Once a Month cooking synopsis

If you've been following, you know I've been on this Once a Month Cooking Journey.  I have to say I am incredibly BORED!  It was a challenge to make 14 meals in one day, which actually was not how I did it due to circumstances that changed my plans. I ended up making the meals in 2 different stages.  That was still a challenge.  However, I have to say the recipes themselves have not been spectacular.  So, overall, I'm not really impressed.  There are several OAMC books, but the one I used was Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg.  The good thing about this book is that most of the ingredients you'll find in your pantry.  There's not a whole lot of unusual types of herbs/spices, etc.  If you want easy, staple items it's great.  Also, it shows you exactly how to prep for your cooking day.  It includes a meal plan, grocery list, what to do before your big cooking day, even suggestions for types of containers to use.  On the flip side, I think someone forgot to edit this book!  I found many mistakes which made it confusing at points.  For example, a recipe would call for cooked chicken, then tell you to cook it.  Or there was a meal on the planner, but no recipe for it.  And that's only 2 of about 10 mistakes I found. 

I am in a cooking group (which desperately needs a name) and it is a great way to do freezer meals!  I look forward to posting recipes from that.  I just made 3 meals that look fantastic!  I guess I'm just partial to food that is extraordinarily good.  Not that there's anything wrong with those staple items in your pantry, but I like creativity, more flavor, etc.  When you're making 14 meals, or even 30 for your freezer in one day, that is probably not going to happen.  You need more time to be more creative.  So, I'm giving this book about 2 1/2 stars out of 5.  Also, I'm done posting recipes from it unless something is very enjoyable.  I do still have several meals left in my freezer.  But if I'm boring myself, I must be boring you, yes you, all 4 followers that I have, and 1 cyber stalker--you know who you are--haha!  Who knows, maybe there are more. 

Looking Ahead:

• I hope to be more consistant in the future with my posts.  Hmm, maybe this is a New Years Resolution.
• Fun holiday treats
• Cranberry Chicken, Spinach Lasagna Roll ups, and Thai peanut chicken
• Eggplant Parmesean, which I promised in early November.  (they were actually out of eggplants!  I could post the recipe, but I really wanted a picture for this one.)

London Broil

Meal #9 from OAMC. 

1 London broil (about 2 lbs)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbs grated lemon zest
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp light brown sugar

In a shallow bowl, stir all ingredients together, making a marinade.  Turn the steak in the marinade, rubbing the ingredients into the meat. Let set 30 min to marinate.  (or overnight) Grill aobut 5 min. per side.  Do not overcook or meat will become tough.  Carve slices on the bias.

Playoff Burgers

Meal #8 from OAMC.  This is a seasoned up burger. 

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbs steak sauce
1 cup grated monterey Jack Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
6 whole wheat buns.

Combine all ingredients, form into patties.  Grill and serve!  Easy, but a little more flavor than your traditional burger. 

Poppy Beef

Meal #7 from OAMC.  This is a fancy name for a spaghetti bake, but it has more of a white cheesy sauce instead of your traditional tomato sauce.

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
8 oz cottage cheese
1 tbs poppy seeds
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
8 oz light cream cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz linguine
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese

Saute the beef with green pepper, salt, and onion in a large skillet on medium heat until the beef is no longer pink, about 15 minutes.  Add tomato sauce and set aside.  In a seperate bowl mix together cottage cheese, poppy seeds, yogurt, cream cheese and pepper.  Cook and drain the pasta.  Stir into cheese mixture until well blended.  Place it in a 9x13 baking dish.  Top with the meat mixture and parmesean cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Country Captain (curried chicken)

I have no idea why this is named "Country Captain".  Basically it is a curry chicken dish.  If you like curry, you'll enjoy this.  This is meal #6 from OAMC.

1 14pz can stewed tomatoes (undrained)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup currants or raisins
1 tbs cury powder
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs cold water
Cooked couscous to serve with
Slivered almond (optional)

Combine first 8 ingredients.  Put chicken in skillet and pour sauce over top of it.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Remove chicken from skillet.   Mix cornstarch and cold water together, add to skillet.  Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. You may need to bring it to a boil again in order for it to thicken up.  Pour sauce over chicken, top with slivered almonds and serve over couscous. 

Herbed Chicken

Meal #5 from OAMC. 
This is another easy recipe that contains pretty much staple items from your pantry.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1 tspdried oregano leaves
3 cups white rice, cooked

Combine all ingredients except rice in a bag or bowl to marinate.  Bake at 350, covered for 1 1/4 hours.  (Now, I think I cooked it alot less than that, let's not dry out the chicken!  Use your judgement).  Serve over rice.

Chicken Nuggets

Meal # 4 from OAMC.  My kids loved this very kid-friendly meal.  You can make it more adult friendly by adding some unique dipping sauces.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
3 tbs butter melted
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dired bread crumbs, Italian style
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
sauces for dipping.

Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces (kitchen shears work great).  combine chicken, melted butter, and worcestershire in a 1 quart freezer bag to make a marinade.  combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a second bag.  You can freeze at this point if you're looking to stock your freezer. 

To prepare for serving, remove the chicken pieces from marinade. Shake them in the bread crumb bag to coat, a few at a time.  Yes, kind of like 'Shake and Bake'.  The kids will think this is fun too. Arrange chicken on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 7-9 minutes at 450. 

So easy!  My daugter does not seem to like meat, but she actually ate these!  And my husband liked them too.  We used BBQ sauce, Honey Mustard, Spicy Mustard, and Ketchup for our sauce choices.  You could add Teriyaki or a thai peanut sauce to make them a bit more 'gourmet', or 'grown up'.