Facebook icon Twitter icon Instagram icon Pinterest icon Google+ icon YouTube icon Contact icon

Get instant free access to my Finding Joy in Your Home video course.

  • Do you want to discover more joy, peace, & tranquility within your home?
  • Do you feel overwhelmed and like your house is out of control?
  • Join my free course and learn the essential habits for Christian homemakers

Get my homemaking videos

Once a Month Cooking {Book Review}

on April 13, 2012 by Jami Balmet 0 comments

Freezer cooking has changed my life. Seriously. I work full time plus have a 45 minute commute both ways.

I get home close to 6 each night and THEN have to cook dinner. It’s such a hassle and I like to cook unlike some people.

Well my cooking world was turned upside down last year when I discovered a little spiral bound cookbook with no pictures tucked away in the Barnes & Noble clearance section. I shared this book as part of my Top 7 Hospitality resources and since then the questions about freezer cooking have been pouring in.

Next week I will be dedicating the entire week to what is freezer cooking, different methods of freezer cooking, what you need and how much space and more.

So I’m kicking of the week early with a review of my favorite cookbook of all time. Really, I’m not exaggerating!

Once-A-Month Cooking: Family Favorites

Once a Month Cooking Family Favorites
Once-A-Month Cooking is perfect for those new to freezer cooking. Picking up this cookbook was a whole new experience in freezer cooking for me. I hadn’t even really made a double batch of meals before and froze them because I didn’t really know what freezes well and what doesn’t.

5 Reasons Why I Love This Cookbook

1) Great Introduction into Freezer Cooking

Before picking up this book I had NEVER done freezer cooking in my life. I had no idea what to buy, how to organize that much food or even what freezes well!

When I got this book it was like a beautiful introduction to the entire concept. I bought the book on a whim and it sat in my kitchen cupboard for a few weeks until I decided to browse through it.

I started reading through the introduction and then on to how to get started. They even cover in the beginning how to prepare a few days before cooking, preparing the night before your cook day, and the equipment you will need!

By the time I got the recipe portion of the cookbook I was already reaching for my pen ready to do a once a month cook! The cookbook contains everything I needed to get started for once a month cooking.

2) Easy to Use and Find Recipes

While the cookbook has no pictures (usually a huge turn off for me) it has more room to include everything you need to know about freezer cooking plus a TON of recipes. I still haven’t made all the recipes in this cookbook.

The cookbook is organized by menu plans. It even has a summer menu plan for faster meals and outdoor friendly dishes like BBQ! There is even a gluten free menu making the cookbook very easy to move through.

3) Makes Cooking for a Month EASY

When I began using this cookbook it was hard enough to envision doing an entire month’s worth of grocery shopping at once let along trying to organize it all. With this cookbook I didn’t have to. The menu plans are set and all you have to do is grab the book and bring it with you to the grocery store!

4) Saves me time planning, shopping, and cooking

This is the real treasure of the book. Once a month cooking is FAST using this method.

The book is broken down by different menus. In each menu there are 5 sections: Menu chart (see below), pantry list (most common items you will have already), shopping list (produce/meat), assembly order (the list that breaks down how to cook what), and the actual recipes.

Menu Chart Small Sample
{sample menu plan from Amazon “Look Inside”

5) The meals are GREAT!!

And my final reason for loving this book is the recipes. They are delicious! I mean seriously yummy. Many of the recipes are some of our all time favorite now and have worked their way into our regular rotation of meals!

And while it’s not a whole/real foods almost all of the recipes are from scratch and if they do call for canned tomatoes it’s easy to substitute real foods for example.

Through all the many recipes we have tried so far, there have only been a couple (maybe 1-2) that we didn’t like but I think that was just our own tastes more than anything.

I highly recommend this book!

Over all the quality, ease of use, wealth of information, and yummy recipes this cookbook contains is what makes this my favorite cookbook to date. 

More in the Freezer Cooking Series:

Freezer Cooking: Has Changed My Life
Once a Month Cooking: Family Favorites {Cookbook Review}
An Introduction to Freezer Cooking 
Freezer Cooking Methods
How to Save Money Freezer Cooking
How I Do Freezer Cooking: A Look Into My Kitchen
Freezer Cooking Resources

Freezer-Cooking-Series

More posts to come in this series, subscribe my email below or follow me on Facebook so you don’t miss a post!

Get instant free access to my Finding Joy in Your Home video course.

  • Do you want to discover more joy, peace, & tranquility within your home?
  • Do you feel overwhelmed and like your house is out of control?
  • Join my free course and learn the essential habits for Christian homemakers

Get my homemaking videos

Search