Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites

I bought this book because I knew this month was going to be extraordinarily busy and I hate eating out/eating convenience foods for more than once every week or two. My husband was very critical of the idea at first because of the cost of the groceries (I mean, meat for a month is expensive even if you are buying it at a discount) and quite frankly, the thought of pulling out meals from the freezer doesn't always sound very appetizing. But I had to give it a try.I am so glad that I did give this book a try. The book is awesome because it organizes EVERYTHING for you. It gives you your grocery list, tells you how and when to chop/prepare the veggies and meats, and even tells you the order to cook everything in. I was able to get my day of cooking for one month done in about 10 hours, but I took several breaks. It seems like a long day, but let me tell you, it is so worth it. It is an IMMENSE relief to pull dinner out of the freezer the day before and not worry about what type of amazing dinner you are going to prepare for your family.I have been eating these meals for about 2 weeks now and most of the recipes tried so far are good in general. There have been a couple where we are fighting over left overs. That being said, there were a couple of recipes that I wouldn't want to prepare again. Edible, but not worth repeating. Another complaint I have is that several of the recipes in this book serve 8, and they really mean 8. Next time I will split those recipes in half. And my final complaint is that they don't give you any suggestions or recipes for side dishes. I know that seems silly to complain about, but if the only thing you have prepared ahead is marinated chicken breasts, then you have to come up with a carbohydrate (or at least I do) and a veggie (which isn't hard, just keep lots of frozen veggies and premixed salads on hand.)The real benefit I am getting from this book is saved sanity and I think I could easily come up with my own cycles based off recipes that I like from this book combined with recipes from "Don't Panic, dinner's in the freezer." I would highly recommend.

I have a friend who has done bulk cooking for many years who recommended two of her favorites. This was the first and I appreciate it for several reasons. It is well organized, it has a wide variety of food, you can do a full month cycle or a two week cycle, or even just make a few of the recipes to freeze.I especially appreciated the "summer cycle" and the "gluten-free" cycles. They are very sensitive to issues you might encounter. The problem with having someone else plan your meals is that they can't plan for your own likes, dislikes, allergies, and preferences. In my case, I can't have ham, and my husband won't eat certain foods. So, before I even got started I knew I would have to make adjustments.But the recipes in this book are arranged in a way that I can pick and choose, although it defeats the purpose of the lists that they have carefully made up. I have given it four stars because of the variety of foods offered and the fantastic recipes, all of which can be doubled and frozen (or in our case with only two of us, simply split and frozen).The second book she recommended,  Make-A-Mix  is actually much more helpful. The recipes in this one are designed for multiple use, you divide the items into several servings before freezing them, then use each one as a basis for several recipes. I have made a list of several of those along with recipes for "Dump Chicken" freezer recipes she recommended (you mix up marinades in gallon ziplock bags and add either fresh or frozen pieces of chicken and freeze them in the marinade), and will be stocking my cupboards and freezer with one cooking session, much like this book details.This book is a good starting point, but be prepared to do a little bit of thinking things through to make it work for your family.

I bought this and a few other cookbooks of this nature because it's something I wanted to get the hang of being 8 months pregnant. I already loathe when dinner time rolls around. Not knowing what to cook, or just flat out not wanting to cook. Imagine how I'll feel with a newborn (and 3 other kids) We needed to trim our visits to restaurants and fast food joints, and fast. So, I started this. I started with 2 week cycle D because I wanted to start smaller and there were more items on sale on my shopping day on cycle D as opposed to C. Let me tell you, I am glad I started with a 2 week cycle. By the end of the day I had nothing left in me. I was wiped out the rest of the night and most the next day. I'm sure pregnancy helped in that exhaustion, so I think I'll stick to the two week plans for a while (or just do half a month cycle). All in all, the 4 or 5 recipes we've tried so far have been quite good. We had the chicken italiano last night and everyone raved. My goal is to take what I learn from this cookbook and make up my own meal plans from all the oamc and freezer meal cookbooks I have. This is a great book to start with. It's all mapped out for you. Just shop, prepare/cook, freeze, and eat. Looking forward to being able to heat and eat when the new baby comes. It's been fantastic to just being able to throw dinner in the oven.

Over 20 years ago I bought the original Once A Month Cooking while I was homeschooling. I still use it as a base for many of my recipes to this day; esp the Marinated Flank Steak which is a staple at our house! So it was only logical to check out the new one with all new recipes while getting together with woman from our Church to bless the Youth Pastor & his wife expecting their 4th child with do ahead freezable meals. I've only made it part way through the first cycle. So far so good. As with any good cook, I make the first recipe according to directions; then tweak accordingly next time adding more sauce, spices or a green vegetable such as Broccoli to jazz up a sometimes bland or monochrome color combination. I love that it's up to date with a summer grilling section with more fresh, health conscious recipes inc Chicken & Fish, plus recipes are not constantly repeated in following cycles. The layout is fun, user friendly, & easy to read; but I suggest the lay flat spiral bound for easier access on the counter.

I love the idea but don't buy this book if you're a vegetarian, pescatarian or even if you're just not a big meat eater.

This is a brilliant book. Great meal ideas for the family.

Really disappointed that there is not one photo in this recipe book. The quality pages is like newspaper. The content is really basic. Really low budget cookbook. I am just used to seeing the recipes with photos and high-end glossy pages to wipe up any spills while cooking.

He hecho bastantes de las recetas de este libro y estan muy ricas. Algunas las he hecho tal cual y luego he ido modificándolas.Hay algunos ingredientes un poco complicados de encontrar en España, como la sal de apio, o que requieren un poco de investigación, como el half and half (mitad leche, mitad nata). Pero una vez hechas las sustituciones el libro va muy bien.Destaco la cazuela de brócoli con pollo, el pollo zanzíbar o la pasta con espinacas y garbanzos.Hay menus para un mes, para dos semanas, sin gluten, para verano, gourmet... Muy completo. Recomendable.

Ordered this by accident, but it was a happy accident! Really like the recipes. Also love the way the book is laid out. They tell you what to prep before you start cooking, and each recipe tells you amounts needed for the prep ingredients. So, if you decide to leave out one or two of the suggested recipes for that cycle, you know at a glance how much of each ingredient to leave out. Would definitely recommend.