Simple things I have learned

There are some really simple things I have learned while doing this type of cooking.
1. Don't over cook your pasta - frozen and defrosted cooked pasta gets mushy. Properly cooked, even a bit undercooked pasta is preferable. Remember - when you defrost something that has pasta, you will be cooking it again, so you don't want a bunch of mush with meat.
2. Sometimes pasta doesn't even need to be cooked to be in the meal - for example lasagna. Just layer dry noodles in your lasagna with your meat, cheese and sauce and it will be perfect. When you defrost, cook for about 20 minutes longer and you will have a perfect lasagna.
3. Always cook onions before freezing. The first time I did this type of cooking, the book I used didn't have you cook the onions before assembling and freezing. When I defrosted my first meal and it was overpowering onion flavor I learned quickly - sautee all onions before adding to any meal, even if it doesn't say to do so.
4. You can always add more seasoning when you defrost and cook, but you sure can't take it away.
5. Along the same lines - salt increases in flavor when you freeze and defrost - err on the side of undersalted when you are freezing, add more when you have finished cooking. Other spices don't increase in flavor, so you don't need to be as cautious with them.
6. If you want something to stay crispy - like crunchy veggies, don't freeze them. They always come out limp.
7. Cream sauces are hit and miss when freezing. Some freeze well, while others curdle. If you are using my cookbook, all the sauces have been tested for freezability. If you are trying your own sauces, go cautiously.
8. No need to precook any meals, except for meat that goes in a casserole. For example, if you are making a pot roast, no need to cook it before freezing. If you are making a casserole that includes cooked, cut up chicken, you will need to cook it and cut it up before freezing - so you can assemble the whole thing.
9. Potatoes do not freeze properly, unless they are cooked beforehand. In fact, raw potatoes that are frozen turn black. If you want to freeze potatoes, make sure they are cooked before freezing.

What kinds of recipes work for this?

This is a fantastic question that I get a lot.
Most marinades work great for this type of cooking.
Some casseroles do work and others do not. Some casseroles that appear not to work can be altered to work.
For example - for most recipes that require pasta to be cooked before freezing - don't cook the pasta. When I do a freezer lasagna, I put in regular, uncooked lasagna noodles. I don't use the "no-boil" choice - they are too expensive; I use the regular regular lasagna noodles. Yes I will add a tad bit more liquid/tomato sauce, but mainly I will just do a bit more cooking time.
For a recipe with rice that has to be cooked before adding, undercook it slightly - may be 5 minutes. This will make it a bit tough, but after freezing and defrosting then cooking in the oven, it will be perfect. If you have already cooked it the right length of time, based on the bag/box prep information, you may end up with mushy rice after freezing, defrosting and cooking in the oven.

Now for marinades - meat that is tough, like flank steak, work great in this type of cooking. You will end up with the most tender, delicious meat you have ever had and it won't be so over marinated that you can't taste the food. The meat will marinate while you freeze it and while you defrost. In addition, it will sink into the fibers of the meat and really tenderize without you having to use a tenderizer mallet!

Now here's a great, easy marinade for Carne Asada:
3-4 pounds New York or Flank steak
1 cup prepared Italian dressing
1 cup Corona beer
2-3 tsp of crushed red pepper (add more if you like it spicer!)
2-3 cloves, crushed garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
salt and pepper, as desired

1. Place steak in 1 gallon freezer bag
2. Add all remaining ingredients
3. Seal bag, shake to combine and freeze. If you don't want to freeze, allow this to marinate 4 hours or over night.

When ready to prepare- defrost completely and remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Preheat barbecue and cook until desired doneness is achieved.
Serve with flour tortillas and cheese.

How to start and why??

It has been awhile since I have posted. I have been very busy writing my book.
I now am doing the triple-edit on my 1st 6 months of recipes. Hoping to get to the real editor in a few weeks, so this can get published!
So the main questions that I get are why do I do this and how do you start doing once a month cooking.
The first question why has a relatively straightfoward answer. I do this type of cooking because I want my family to eat well each night and not eat out, but I don't have time to cook from scratch each and every night.
I started once a month cooking 6 yrs ago when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. Boy did it save us time and money! I had no energy to cook, but I could defrost and my husband could put the entree in a pan and cook it and then make 1 or 2 sides.
Once I had my 2nd child, I still needed to do it so I had some sanity and we ate something other than cereal and sandwiches.
Once I got in the habit of doing this cooking, I couldn't see why I would ever want to go back to regular, every day type of cooking.
In fact, when I run out of meals in my freezer, I curse dinner every day. I have to actually think early enough in the day to defrost and prepare something and make sure that I have all the ingredients and enough time to cook it too!
So I started to make my life easier and to save money. Now to answer the "how to start". The best way to start once a month cooking is to purchase a cook book that is dedicated to this type of cooking (yes I will pimp my book).
Once you get the hang of the cooking (usually after about 3-5 rounds of cooking), you can strike out on your own to pick out your own recipes, if you so choose. My book has 6 months of no repeat recipes. So if you use 1 chapter a month, you can use the book 2 times in a year and only see the same recipe 2 times. Hopefully I will have a 2nd edition out after the 1st year, as I am continuing to work on recipes each month
After doing a few round, you will learn the techniques of what it takes to be a good or not a good choice of recipes. I learned that pasta can't be too cooked before freezing, or you will get a mushy mess. However, it can be cooked or can be dry to go in the recipe. Also, I learned to saute your onions before adding to a recipe. Frozen fresh onions get stinky and make all your food taste oniony. However, a sauteed onion will not affect the flavor of your food, but does make a difference in the recipe sometimes.
Beyond these 2 examples, you will learn what recipes need to be altered and how to alter them so they freeze properly and defrost and are still edible.
In my next post I will post about some great, funny and sad mistakes I made while learning how to do once a month cooking.

In the meantime - Happy cooking!

Jamiee