I did once a month cooking for the first time in January and it was fabulous. We actually only ran out of food a few weeks ago. I'm gearing up to do it again and wondering if anyone else does this. I did a search but most of the threads are at least a few years old. I'd love you hear your favourite recipes. I personally dislike a lot of what I think of as "hippie potluck food" 
lentil loaf, bean and tomato casseroles, that kind of thing 
I prefer ethnic dishes, strong flavours, stuff that still tastes "fresh" somehow after being frozen and re-heated, and, oh yes, CHEESE. I always do at least one fresh side dish (salad, veggies and dip, apple slices, whatever) when I serve the meals to keep it from feeling too heavy and "freezer-y".
The way we do it is my husband does the shopping (at Costco and a dirt-cheap local produce market) and then preps all the produce, grates the cheese, etc. the night before or the morning of cooking day. Then I cook and we package all the food together once it's finished and cooled.
Here's what I have on the menu for this upcoming batch of cooking:
- My mom's spaghetti sauce recipe x 4
- Giadia de Laurentis's marinara sauce
- Butter paneer curry with spinach x 2
- Italian sausage, lentil and spinach soup (a recipe I got from an Italian deli I used to work at--does anyone know of a good veg*n Italian sausage product I could use in it?)
- Cheese pizza x 4 (I make and freeze the components--dough, sauce, grated cheese--separately)
- Macaroni and cheese
- Welsh rarebit with broccoli
- Granola
- Granola bars or some kind of raw bar
- Jalapeno cheese bread dough (I use the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day approach)
- Brown sugar biscuit twists
- Salmon jerky (not veg*n, I know--we do eat fish and some organic meat once in a while)
The last five items might get bumped to later (or made a few days earlier) depending on how things go.
lentil loaf, bean and tomato casseroles, that kind of thing I prefer ethnic dishes, strong flavours, stuff that still tastes "fresh" somehow after being frozen and re-heated, and, oh yes, CHEESE. I always do at least one fresh side dish (salad, veggies and dip, apple slices, whatever) when I serve the meals to keep it from feeling too heavy and "freezer-y".The way we do it is my husband does the shopping (at Costco and a dirt-cheap local produce market) and then preps all the produce, grates the cheese, etc. the night before or the morning of cooking day. Then I cook and we package all the food together once it's finished and cooled.
Here's what I have on the menu for this upcoming batch of cooking:
- My mom's spaghetti sauce recipe x 4
- Giadia de Laurentis's marinara sauce
- Butter paneer curry with spinach x 2
- Italian sausage, lentil and spinach soup (a recipe I got from an Italian deli I used to work at--does anyone know of a good veg*n Italian sausage product I could use in it?)
- Cheese pizza x 4 (I make and freeze the components--dough, sauce, grated cheese--separately)
- Macaroni and cheese
- Welsh rarebit with broccoli
- Granola
- Granola bars or some kind of raw bar
- Jalapeno cheese bread dough (I use the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day approach)
- Brown sugar biscuit twists
- Salmon jerky (not veg*n, I know--we do eat fish and some organic meat once in a while)
The last five items might get bumped to later (or made a few days earlier) depending on how things go.
I've never done freezer cookie dough; how does that work? Do you make the dough, drop it on a sheet, flash-freeze and then bag it? Do you thaw it before baking or do you put it in the oven frozen? Do all types of cookie dough work that way?
