We eat out once a week, have a pizza night once a week, and that leaves 5 dinners plus lunches. And it's really pretty darn easy! I don't throw together some gourmet thing every night, but I do cook stuff from scratch and found it to be much cheaper and take just as little time as using prepacked food. If you're looking for a good way to start cooking at home, I recommend Rachel Ray's first book and the Express Lane. Lots of great pastas, salads, and sandwiches. And kid friendly!

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I don't do once a month cooking, but I have adapted the ideas.

If I am going to cook a roast. I often cook enough for 4 meals. I then freeze the roast (gravy and onions and all) in bags and then I have some to pull out of the freezer for the next three weeks. We may eat it plain, I may chop it up and serve it over rice, etc.

Same thing with Spaghetti Sauce. I cook a huge pot in my Nesco Roaster, and then I bag up several bags big enough for at least 3 more dinners. Nothing easier than heating up the sauce, cooking the noodles and serving a bag salad. 15 minutes tops!

When I guy meat, I often buy it in large packages. Yesterday I got a great price on boneless pork chops. I came home, threw them in baggies with some Mojo sauce and froze them in the marinade. When I plan to cook them, I will take them out of the freezer, let them thaw in the frig, grill on the George Foreman and serve with doctored up black beans and yellow rice. Another 20 minute meal.

Oh. I also buy chicken breast when they are on sale and cook 10 pounds of them at a time. I generally marinade (in Kens Steakhouse Light Ceasar dressing) and then grill. I cut them into strips (like you can buy in teh bags) and then refreeze in small portions. Every few days I pull out a bag and in thaws in the frig. I always have chicken strips ready for a salad, to throw into some stir fried veggies, to chop for a chicken salad, to add to a can of soup (for extra heartiness and more of a meal), etc. In a pinch you can throw it in with ANY pasta, veggies and sauce and it works.

Basically, I just take whatever food I generally serve and if it freezes well after cooking I make four dinners worth. If it freezes better before cooking and has a marindae I do that.

If you do one meal a week like that, you have 4 other meals prepped all the time.

Also think CROCK POT or Nesco Roaster (which I prefer). I'm not into the soupy recipes, but I either slow cook almost all my meat or cook on the George Foreman grill.

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