First Things First!

Ok, so are you ready to start once a month cooking? If so, there are some things that I recommend you do before you actually start cooking. A little preparation will make cooking day go smoothly.

#1 - Create a personalized shopping list!

Think about how you usually shop, your routine! Go to your store and walk your routine while jotting down the isle #s and the items on each. I shop at the old Wal-Mart and this is my routine.
HBA
Household
Pet
Cleaning
Dry Goods
Dairy
Deli
Meat / Deli
Meat
Frozen
Produce
Breads
Check out
Then create your shopping list based on your routine. Remember that your list will always be a work in progress. I just let go of my old list that still had diapers, pull-ups and baby wipes on it! I know it sounds tedious and a bit OCD but a personal list will help you breeze through the store without forgetting anything!

#2 - Create a Menu Planning Folder
This next step is for those that thrive on organization like I do. You can make this as simple or as elaborate as you wish. My folder is fairly simple: a 3 ring binder, subject divider tabs, insertable pockets, page protectors and notebook paper. Are your organizing juices flowing? My folder is divided into the following sections: Menu / Shopping List, Cooking Plan, This Month's Recipes, Family Favorites, Freezer Inventory, and Pantry Inventory. Most of these sections just have several blank copies so I don't have to print them out every time. The recipe section has any recipes that I printed from the Internet that I plan to use that month and the freezer and pantry inventory sections have a copy of my latest lists. I will talk more about the freezer and pantry lists in a minute. Chances are that nobody else will ever see your folder, let alone use it, so make it functional for you.

#3 - Freezer and Pantry Inventory

Make a list of everything in your freezer and pantry. This will come in handy when you are making your menu and shopping list. I use the printable lists from http://www.organizedhome.com/, but a sheet of paper works too! I make a new list (or revise the old one) every month. One copy of each goes on my fridge, another copy in my folder. As I use something in my freezer or pantry, I mark it off my list that hangs on the fridge. I have a huge deep freeze and this list has helped me to keep the freezer cleaned out. I use to throw stuff in there, it would shuffle to the bottom and I would find it a year later and go, "Oh yeah, I remember buying this pork roast. I wish I had remembered it was in there." and then toss $7 into the trash can! So, make your lists! It will save your family money!

#4 - Family Favorites

Make a list of your families favorite meals and update it as you find new favorites. Have a couple of favorites weekly to keep the family happy. There is a great printable at http://www.organizedhome.com/. Can you tell that I love that site?


Remember, once a month cooking requires some time at the beginning to get organized but the joy of serving a home cooked meal every evening will be well worth it!

Go to the ant, o sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer, or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest.
Proverbs 6:6-8

Gotta love mason jars!

Ok, while I was searching for a cool picture to put on the blog, I "re"discovered something wonderful....MASON JARS! I found some of the coolest ways to use them and I thought I would share them with you. I don't take credit for any of these!

The first thing I came across were these cool mason jar lights. I am TOTALLY going to do this in my next home. I love this idea! You could hang them over the kitchen sink, the kitchen work counter, the kitchen table, the dining table.... Aren't they the cutest? Just think how cool they would look with some pine cones or sprigs in them for Christmas....maybe with some pretty ribbons or beads! Of course you would have to use the cool touch light bulbs!

Then I can across this cooking site (I can't remember which one it was and I didn't write it down.) that showed how to use a mason jar to cut biscuits! GENIUS! I don't have a biscuit cutter because I don't make them often (not a favorite around here), but I DO have a mason jar that I can use next time. In the past, I have used a drinking glass but they are so thin that they didn't cut the dough well. They suggested spraying the rim of the jar with Pam to keep the biscuits from sticking to the jar. So simple, and yet it took someone else to think of it for me! haha

Luminaries! I love them at Christmas and I love driving around and seeing a home with them up their walk or down their driveway. I, however, have always been too afraid to use those paper or plastic bags fo fear of starting a fire. Yeah, you can now use those "flameless" candles, but they still don't give off that same warm glow. This year, come to my house and see my pretty etched mason jar luminaras!! How cool is that? Go to http://www.ehow.com/ and search "mason jar luminaries".

This next one I discovered while tagging along with a friend to feed stores while she was shopping for her new chickens. I had no idea that they made these! You can go to the feed store and buy an attachment for a mason jar to make a bird feeder! Too cool! I have also seen this same thing used as a candy or peanut dish.

Who knew that you could do so many wonderful things with an old mason jar? If you decide to try one of these projects, scour the garage sales and junk shops instead of buying new jars at the store. But, you had better hurry or I will beat you there! haha

Have a blessed day and thanks to you all for your input and encouragement!

In His Love,

Lisa

My Actual Pantry

Whew! I finally finished tweaking the blog page...for now. It has been a learning experience, but a lot of fun! When I showed my husband, Gary, my finished product, he said, "It's nice, but that's not your pantry!" MEN! He is right though. So, here are some pictures of my pantry. We are living in a very small house right now and the actual pantry is very small. So, I have divided my "pantry" up into three different areas: the pantry, the spice cabinet and the garage pantry.

This is the little panty in the kitchen where I keep the perishables. There is another shelf on top where I keep the cereal and some cookbooks.

Here is the spice cabinet. I used 2 of those cheap wire three tier spice racks. They fit perfectly in the cabinet. I also used me label maker (one of my favorite things!) to label the spices in the back. I just stuck them to the side of the lids. The shelves above hold my beans, rice, pancake mix, bisquick, and pasta.

Out is the garage is where I keep my canned goods. I recycled an old cabinet that Gary used for his "man junk"! haha Man, I have a lot of soup!

So, there is my actual pantry. Remember, an organized pantry makes cooking easier!

Ok, so I've started a blog.

Hi! Lisa here! I've decided, with some nudging from friends, to start a blog about once a month cooking, being a mom, trying to save money, organization and household tips. I am in no way a pro at any of these but they are a passion for me.

I started cooking once a month about a year ago, I think. I really can't remember. I became interested in the "idea" of it several years ago when one of my friends was a consultant for "Homemade Gourmet". They had a recipe pack, if that's what you want to call it, that showed you how to make 4 freezer meals in 4 minutes. I loved that idea but was not motivated enough actually do it. In the mean time, I was becoming frustrated. I HATE TO COOK and I am not good at it. So, don't ask me to make meals for the family who just had a baby or the couple that just got married because I will refuse!! Only my close friends, who will love me no matter how bad my food tastes, will ever receive a meal from me!! haha Anyway, my frustration was coming from my lack of discipline to actually cook a meal for my family. Yeah, I would go to the grocery store and stock the shelves but there was no preparation or thought put into anything. So, dinner time would roll around and I would stare into the freezer and pray that some marvelous recipe would jump into my head. When that didn't happen, I would close the freezer, pack up the family and go out to eat. It was so much easier! Then every other week when I sat down to take care of the bills, I would hate myself for spending so much money on eating out when I had a pantry FULL of food! This cycle continued for some time until I finally realized that my family was suffering. We were wasting money that we could be putting away for a vacation and I was feeding my family junk almost every night of the week. How could I be the best mom that God intended for me to be if I couldn't find a way to get dinner on the table every night? Once a month cooking or freezer cooking has been a challenge and a journey but I am holding on tight and still up for the ride!