Bulk Cooking

One of the most popular ways to meal plan is with Once a Month Cooking, or bulk cooking for the freezer. Although many people say it can be done with only the freezer on your refrigerator, we find that to be limiting. Having a chest or upright deep freezer will make cooking for the freezer much easier.

The idea behind full-fledged Once a Month Cooking is to set aside one to two days each month and cook all day for the freezer. For the rest of the month, all you need to do is thaw and reheat the prepared meals. There are many variations on OAMC, including the Busy Cook’s Pyramid which takes advantage of preparing individual ingredients for the freezer but leaving actual preparation until the night the meal is served. This, along with doubling recipes and freezing one, is our preference at Menus4Moms. It gives you much more flexibility and is does not require the time and energy that OAMC requires. It is much easier for a busy mom with small children at home to accomplish because you accomplish quite a bit by working a little bit at a time.

Menus4Moms' Bulk Cooking for the Freezer: Ground Beef

Want to cook in bulk but need more detailed instructions?

If you like the idea of bulk cooking but feel lost getting started, Bulk Cooking for the Freezer: Ground Beef will guide you through the bulk cooking process with step-by-step instructions for each dish. This ebook is available for immediate download from the Menus4Moms website. Each book is filled with tips, color illustrations, grocery lists, and step-by-step instructions. The ground beef plan includes 14 different ground beef recipes that make 20+ meals for your freezer. Bulk Cooking plans include both printed grocery list and Shopping List software grocery list file. (Shopping List software is Windows only).

Save time and money with this detailed guide to bulk cooking 20+ meals with ground beef. $6.95 ebook Download now

Foods That Don’t Freeze Well

One of the most common questions I hear from people who are interested in freezer-meal cooking is: “How do I know what will freeze well, and what won’t?”If you’re unsure of how well something will freeze, freeze a single serving when you prepare the dish for a regular family meal. This way you can check on how well the item holds up to freezing and reheating. The following lists should give you a good start at identifying potential freezing problems with various food items. [Read More...]

Cheesy Spirals

Cheesy Spirals is from the Menus4Moms e-book, Bulk Cooking for the Freezer: Ground Beef and is also featured in the Busy Mom Menu. It is a good recipe to prepare when you buy bulk ground beef. You can brown your beef, use 2 lbs. for the Cheesy Spirals and freeze the rest in 1 lb. portions. The Cheesy Spirals recipe makes 2 pans, one for dinner and one for the freezer. If you have a smaller family and prefer to cook in smaller batches, you can probably get 3- 8"x8" pans out of this recipes instead of 1- 9"x12" pan and 1- 8"x8" pan. [Read More...]

Bulk Meatballs

When ground beef is deeply discounted, we buy large quantities and prepare both browned ground beef for the freezer and bulk meatballs for the freezer. This recipe calls for baking the meatballs instead of frying them, creating less mess. [Read More...]

Making Your Own Chicken Broth? Here are 12 Great Tips!

Making chicken broth doesn’t have to be an arduous process. It does take a little more time than opening up a can of store-bought broth. But, I look at it as a gift I’m giving my friends and family. A homemade chicken broth is the cornerstone of any great homemade soup. The time it takes to make the broth is only to bring out the wonderful essence and wholesome flavor that’s characteristic of a great broth. Below are my favorite 12 soup cooking tips for making that happen. Start with choosing an older bird (a roaster – about 5-7 lbs.) An older bird has had time to develop that rich and intense chicken flavor – more so than a younger bird – like the milder tasting Cornish hens. A broiler chicken would work, but really, the roasters are the best for making chicken broth. To save time, use the roaster parts of the chicken. They cook much faster and if you only need a small amount of broth, this is an excellent way to do it. In making chicken broth, I’ve found that the richest flavor from chicken comes from the muscles that are used the most. This happens to be found in the dark meat. You can use all parts of the chicken to make a satisfactory broth, but for the fullest and richest flavor, use the legs, necks, and thighs. If you want a clear golden colored broth, then do not use the liver. The liver will turn the stock to a mucky, cloudy color. And if you want to keep that golden color, another tip is to use only the stems of parsley and the white part of leeks and scallions. This helps you to avoid a greenish color in your broth. As the stock cooks down, a foamy substance will float to the top. You simply skim it off or strain it using a doubled over piece of cheesecloth. If you are using herbs and greens in making chicken broth to flavor it, make sure you tie up the herbs first, in a little cheesecloth bag. This will help you when you are skimming off the foam not to lose your flavoring inadvertently. Tying the herbs up this way is called a “bouquet garni”. When simmering stock or broth, make sure you always use a low heat. If you end up boiling your broth, it will boil away too much of the flavor. If you are making a cream soup, using leftover vegetables that are slightly past their prime is an excellent way to thicken your stock. Simply puree the vegetables and add them in to the stock slowly until blended. If you are using eggs to thicken your soup, you can avoid curdling the egg by first stirring a cup of the hot stock or broth ... [Read More...]

