bulk Barn for my ingredients.  That first night, I had prepared 3 meals of Basil Balsamic Chicken Breasts.  It took me no more than 15 minutes of work.  We had one that night and two more went into the freezer.  I went about three days in a row doing this and then spent a Saturday afternoon making about 8 meals.  It was great!  I had 12 meals in the freezer ready to go.  All I needed to do was put it in the fridge to thaw in the morning or night before and I had dinner figured out.

Freezer cooking is not only a great way to plan meals and have something ready for dinner every night, it is also a great way to save money.  If you are a Costco shopper, this is definitely a great thing to do.  You can buy big trays of meat and use it all at once to make many meals and not be afraid of wasting.  You can watch for sales and save even more money.  I tell you, once you start, you can become a little obsessed with it!  I started seeing meat and thinking "What can I make with this".  By the beginning of March, my freezer was packed with about 30 meals.  :)  Obsessed I was!  But we have been eating GREAT food and I have been saving us money!  Win, win!

Stay tuned for more adventures in Freezer Cooking!

Jenn is mom to five-year old Jacob and two and a half year old Zachary.

Have you ever tried once a month cooking? Do you have any tips to share?

Playing with shadows

by Alanna

There is nothing like a little sunshine to make uplift everyone's spirits.  You can't walk down the street without someone smiling or saying hello and smiling (or is that just the friendly nature of Ottawan's?)  The other thing you can't help but noticing one's shadow.  Polka Dot noticed first, during that burst of summer weather we had a few weeks ago.  As we are waiting for Lily's bus in the morning the shadows are amazing and then again at Noon they are even better.  He decided that it would be fun to "step" on me (my shadow) which then lead to a game of shadow tag.  From there, the shadow games exploded.

Tag turned into hiding in peoples shadows.  We made it into a fun gme where we pretend we have four arms and two heads.  It get's pretty silly, but I love the laughter first thing in the morning.

Later in the day we take out our chalk or paint brushes dipped in a puddle, and trace each others shadows.  The kids love how tall they are.  The next step is to retrace our shadows at different times of the day.  They will be amazed. While we are playing I get alot of "scientific" questions from Polkadot (he's BIG into science these days)  We have extended the learning into finding out what is needed for a shadow to appear.  It has been a great learning experience for all of us.

Next week we are going to do shadow puppets and maybe a shadow box.  It is amazing what can happen when you are just standing waiting for a bus. I guess it doesn't have to be boring after all.

Alanna is a mother of two beauties, Nora age 3 (aka coconut) and Avery 5 (aka polka dot). Former ECE turned mother, party planner and blogger.  Never a dull moment around this house.

Have a Mommy's Night In!

by Jenn One great way of having fun with Freezer Cooking is to get together with a few friends and make a bunch of meals together.  You can each choose a recipe, agree on how many each person will make, then get together at someone house and each make your own recipe. 

 If you have 4 people who each make just 8 meals of their recipe, then each person will go home with 8 meals, 2 of each recipe!  This is a great way to try 4 new recipes without have to make all 4 recipes.  You can also just do a swap if nobody has the time to get together.  Kind of like a cookie exchange - a frozen meal exchange! 

Get the dads to get the kids out of the house on a Saturday afternoon and have fun!  Maybe even some wine for those who can!  :)

Jenn is mom to five-year old Jacob and two and a half year old Zachary. You can find her at Invitations by Jenn.

It's NOT Delissio, or delivery!

by Jenn Not long ago, it got to a point where when the door bell rang, the boys assumed it was the pizza guy.  Not good.  As well, Paul's weekend lunch was often a frozen pizza.

I started noticing how much they cost and how much it was a waste of money for not great tasting and very unhealthy pizza.  As I was researching Freezer Cooking, I discovered how easy it was to prepare and make your own Freezer Pizza's.  If you have a bread maker and a desire to cut down on your pizza costs, then keep reading!

So, what I do to make Frozen Pizzas is actually pretty simple.  First, I prepare my pizza dough in my bread maker.  Here is the recipe I use:

Bread Maker Pizza Dough Makes 3 12" pizzas

• 1 1/2 cups beer or water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4 1/4 cups white flour
• 2 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in bread maker in order listed.  Set your bread maker to the dough setting and press start.  It takes my machine about 2 hours to make the dough.  If you happen to not be around when it finishes, it isn't really a big deal.  Please don't freak out if your dough rises to the point of lifting the lid of the bread maker open.  :D  All you need to do is pat it back down with floured hands.  It will be fine!

Preheat your oven to 500 F.  Divide dough into 3 equal balls.  Roll out each ball into a 12" circle and place on a pizza stone or pan.  Bake crusts for about 3 minutes.  This will par bake the crust so that it has some form to it.  Place on cooling rack once finished.  Let cool completely.

Now you have two choices.  You can either freeze the crusts and then top and cook them when you are ready to eat them, or, you can top them right away and then freeze.  I do the second option.  It makes getting dinner on the table quicker when we are home from work late.  Which ever option you choose, the next step is the same.  Tightly wrap the pizza in plastic wrap, squeezing out any air, then wrap in tin foil.  Label your pizzas and throw them in your freezer.

When you are ready to enjoy your pizza, take it out of the freezer.  Top your pizza if needed.  Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Put the par baked pizza crust directly on the oven rack unless you're using a pizza stone.

Enjoy!

Jenn is mom to five-year old Jacob and two and a half year old Zachary.