And so it begins...my Monthly Cooking Calendar

I grew up in New England, raised by parents who grew up with Great Depression Era parents.  New Englanders are known for their thriftiness, I am no exception.  I would also go as far as saying I use my resources wisely, and get every bit of the toothpaste out before throwing the tube away.  (Sure wish I could figure out a practical use for the caps to those tubes...)

I was no stranger to the kitchen as a child.  My brother and I would actually argue about who was washing the dishes because we wanted to wash them.  Our Mom was a genius, she made sure the Revere Ware copper bottomed pans (I still have those pans!) were hand-washed last.  Although we had a dishwasher, only tableware went in there; pots and pans were washed by hand.  Mom was a genius on two levels, the pans lasted longer because they were gently washed by hand, but also done last because "the copper cleaner could not get into the dishwater".    We fell for it hook, line and sinker!!  It was way too fun to write you name with the copper cleaner, especially when you had the largest canvas in the house...the stockpot!  All the delayed gratification indeed paid off.

My love of cooking developed out of an eventual hate of those dishes (you can only be bamboozled for so long).  When I was in Junior High, we were able to take Home Ec or Shop.  I chose Home Ec and learned to sew (different story for a different day) and cook.  I tested every recipe from school at home.  The only disaster I remember was the mashed potatoes...alas, I did not test them enough, but my family managed to choke those horribly lumpy and dry efforts down (God Bless them!) and even allowed me to continue testing these recipes again and again.

The day I turned 15, I told my Mom I was not going to wash the dishes that night; she said OK.  The next night I told her I still wasn't washing the dishes.  She asked me if I wanted to cook the family dinner and I said "Sure!"  It was then that I found the kitchen a place I loved to be, planning, cooking and looking ahead to the next meal.

My girls are grown and one has moved out so our nest is kind of empty.  We coach track at a local high school in Chicago, so I guess you could say I have 2 children and about 50 kids.  Even so, our dinner life is beginning to downsize some, but I'm having trouble cooking for 2.  My recipes are for 4-6 and I can't seem to cut them down mostly because the amount of meat doesn't make sense and it's actually more expensive in a lot of cases.  Remember, I'm from New England originally.  So I got to thinking, there's got to be a way you can still cook all your family recipes that are tried and true and still save money.  Then I thought about how people do all of this bulk freezer cooking that serves 4 or more at a time, but that doesn't make sense if you are downsizing, or even just starting out.

My biggest obstacle is my Dear Hubby. I love him dearly, but he is very picky.  DH refuses to eat leftovers (he'll deny it vehemently) with the exception of another round of Thanksgiving dinner the next day.  Then I got to thinking about how he'll eat frozen food, so why not our own frozen food?

And here we are...(besides...enough background already!)

• I will assemble a calendar of meals where I cook "normally" 3 times a week.  Before I serve dinner, I will spoon off half into single serve containers for dinners later in the month.  To do the 3 x per week plan, you'll need 7 x #servings (in my case 2) to keep in the freezer.  If you choose 2 x per week, then you'll need 10 x #servings.
• By rotating  the dinners, they won't get lost in the freezer.
• As you gather the bounty (dinners) those non-cooking nights can be used for prepping ingredients for the next night so the next meal "flies" together.  On those first 6 cooking nights, you could purchase frozen meals from the store or use up what's in the freezer to make room for your 14 or so containers.

I'm using up stuff.  I can't help it, I'm too frugal.  It really bugs me to throw away food.  On one level, I know it's food I would have eaten had my plans not changed. Then there's the expense I incurred and it's like throwing that cash in the trash.  In that vein, I've decided that if I waste less food, I'll really end up saving more money.  I've always been one of those who tries to save 50-60% with or without coupons.  I've had my moments but the 40-45% range  is pretty common for me.

I've numbered my meals for the month of November.  Taking a break for Thanksgiving to do the Thanksgiving stuff made sense to me, so there are 13 cooking days in November with this plan; the last day is actually in December.  Christmas Day  and New Year are not cooking days either, so they are technically a break if needed due to school holidays and the like.  December will have 12 cooking days (OK, really 13).  After looking at this, it doesn't look as daunting.  I'm also thinking another savings will be time.  Hmm, I could use some of that.

Tomorrow I'll have my list of recipes for the next 2 months.  This will be a great adventure!