Confessions of a Once-A-Month-Cooking Drop-Out

Okay, I admit it. I’m a Once-A-Month-Cooking drop-out. I tried to make a month’s worth of meals for the freezer, but I couldn’t come up with enough time or enough meals. Next I tried to make 2 weeks of meals for the freezer and stopped because I ran out of dishes, freezer bags, and patience. I had good intentions, but I’m just not that organized. Even though I flunked OAMC, my freezer is not empty. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that I’d like to share. Buy hamburger in bulk. I usually get about 7-8 pounds at a time. Divide the hamburger out into 1 pound increments, wrap in foil, and store in the freezer for later use when hot-off-the grill hamburgers sound good. Brown the rest of the meat with some chopped onions, drain the grease, and wrap each pound in foil. These you defrost when you want tacos, spaghetti, sloppy joes, or some casserole that you’re making up as you go according to what you have leftover in your fridge. Just think, you’ve gotten your stove all greasy just once instead of 5 times. And did you know — frozen browned hamburger defrosts a lot quicker than frozen raw hamburger which is a plus when you have several starving children that want to eat NOW. Pick up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in bulk too. Grill these with a minimum of seasonings, cool, and chop into bite-size pieces. Toss them in freezer bags and toss those bags in the freezer. Got a chicken pasta, or chicken salad, or chicken noodle soup to make? Reach in the freezer and grab yourself a handful of chicken that’s ready to go. This works great with bacon too. Add your cooked, crumbled, and frozen bacon to salads, beans, or scrambled eggs. When you make soup, or a casserole, or any meal that can be frozen, double the recipe. We all know how time consuming and messy (well, for me it’s messy) it is to make lasagna, why not make two and only clean your kitchen once? Sometimes I just make 2 smaller ones without doubling the recipe. Soup is easy to make a large amount of. You can divide soup into any smaller amounts you want, usually depending on what size containers you have available. Save on freezer space by using zipper freezer bags. Just be sure to double the bags. Here’s a chance to really use your food processor before you have to break it down and wash all the parts. Chop up onions, green peppers, carrots, or whatever else you can think of that freeze well (not potatoes) and that you like to add to a casserole, soup, or dish. Put them in small baggies inside a bigger freezer bag. Soak your dry beans overnight, rinse, and ... [Read More...]

Work Week Menus – How to Make it Easier! Time Savers for Cooking

It’s been at least six years since I balanced working outside the home almost full-time and having two kids. Friends were always amazed that I managed homemade meals on the table each night. Becoming a stay home mom with three kids made meal planning a bit easier because I was home, BUT several of the lessons I learned as a work outside the home mom still apply. I’ll give you a sample menu for one week to show how I would pull all these easy lessons together. [Read More...]

