Planning a cooking session is easy. The first decision is what you will be basing the session on and what your OAMC goals are. Do you want to read the local ads, buy what is on sale and then plan a session? Do you want to get 20 pounds of hamburger and do sessions all using hamburger? Do you want a wide variety of meals after only one cooking session? Do you need to break down your cooking into very small sessions?

 1)     Do you want to read the local ads, buy what is on sale and then plan a session? Or shop at a warehouse store and use those big packages without any waste?

 Here are my (sample) choices for the week:

New York Steak for $3.47 a pound. They could be frozen with marinade for grilling.

Drumstick and thigh picnic pack for $.77 a pound. Cook them all in a big pot, de-bone them and use for a chicken session. GREAT for a family that likes dark meat.

Ground beef is on sale for $.98 a pound in a 10 pound chub. Brown the ground beef and make a ground beef plan as well as creating several packages of plain browned beef for quick fix recipes.

Bell Peppers are on sale 3 for $.98 so I would probably pick up about 10 of them to dice and freeze for later use in recipes.

Brown onions are on sale 2 pounds for $.88 so I would pick up say 10 pounds of onions to be deiced and frozen as well. Ditto for the celery on sale 2 for $.98. Sliced Cooked Ham is on sale 16 ounces 2 packages for $4. I could pick these up to make school lunch sandwiches or Swiss and ham hot pockets.

Thee prices are from the 9/4/02 Food For Less flyer in Southern California- just FYI.

 2)     Do you want to get 20 pounds of hamburger and do sessions all using hamburger?

 You have hundreds of choices for meals that start with hamburger!!! My favorites are meatloaf, taco meat for tacos and taco salads, marinara sauce with meat (for spaghetti, lasagna and manicotti), Shepherd’s pie (DS really loves this since reading Harry Potter!!), beef and bean burritos, Taco Rice,  Chili, Meatballs, Stuffed Green Peppers, Sloppy Joes, various casseroles, Hamburger Helper TYPE meals (make your own, don’t by the mix!!) and I usually save some raw hamburger made into patties for quick hamburgers on the grill.

 3)     Do you want a wide variety of meals after only one cooking session?

 You will need to get your recipes and make 2 batches of each one with the total number depending on how much time you have to dedicate to the day. I have done 20 different recipes in one VERY LONG day. That is why this is my LEAST favorite method to cook!

 4)     Do you need to break down your cooking into very small sessions?

 You have options also….. Every night when you make your regular dinner, make 6 batches of it. Eat one batch and freeze 5 batches. In just a week you will have 28 meals in the freezer and the only extra time involved was planning and packaging.

 No one taught me about meal planning, I guess that is part of the reason I got into such a bad habit of eating out so much- I just didn’t plan and then it was too late!! It didn’t have to do with liking to cook or not liking to cook, it all had to do with a failure to plan.  So once you decide what your freezer meals will be, you need to get at least a rough idea of what you will want to serve with the meals. Meal planning form available here.

If you will want a salad, make a note of it and you’ll need to make sure you have salad on hand when the meal comes up. Do you want mashed potatoes? Then add a session of Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes to your cooking day, they are YUMMY! Will you just server whatever green veggies are on sale that week? Fine, note that. Remember to have some canned or frozen veggies as a back up just in case!!  Do you serve Jell-o salads with fruit or will you need fresh bread, remember to add them to your menu.

 You will want to get a blank menu and fill in your complete meals. Remember you do NOT have to eat certain meals on certain days, but having the menu plan will let you know what you have available. Obviously, there are SOME things that will have to be eaten within a time frame….. If you are planning spaghetti, garlic toast and salad then you will have to eat this meal before your salad ingredients get limp and the French bread gets moldy.

 Remember that there are recipes for freezer side dishes, baked goods and desserts! However, starting simply with a dinner entrée is a GREAT plan, and then add the fancier stuff as you get the hang a cooking session.