The End of the Month

It is envitable that the freezer full of meals will be emptied and hence, one must become a chef once again.  Sometimes, as this month, that day arrives between holidays or at a busy time of the month.  Here's what I do.

As I notice the meals dwindling and more  X's filling my monthly menu, I look ahead on my family calendar for a block of time for Once-a-month Cooking and schedule it.  Then I begin working backwards by planning the shopping day/evening and choosing the next monthly menu.  I keep all of them on Excel.  I usually look at my notes from the last time I prepared those meals and make updates to the file before printing it out. 
This is the time to adjust quantities and add or delete a recipe. 

The next step is to review your pantry, cupboards, freezer and refrigerator to determine which ingredients you'll need.  This is especially important for the miscellaneous items like spices. vinegars and other seasonings which you'd be more apt to have on hand and not buy every round of OAM cooking.  You don't want to be caught withouth an ingredient when you are cooking.

Now, perhaps you have several days between the end of the freezer meals and your next cooking day.  Print out a blank calendar and mark the days you need to fill with a meal.  This is a great time to make the family favorites, or to try a new recipe.  I often find that even though the menu says the food is gone, I've got a few surprises stashed in the freezer.  For instance, I happened upon a 50% off sale at Vons last week and purchased some steaks which I brought home and froze.  Then, there's always red sauce in my freezer which can be turned into a calzone with my favorite pizza dough (See blog) or put over a variety of pastas.  Here, too, is where you can fill-in with those leftovers you may have frozen from earlier in the month. 

Even though I didn't plan this week of meals between Christmas and New Year's, we'll be eating at home from treasures in our freezer.

Thursday - Steak and mashed potatoes
Friday - Pasta and red sauce
Saturday - Korv (Swedish sausage frozen from Christmas)
Sunday - Scalloped Chicken (one last meal from my December menu)
Monday - Cheeseburger Bread (Taking to a party, from frozen bread dough and an extra package of frozen ground turkey)
Tuesday - I will likely think of a festive meal to prepare from scratch for New Year's
Wednesday - Picadillo with tortillas (shopping day)
Thursday - Cooking Day - Definitely ordering pizza tonight!