The Hamburger Plan

Here is my “Hamburger Plan”, probably one of my most used so far. I love having all of my favorite recipes in one place, and I find myself referring back to it often. Game Plan Since hamburger is loose and you don’t have to cut it up into different sections (such as chicken and turkey), it is much easier to handle in large quantities and very versatile. I make master recipes of some things that can be used in many recipes. Here are many ideas pertaining to hamburger, “master recipes” are on the left, “secondary recipes” are indented – you assemble these from the master recipes. You can also freeze the portion of the master recipe that is required in the secondary recipe and assemble the secondary recipe on the day you want to eat it. I do this a lot when trying and/or learning new recipes. Hamburger Plan Recipes: Hamburger Patties (use raw hamburger) Perdenales River Chili (make a BIG batch), also used in: taco meat 5-way chili Burritos for the freezer Ravioli filling South of the Border lasagna Deep Dish Mexican Pizza Chili Pot Pies Empanadas Freezer Stash Meatballs and Lean Meatballs, used in: Italian Meatball Subs Spaghetti and Meatballs Easy Meatball Stew School Night Meatball Soup Meatball Minestrone Baked Ziti and Meatball Casserole Chili Meatball Supper Scandinavian Meatballs Sweet and Sour Meatballs Beef Porcupines Italian Meatloaf Italian Meatloaf sandwiches Mexican Meatloaf Bierrocks Cheeseburger turnovers Maid rites (crumbly hamburgers) Simple Salisbury Steak (Campbell’s soup recipe) BBQ Beef (Beanless Sloppy Joes) Easy goulash Tortilla mini Burgers Want to cook in bulk but need more detailed instructions? If you like the idea of bulk cooking but feel lost getting started, Bulk Cooking for the Freezer: Ground Beef will guide you through the bulk cooking process with step-by-step instructions for each dish. This ebook is available for immediate download from the Menus4Moms website. Each book is filled with tips, color illustrations, grocery lists, and step-by-step instructions. The ground beef plan includes 14 different ground beef recipes that make 20+ meals for your freezer. Bulk Cooking plans include both printed grocery list and Shopping List software grocery list file. (Shopping List software is Windows only). Save time and money with this detailed guide to bulk cooking 20+ meals with ground beef. $6.95 ebook Download now Hamburger Plan page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Originally published by Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart. Kim is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing! © 2002-2006 Fractured Frugal Friends (F3). All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. Edited and revised by Menus4Moms. [Read More...]

The Chicken Plan

Here is the first plan I wrote, out of necessity! I couldn’t figure out how to deal with so many different parts of the chickens I was doing unless I had everything written down and the recipes gathered together. My Strategy – When dealing with meats that have different parts, you need to think about how you will use each to get the maximum amount of food for your dollar. Here is how I handled chicken (the same approach can be used for turkey and many of these recipes will work for turkey): Chicken Plan page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Originally published by Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart. Kim is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing! © 2002-2006 Fractured Frugal Friends (F3). All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. Edited and revised by Menus4Moms. [Read More...]

The Ham Plan

Here is my “Ham Plan”. I am finding it easier and more economical to have bulk cooking plans for when meats and veggies are on sale or in season. I do a big cooking that lasts a few months (Hopefully! I am still new at this) so I don’t have to cook that particular meat again for a while. I am hoping my chicken will last a while so I can focus on other meats. Here are some of the recipes I made around Easter (next time I will make a big ham or a few medium ones, last time the 20 pound ham was a bit hard to turn every half hour!) If you try these recipes, please let me know how they turn out! I don’t cook ham as often as I cook chicken and hamburger, so this plan isn’t as “polished” as the Hamburger Plan and the Chicken Plan. Feel free to send your recipes, comments and suggestions; I will be happy to post them in the readers’ hints and tips section! Happy cooking! Day one Cook the ” Master Recipe,” which in this case would be Honey Baked Ham or your favorite baked ham recipe. While the ham is cooking (this one takes a few hours!) chop the veggies and prepare doughs for tomorrow’s assembly. Or, clean the house! Kim’s notes: This recipe is incredible! The ham just falls apart, appears more like a roast than those water-added hams at the store. Even the pickiest eaters in my family eat this and beg for more! They ask for it just about every night! There was a ton left over (I baked a 20 pounder! A little hard to turn every half hour, but well worth it!) This is better made on a day when you are not once a month cooking but are around the house, perhaps on a cleaning day or a once a month baking day. Day 2 Assembly day! Depending on how much you have, you can use the honey baked ham in any of the following. To reduce the workload, double or triple the recipes. If you run out of ham, try the others next time! If you run out of time, freeze the ham and assemble on the day you plan to cook it. (I keep an eye out for “quick and easy” dishes that are made with cooked meat and I try to always keep a few containers of cooked meat in the freezer for this purpose. I try to write the results on the recipe and whether it would be worth cooking on oamc day. Some recipes are so easy and good, they are better left as “emergency” recipes, when you have to get something on the table fast and want it fresh-cooked.) Yes, there are quite few new recipes here; thought I would try a bunch this time, I will let you know how they turn out! Find the recipes on pages 2 and 3 linked below. [ED- Also check out the ultimate recipe for ... [Read More...]

