Q&A

I was recently asked:

"I have been drooling over most of the stuff on your blog, and I know you are a big believer in OAMC... so would you mind if I asked you some questions?

1. Where do you get your recipes? From the blogs on your site, books, combo? Any particular book/website you really recommend?

2. Do you only go grocery shopping once a month? Or is that just for the main ingredients- you still go for fruits/veggies etc.

3. On average, how much does the big shopping trip cost? (I know you're really good at shopping sales, but a general idea would be nice.)

4. Do you *need* a chest freezer to save everything you've made, or would a regular sized side-by-side freezer work? (On your blog you said it could fit, but I'd love an updated opinion juuuust to be sure!)

5. What are you favorite recipes? I've read most of the updates and ratings, but a quick list would be great.

TIA!"

1. I now get most of my recipes from regular cookbooks and allrecipes.com, as I found that making a bunch of brand new recipes lead to a lot of failures. And eating food we don't like sucks. I started with this book: Once A Month Cooking. It gave a great overview of the process, but I really didn't care for a lot of the actual recipes. DH is also really fussy, which makes it more challenging. I did one full set of their cooking to get the hang of it, and now I can just do my own thing.

2. Gosh no. I go shopping once a week and have zero aspirations to do it once a month. I go once before a big cooking session, but one of my "once a month" sessions usually lasts 3-4 months as we don't eat those meals every day. Usually on the weekends, we cook fresh. On Thursday, we make pizza. The frozen meals are just for busy days and lazy days. If you do want to try once a month shopping, the book "America's Cheapest Family" does outline how.

3. I've only costed it once. I spent $130 on the groceries, and the servings per recipe ranged from 4 to 10. Average cost/serving was about $1.75. It will vary based on what you make - lentil based dishes are cheaper than chicken breasts. So it depends what you like.

4. If you freeze things flat in freezer bags, you can fit an incredible amount in a small space. I would eat your freezer down a bit in the weeks leading up to freezing a bunch of meals, and you could stick to fewer recipes (I usually do 10-12; you could start with 5-6).

5. Lasagna, Sloppy Joes, Chicken Souvlaki, Grilled Fish, Beef Sandwiches Au Jus, Blackened Chicken (or Salmon), BBQ Pulled Pork, Aztec Quiche, Pizza Dough (made weekly on Sunday, frozen for Thursday), Chicken in Enchilada Sauce. Whew! Those are the definite winners I would happily eat again and again. Yes, they're all meaty. We're carnivourous. I make an effort to serve with a salad or veggie side.