Warning–really long post!

Whenever boneless, skinless chicken breasts are on sale for $1.99/lb or less, I stock up and do a big cooking session. When I did this with ground beef, I went over why I cook ahead and how it saves me time and money. Just to review, here are a couple of points:

• Original once-a-month cooking calls for a month’s worth of groceries, recipes, and cooking. I’ve made this manageable for myself by focusing on one type of meat (chicken, ground beef, etc.) at a time.
• By sticking with one type of meat, I’m saving money because I’m doing the cooking when the meat is on sale instead of purchasing a month’s worth of food no matter what it costs.
• If 10 lbs. seems like too much to you, just buy one “big pack” and start with that.

Where do I Start?
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale last week for $1.99/lb. Usually, I would wait until they go down to $1.69-1.79/lb, but my freezer was empty so I needed them now. I bought a little over 10 lbs. Again, I stick with that amount because I find it’s the “right” amount for me; I get tired after working with raw chicken for an hour, and it’s plenty to fill up the freezer and last me a month till the next sale.

With the chicken, I sat down with my recipe book and figured out which meals I wanted to have; that told me how much chicken I needed pre-cooked, cut into certain sizes, or to leave whole. My plan was for 10-12 meals’ worth (I list the recipes below): 2 1/2 cups of pre-cooked chicken, 3 bags of uncooked fillets, 2 bags of diced uncooked chicken, a bag of uncooked bits for soup, and the rest for the crockpot meals.

What do I need?
Besides the chicken breasts, you’ll also need:
Garlic, I use the diced kind in a jar, but you could use fresh
Gallon-size zipper bags, Quart-size zipper bags
Sauce pot (to boil water and chicken)
Can of diced tomatoes, Crockpot (if you’re making shredded chicken)
2 cutting boards (one for raw, one for cooked chicken), sharp knife
Paper towels and soap for LOTS of hand washing

Here we go:

1. I opened the first package of chicken and took out 2 of the breasts, cutting them up a bit to fit better in the pot. I put them in a medium pot and added enough water to cover them, plus a big spoonful of garlic. I set it to boil for 10 minutes. While you’re waiting…
2. Add two of the chicken breasts to the Crockpot. Dump a can of diced tomatoes on top (with green chiles for mild, jalapenos for spicy). This should cook on low for 5-8 hours, high for 3-4 hours for shredded chicken. This will make shredded chicken tacos for tonight, then you can use the leftovers for another meal.
3. Once the chicken breasts have boiled, drain them and let them cool on another (clean!) cutting board. Once they’ve cooled, you can dice them, then put them in a freezer bag. It’s so handy to have cooked chicken on hand when to save you time cooking during the dinner hour. I list a few recipes below (Chicken & Broccoli Pie and the Chicken Vegetable Chowder), but you probably have a few recipes of your own that call for cooked chicken.
4. Start slicing the other chicken breasts from the package(s). I try to slice them to make uniform breast pieces so that when I grill or saute them, they’ll cook evenly. I put these pieces in individual zipper bags (one meal’s worth in each bag), then I chop some of the chicken into smaller pieces for recipes like Stroganoff and Chicken, Pepper, and Potatoes (recipes below). These go into their own freezer bags as well.
5. I collect all the little leftover bits in a bag for chicken soup. It’s okay not to measure this, since I can stretch the chicken soup with veggies, or if I have a lot of chicken leftover, I’ll make a double batch of soup. Soups are a great way to stretch meat of any kind, but especially expensive chicken. By adding bulk with vegetables, it’s both healthier AND less expensive.

Notes:

• Don’t forget to label your bags with the date and what’s in them.
• Freeze these bags flat, then you can stack them or store them upright like books and they’ll take up very little space. You can store these in a side-by-side freezer that way.
• It took me exactly an hour to process (cut and cook) 10 lbs of raw chicken, but that was with many kid interruptions.
• If I’d had more time, I would have cooked the chicken soup while I was doing the other tasks and just frozen it for later meals.

Let’s eat!
Since I do my meal planning each Monday, I know what days I need to take something out of the freezer to defrost. Make sure you defrost in the fridge for at least 24 hours (safety guidelines here).

• Chicken Breasts—I pull them out one day ahead to defrost, and often I’ll add some Italian dressing or Balsamic Viniagrette to marinate the chicken before I grill or saute it.
• Crockpot Shredded Chicken—After slow-cooking the chicken with a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (you can also use jalapeno if you like it spicier), I shred the chicken with two forks. This makes a meal of chicken tacos, then I use the leftovers for Chicken & Spinach Quesadillas or Chicken Enchiladas.
• Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore—I’ll take 1-2 of the chicken breasts, lay them in the crockpot with chopped onion, mushrooms, and green peppers, then top it with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Served with pasta, it’s a very fast meal.
• Easy Cheesy Vegetable-Chicken Chowder—With the cooler weather, I’m excited to have soups again. This is one of my family’s favorites. Using the pre-cooked chicken, it’s a very fast, savory meal.
• Chicken and Broccoli Pie—With the chicken pre-cooked, I just need to defrost it the night before and it makes prepping this meal even easier.
• Stroganoff-Style Chicken—this recipe is another family favorite. I prep the chicken by slicing up 3/4 lb. in its own bag. By thawing the night before, this is ready to go at dinnertime.
• Chicken, Peppers, and Potatoes—yet another easy recipe (now posted here). Again, I just cut up the 3/4 lb. that the recipe calls for and have it ready to defrost in its own bag.
• Chicken Soup—After slicing and dicing, I use all the little leftover bits of chicken to make chicken soup. We’ll eat it one night for dinner, then I freeze the leftovers for a lunch or dinner on another day.