The Potato Plan

I’m a bulk cooker and one of the types of sessions I do is potatoes. Many people are surprised by this because they assume that potatoes don’t freeze successfully. I assumed the same thing at first but after years of experimenting I’ve found that they are one of the easiest and most versatile foods in my repertoire. When they go on sale I buy at least 20#, frequently 60# or more. I never buy potatoes unless they are on sale and I never have to deal with watching them slowly go bad in the dark recesses of my pantry because I can’t use them fast enough. Remember, you cannot successfully freeze raw potatoes. If you try, you will find you have black potatoes when you thaw them for use. Some people do blanch their potatoes before freezing and finish cooking after they thaw. Most prefer to cook and freeze. Part of this is personal preference, part will be the recipes you use. You may decide to handle yours differently but here’s what I do. This is not intended to be a plan for you to follow exactly. It is a basic skeleton to guide you through the procedure but, because every family is different, you will choose your own recipes to use in the plan. Turn the oven on and let it preheat while you’re preparing the potatoes. Scrub them, pierce them, and sort them by size. Place some of medium and large on baking sheets by size and start baking. The large size will take an hour or more at 400 degrees; the smaller ones will take a little less time. Reserve the remaining medium and large potatoes for oven baked fries and potato wedges. For wedges, cut unpeeled medium sized potatoes into 6-8 wedges lengthwise. Coat them with olive or canola oil. Don’t use a lot, just enough to coat. Add whatever spices you wish and toss until evenly coated. I add a little sugar to the spices to help brown and crisp the wedges. Place on non-stick baking sheets or baking sheets sprayed with non-stick spray; bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Place on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool. Place on clean cookie sheets and freeze solid. Place in labeled freezer bags and return to the freezer. For oven fries, use the reserved large potatoes, peeling or not as you wish. Cut into fries. I use 1/2″ fries; the size of your fries will determine your baking time. If your fries are not super-crisp, cover them with cold water and let them set for 45-60 minutes; drain, dry well. Toss with olive or canola oil, add spices and sugar and toss again. Place on baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake at 475 degrees for 20 minutes. Place on brown paper bags or ... [Read More...]

What’s for Dinner, Mom?

It’s 5 pm and the kids are hungry. You rummage through the refrigerator looking for leftovers – no such luck. You hastily attempt to prepare a simple Spaghetti Bolognese and realize that you’re out of pasta. The doorbell is ringing and your eldest son just called. He’s bringing his girlfriend for dinner. We’re all aware of the chaos that a lack of organization around mealtime can bring! Instead of dinner being a time when the family comes together, it can be a time of frustration. For Kathy Cottrell, a schooling mother of two teenage sons who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, part of the solution has been planning and preparing meals in advance. For the past 15 years, she has planned two month’s worth of menus, cooked the entrees and stocked her freezer with tasty dishes ready to re-heat and serve with ease. What are the benefits of advance menu planning and cooking? The dinner hour is much more peaceful. No after-work scrambling to put food on the table. The family eats together more frequently. You save a great deal of money when you buy in bulk and avoid impulse purchases at the grocery store. You also save money that you would spend eating out “by default” because there’s nothing appetizing and convenient to eat at . You save time by shopping and cooking all at once. You get to choose the best time to cook. The rest of a meal gets more attention. If you already have your entrée prepared, you can make a nice dessert. Having dinner parties becomes a lot less complicated. Stressful times from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day can be much calmer. The key principle in bulk cooking is to think ahead in order to save even one or two steps. Kathy encourages women to look at their own lives and prepare for the activities they do over and over again, such as frequent church potlucks or taking cookies to their child’s school. You can gear the method of bulk cooking to whatever their particular needs are. “You’re already making a mess when you cook, so make it worth your while!” she says. How to cook in bulk Begin by looking for recipes that can be frozen either fully or partially. See three of Kathy’s favorites. Plan your menus. Make a complete grocery list. Check your pantry for your current inventory. Buy everything on your list. Add up the quantities of produce required and cut it all up at once. Use crock-pots to get your chiles, stews or stroganoff going. Cook and cut up all the chicken you need. Cook all your other meats. Cook the rice, stuffing and noodles. Begin assembling your dishes. Let cool and cover well with heavy-duty aluminum foil (or use Ziploc freezer bags). Put directions for cooking directly on the dish. Date it (the day you made it). Freeze it. Keep a list of the meals on your refrigerator and cross them off as you use them. Pull out the meal you want in the morning, thaw it and pop it in the oven at dinnertime. While cooking for two months might seem like a humungous undertaking, it ... [Read More...]

