When I was in high school, we were offered a choice of taking classes in wood shop or home economics. Most boys, including myself, chose the former, and most girls chose the latter. I knew a couple of guys who picked home-ec, but I was never that cool.
So, if I feel like I have a GED diploma when it comes to household management, I know that there are those who must have PhDs in the subject. They are the highly-efficient ones who can master a concept called "Once-A-Month Cooking," in which four-weeks of meals are compressed into one day of labor.
To me, it sounds like pure alchemy, the lead-into-gold of feeding one's family. I love the freezer, and make great use of it, but I also like freshly cooked food much too much to ever try this approach (plus I lack the brain cells to have any faith in it).
I've been in touch with the folks who run a leading website in the field, Once A Month Mom, and I once even wrote an item for them about Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder, Puerto Rican style. The Christian-Science Monitor recently put the whole concept to a test, and they had a few pointers. The article is here.
As a single mom I’d did what my kids called “marathon cooking” on the weekends about twice a month. Like the guy in the CSM article…we like variety…so cooking once a month would not work and beside…my freezer couldn’t hold that much 😉 My boys favorite marathon was when I’d buy 10 lbs. of hamburger and make two cheesy barbeque meatloaves, a big batch of chili w’beef n’beans and a pot of spaghetti sauce. Then my boys would methodically eat the food…spaghetti on the first night. Then the next day they would make meatloaf/parmessan subs/grinders with slices of the meatloaf on rolls toasted in the over with some spaghetti sauce and cheese melted on top. That would usually last two days and then they make nachos and burritos with the leftover chili for the rest of the week. They still love my meatloaf and asked me to make some for Christmas day when we all get together…here’s the recipe if you are interested. Thanks for sharing this article and I’m to check out Once A Month Mom 😉
http://con-tain-it.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/03/yummy-in-my-tummy-cheesy-barbeque-meatloaf-and-cheater-potatoes.html#tp
Thanks for the shout out about the site and once a month cooking. And Roberta, I hope that you found that there is LOTS of variety in the Once A Month Mom menu!