What are your thoughts?
Do you find the Cook Once, Eat 10 Times posts helpful? I’m working on a ground beef winter edition to include casseroles and soups now that the weather is getting cooler.

[Warning—this is a LONG post]

Why Cook Ahead?
I’ve mentioned before how doubling up on your cooking can free you on busy nights and help you save money because you’re less likely to eat out/call for takeout. Let’s take it a step further and cook BIG. This afternoon I prepared 10 meals’ worth of meat for my family of five in just 1 ½ hours. I call this the “Summer Edition” because I’m avoiding any meals that need to be put in the oven (too hot!). Below, you’ll see how to use this meat for stovetop/crockpot meals that are perfect for summer. I’ll do this again in the winter and share new recipes with you.

Does This Really Work?
Back before I had twins, I did some experimenting with Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) and found a great book called Frozen Assets. I did use a lot of the recipes and stock my freezer before ending up on bedrest. However, I was never able to get the system to work for me. Over the years, I’ve found what does work for me—just cooking one type of meat at a time. It also helps me stay on budget; instead of buying a month’s worth of food in one weekend (no matter what the cost), I’m buying meat in bulk when it’s on sale. I’m still cooking more than a month’s worth of beef meals for my family, but it takes me only 1 ½ hours and I find it doable.

Where do I Start?
93% ground beef was on sale this week; I bought almost 7 lbs. for $13.28 (you may be able to do this less expensively if you use fattier meat). I’ve learned through trial and error that this is the right amount for me; I’ve tried cooking more at once but I would have to use multiple pans and it increases my work time. If the cooking-ahead concept is new to you, I would suggest you buy one “Big Pack” with 3 lbs. of ground beef and start with that.

My plan was to make 10 meals’ worth: 2 bags of hamburger patties, 4 bags of precooked meat mix, and 4 bags of meatballs. If you’re using less meat, just make hamburger patties and the meat mix (skip the meatballs). You’ll learn best through trying it for yourself.

What do I Need?
Besides the ground beef, you’ll also need:
Green peppers and onions (for meat mix)
Bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, oregano, salt & pepper (for meatballs)
Gallon-size zipper bags, Wax paper
Large bowl, large frying pan, cookie sheet (make sure it fits in your freezer)
Paper towels and soap (LOTS of hand washing!)

Here we go:

1. Prep your work area—send the kids out with Daddy, put on some good music, and take the ground beef out of the fridge to take the chill off (you’ll see why in step 6).
2. Clean and chop your veggies. I used two large green peppers and two large onions for 7 lbs. of meat.
3. Saute your veggies in a large frying pan, then remove them from the pan.
4. Brown your ground beef; I used about 3 lbs. here and put 2 lbs. aside for hamburger patties. While the beef is browning (it takes a while in this large amount), form your hamburger patties and put into zipper bags to freeze.
5. When the beef is done browning, drain it, then add the peppers/onions to the pan and combine them. Leave this to cool.
6. In a large bowl, mix the remainder of your meat (mine was approximately 2 lbs. worth) with four eggs, about 1 cup of bread crumbs, a 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, several shakes of basil and oregano, and some salt and pepper. Sorry I’m not more specific here; I really do eyeball it instead of measure. Basically, you want the eggs to moisten the meat, and then the breadcrumbs make it not-too-moist. Oh—and you’re mixing this with your hands, which is why you don’t want the meat straight out of the fridge (you’ll feel like you have frostbite).
7. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place the meatballs there as you form them. This will go into the freezer for 1-2 hours and “flash freeze” the meatballs so you can throw them into zipper bags. I spread mine across 4 bags.
8. Go back to your meat mix. Now that it’s a bit cooler, distribute it between your zipper bags. I did 4 bags with about 2 ½ cups of mix in each bag. Zip everything and put in the freezer.
9. Clean up a bit, then go RELAX! You deserve it.

Notes:

• Don’t forget to label your bags with the date and what’s in them.
• Freeze these bags flat, then you can stack them or store them upright like books and they’ll take up very little space. You can store these in a side-by-side freezer that way.
• In general, I use about a pound of meat for five hamburger patties (two are for my toddlers, remember). I usually use ¾ lb. of meat in any recipe that calls for 1 lb. of ground beef, and then I stretch it with veggies. It’s healthier and less expensive that way.

Let’s Eat!
Since I do my meal planning each Monday, I know what days I need to take something out of the freezer to defrost. Make sure you defrost in the fridge for at least 24 hours (safety guidelines here).

• Hamburgers—once they’re defrosted, they can be seasoned further (Worcestershire sauce is delicious) and grilled or pan-fried.
• Meatballs—defrost these and drop into a simmering pot of spaghetti sauce. Cook for at least an hour.
• Bow Ties & Beef—here’s a crockpot recipe with pasta.
• Chili—you’ve eliminated the time needed to brown meat before adding to the crockpot. Here’s an easy chili recipe.
• Meat Tacos—reheat the meat mix in a frying pan, then add shells/tortillas and all your fixings.
• Spaghetti Sauce—reheat the meat mix and add to jarred or homemade spaghetti sauce.
• Taco Bake—here’s a crockpot recipe with Mexican spicing.

What are your Thoughts?
I’d love to get your feedback. Do you think you’ll give this a try? Does it sound overwhelming? What questions do you have?