Freezer Cooking With Thrifty Schooler

Ed note: This originally appeared as a post to the Thrifty schooler Yahoo group. Reprinted with permission. Dear Thrifty schoolers, List member Christy recently wrote to me . . . “I am looking for a cookbook or ideas on making meals for a month (or at least a week) and freezing them. I know they have cookbooks that you can do this for a month. Has anyone used one and which would you suggest? Thanks for any help.” . . . And then the very next day, I happened to get an email from my dear friend Ann Marie on this very topic: Subject: I OAMC’d Today! OAMC means Once A Month Cooking, and my freezer is now occupied with THIRTY THREE (postpartum) MEALS! I am thankful to God for giving me the energy to do this today, and grateful to all the patron saints of cooking whose intercession assisted me, not to mention Ray who took all our kids, plus two extras, away the entire day, *and* my mom, who rewarded my efforts at day’s end with a delectable meal of one of my favorites: liver and onions and cheeseknots! I am hoping not to have to cook for at least 6 weeks after baby Cletus the Fetus arrives . . . though I am sure I will do some cooking since I like to and also enjoy having a fresh/non-freezer meal! The meals I made today will last some time as we alternate them with brought-in meals from friends and remains of the day (i.e., leftovers!). Here is what I made: sticky chicken-2 chili sauce meat loaves-2 ham and cheese quiche-4 chicken potpie-2 hamburger stew-3 chicken manicotti-2 cheesy rigatoni bake-2 lemonade chicken-1 sweet and sour meatballs-1 colorful chicken casserole-2 crescent chicken bundles-1 Tex-Mex fajitas-2 poulet de France-1 large taco pie-2 short and sharp chops-2 citrus marinated chops-2 macaroni cheese and ham-2 Phase II will include more crockpot and freeze meals: navy bean soup-2 roast pork with gravy BBQ/shredded pork . . . along with enchiladas-2 sloppy joes- 2-3 (I am thinking about doing freezer pizza, but methinks I will just go to Costco and get me some Boboli bread shells to make into pizzas.) Wearily but Contentedly Yours, Ann Marie . . . Ann Marie’s goal from here on out is to double all her dinner meals. That way one gets eaten and the other goes in the freezer. Here are websites on this topic: http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/ http://www.realfood4realpeople.com/oamc.html http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/advice/20000131a.asp (article on how Once a Month Cooking saves $$$$) Finally, and this is long, a post from one of the NFP (natural family planning) boards (reprinted with permission): Q: Which OAMC cook book do you use? Also, what kind of containers do you freeze in? I am having trouble thawing some of my casseroles that are in 9×13 glass dishes. I may buy some aluminum pans for freezing. Any other suggestions on containers? A: I use the original Once a Month Cooking cookbook, but only used, um, three recipes from there: taco pie, poulet de france, and the chicken packets. I plan to make ... [Read More...]

Cooking For the Freezer… With a Friend

For Lisa Donatelli of Cuyahoga Falls, nirvana is not a day at a spa, but dinner in the freezer. “In my situation, as a Realtor, it is nothing out of the ordinary to be showing s from 5 to 8 p.m. Often you either miss dinner or end up making bad choices on the way for something quick to eat,” she said. “To know there is something healthy and already prepared at is wonderful.” Donatelli spent one evening last week making dinner with four of her friends. They made 80 meals — enough to stock their refrigerators and freezers with 16 dinners each. The women did not make the dinners in one of those new meal-assembly shops. They made them in my kitchen, in a do-it-yourself session with recipes developed for the project. Not only did they save money, they had a ball. “I think what helped make this fun was the camaraderie of doing it with good friends,” said Anne Armao of Stow. “We have already said we would like to get together and do it again.” For five days, the women and their families feasted on shrimp and pasta Alfredo, grilled chicken salad with toasted pecans and dried cranberries, chicken pot pie, Tex-Mex stuffed peppers, and mojo pork chops with saffron rice and mango salsa. The project was designed as an alternative to commercial meal-assembly shops, which are popping up all over Northeast Ohio. The women were recruited through my Internet column, Second Helpings, to help show how anyone can put a quick meal on the table with a bit of planning and a little help from her friends. Meal assembly is a booming field. About 40 to 50 shops open each month in the United States, according to Bert Vermeulen, director of the Easy Meal Prep Association, headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyo. Some units are part of growing national chains, such as My Girlfriend’s Kitchen and Super Suppers, while others are independently conceived and owned. Susan DiPietro pioneered the concept in the area when she opened My Girlfriend’s Kitchen in North Canton in June. She didn’t have the market to herself for long, though. A second meal prep business, Dinner Plans, opened in nearby Jackson Township in November, and two more — Dinnertime Solutions in North Canton and Super Suppers in Medina Township — debuted last month. A fifth, Grab Your Apron, is scheduled to open in May in the Montrose area of Fairlawn. “People are calling left and right. They just love the concept,” said Cristi Williams, who owns the local Super Suppers with her husband, Van. “There’s going to be lot of consumer choice in a couple of years. They’re going to be opening all over the place,” said Tracey McCurrach, co-owner with Liz Timm of Grab Your Apron. At the shops, customers choose the recipes they want to make and ... [Read More...]

