Cheerful Frugality Goes Once A Month
This Saturday a friend and I will tackle our first ever Once A Month cook-a-thon, with 6 month babies on our hips. Are we crazy?
Just maybe.
Since Jessie works full-time, I volunteered to grocery shop. And then I saw the list.
48 pork chops? What have I gotten myself into?
I haven't shopped like a normal person in a long time; buying everything at once throws me off balance. My typical strategy is to scout loss leaders and craft our menu accordingly.
Flank steak reduced-for-quick-sale? Guess we'll have fajitas!
The meats are, by far, the most expensive part of the once-a-month cooking. We decided to check this week's grocery flyers, choosing 1 or 2 stores based on this factor.
Next, we compared pantry staples and coupons. Did she have enough oregano? Did I have another coupon for Daisy sour cream, which would be free at Harris-Teeter this week?
After that, we agreed to substitute ingredients when the cost is significantly different. For instance, blackberries are half the price of blueberries this week and would taste just as great in frozen fruit salad.
Finally, we surveyed our equipment. I'm thrilled I can use that giant yard sale bowl for large quantity mixing! We both need freezer bags (with coupon) and foil pans for freezing so many dishes at once.
So why am I suddenly terrified to try something new?
We'll save money by having fallback meals in the freezer, and hours of frugal cooking will be more cheerful with a friend. Next week I'll report back with an update--that is, if I don't pass out at the checkout line first.
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6 Responses to “Cheerful Frugality Goes Once A Month”
May 4th, 2009 at 8:59 am
I’ve tried bulk cooking on a smaller scale a couple of times and loved it (although never with a friend – I’ve got to get some better rel life friends, all of mine eat at BK all.the.time). I reall want to start stocking the freezer for those days when I’m too pregnant to cook, though, so I can’t wait to hear how your experiment goes!
May 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Just wanted to share some tips. My friend and I use to do this, we did it for about a year every month. At this time we had early teens. I did do this with my sister years ago with small children.
Anyways, we would do the shopping together the day before, then split up the prep work to take home and bring at whoevers home we were going to work at. What prep work? Here’s what we would do the night before:
brown hamberger
cook and debone chicken
cut up all vegetables (use your food processor)
grate cheese (food processor again)
diced the ham
Well, you get the idea. It will make things go easier. Even with doing the prep work, it would still take us a good 8 hours, but it was well worth it. Also, make sure your lunch and dinner is included in this. We always had white chili.
Good Luck
May 4th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Sounds like it would have been handy to have all that food put by during track season.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thanks for posting this, it’s a wonderful idea and makes me wish I had someone to do this with.
Claudia
claudiafranson.blogspot.com
May 6th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I have not done this kind of cooking in years. Now I often cook meat ahead and just add veggies to it for a meal. Example when David has the grill going on Saturday for burgers, I will get him to cook a couple of chickens, some chops, and a few extra burgers. It makes getting in and out of the kitchen after work a snap. Good luck on this. Glad you have a friend to help. That will make it a lot of fun.
May 10th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Does anyone shop at butcher shops anymore i know they are getting harder to find. i usually buy my meat in bulk 1/2 side of beef last my family almost 6 months groceries get real inexpensive once meat is out of the picture. the initial expense can be a little high but once you,ve made the purchase the rest of the 6 months i just set aside a little cash in my savings for the next time i have to purchase it
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