Grilled Marinated Chicken

One of the basics of Menus4Moms menus is having food prep already done before dinner time. One way we accomplish this is by bulk cooking meat and freezing it in meal-sized portions. Here is a wonderful recipe for cooking chicken in bulk. Have grilled chicken for dinner the night you cook it, then chop and freeze the leftovers in dated freezer bags. The longer the chicken marinates in this mixture, the more flavorful it will be. [Read More...]

How To Cook Dried Beans for the Freezer

Using dried beans instead of canned beans is an easy way to save money. Cooking dried beans takes several hours but only requires checking on them a couple of times, so using a slow cooker is the easiest way to cook them without being physically present. For our menus, you can cook a bag (or two if your pot is large enough) of dried beans and freeze the beans in their own juice. These bags of frozen beans, which are far less expensive, can be used in place of canned beans. Pinto beans cooked with chopped onion (1-1/2 onions per pound of beans) are delicious served over cornbread with chopped onion and shredded cheddar cheese on top. Season the beans with salt and pepper after cooking is complete since salt inhibits the cooking process. [Read More...]

Bulk Pie Crust

Homemade pie crusts are healthier than their commercial alternatives but are time-consuming to make. By making several at a time and freezing the dough, you can have the convenience of prepared crusts without the time investment each time you need one. Freshly ground whole wheat flour may be used in this recipe instead of white flour. [Read More...]

Incorporate Bulk Cooking Into Your Dinner Menus

The Busy Mom Menu plans bulk cooking into your dinner menus so you don’t even have to think about it. Just… Print. Shop. Cook. The menus…

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Popular Bulk Cooking Cookbooks

Frugal Mom’s Guide to Once a Month Cooking by Candace Anderson – This eBook is an excellent bulk cooking cookbook. It contains over 70 family-friendly recipes in an easy to use format that includes clear preparation, freezing and cooking instructions.

Once A Month Cooking by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson – This easy-to-follow, family-tested cookbook explains how to: plan ahead, spend less time in the supermarket, cut down on prep time, group similar kitchen tasks together to get them all done at once, make kitchen clean-up more manageable, use the freezer, computer, and our head to create a month full of delicious, nutritious meals and actually have enough time to relax and enjoy them.

Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough – Frozen Assets is small in stature, but jam-packed with meal-planning advice. It contains recipe ideas, plus detailed instructions on how to get the maximum value from your food dollar, while also slashing meal preparation times.

Fix, Freeze, Feast: The Delicious, Money-Saving Way to Feed Your Family by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik – Cooks will find 125 delicious, healthful recipes to choose from. Each one includes directions for dividing, preparing, and storing raw ingredients; a second set of simple direction is included for thawing, cooking, and enjoying the food. Designed for the way people cook today, Fix, Freeze, Feast meals are lighter and fresher than traditional bulk-cooking recipes, with a focus on simple stews and stir-fries, quick grilled or broiled main courses, and popular ethnic meals such as Beef Fajitas and Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry. Fix, Freeze, Feast, also includes ready-to-bake cookie doughs, soups, side dishes, smoothies, and snacks.

Make-A-Mix by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward, Madeline Westover – Make-A-Mix is really two cookbooks in one. The cookbook begins with 67 make-ahead shortcut mixes for everything from all-purpose cake mix to meatball mix. These can be made on a weekend-or whenever there’s free time-and used to speed food preparation on busy days. The mixes are a key ingredient in one or more of the 306 recipes that follow. The kitchen-tested recipes run the gamut from breakfast dishes to after-dinner treats. They include hearty dinner entrees, like enchilada casserole, onion pot roast, and shrimp & vegetable stir-fry; international fare like green chili burritos and quick chow mein; soups and other appetizers, like New England clam chowder, and even freezer treats like fruit slush. With the Make-A-Mix method, home cooks can control the amount of sugar, salt, and preservatives in a recipe, and save money on store-bought mixes.