How to Cook Once and Eat Twice

The cook once and eat twice method of cooking is a simplified version of once-a-month-cooking. I like the idea of once-a-month-cooking. However, I have two major problems with this method. The first is, of course, the expense of buying a month's worth of groceries all at once. The second problem is that I don't have all day to devote to cooking. Besides that, I'm morbidly slow, yet highly distractible. It would take me three days to carry out a once-a-month-cooking plan!

I use the cook once and eat twice method all the time. I've told countless friends and family about this method and most of them now use it to some extent. If I didn't use this method, I would be in the kitchen all day! I have two preteens and a preschooler, all of whom I home school. That's three meals a day, plus countless snacks.

In this article, I will outline the basic plan. I will write a few more articles that give sample weekly menus for the cook once and eat twice method. These will give you a starting point. You can adapt this method for almost any menu.

Step 1: Plan your weekly menu. For help with menu planning, see my article titled, "How to Plan a Weekly Menu in Four Easy Steps." Look to see what you have on hand or what's on sale this week. Think of three or four meals you can make with these ingredients. The meals should include a main dish, two or three veggies, and a carbohydrate. If you are serving a casserole, most of these things may already be included.

Now that you've thought of three or four meals your family likes, it's time to move on.

Step 2: What can be doubled (or even tripled) easily? Are you making a casserole? Make two and freeze one for a busy day. Or, you may want to brown two pounds of ground beef, instead of just the one you need for dinner tonight. Divide the meat in half. Use half for the dish you are making tonight, and put half the beef in a freezer bag. Label, date, and freeze. Meat isn't the only ingredient you can double. Onions, bell peppers, and celery can all be chopped ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer. This is especially true when you have a food processor. Not long ago, a local store had three pound bags of onions on sale for $1.00 each. I bought ten bags. Now I just pull out a baggie of premeasured one cup amounts from the freezer when I need chopped onions.

Step3: Make a grocery list. A good grocery list is essential for this method. Make sure all ingredients needed are accounted for. Remember to double the amounts needed in single recipes.

Step 4: Try to think ahead more than one week. If you know you will have to work late every other Friday, then save a casserole for that day. Pour a bag of salad mix in a bowl, and viola! Dinner is done. Thinking ahead will let you have meals already started for those hectic days we all have every now and then. Think, also, of items that take a long time to cook. Cook extra and freeze some for later. I do this with brown rice all the time. I take the extra from the pot and measure 1 cup amounts into freezer bags.

Until now, we've only been discussing the time savings of the cook once and eat twice method of cooking. Now, let's discuss the money savings. Energy savings equal money savings. It's a fact that reheating in the microwave costs less than using the stove. So, if you're preheating your stove to 350 degrees to bake a casserole, why not use the empty space in your oven to bake two casseroles? You can freeze one for later. Or, fill the oven up with tomorrow's side dishes and dessert. You are heating the oven once, but producing two meals. Casseroles aren't the only meals that are easily doubled. When baking a chicken, bake two. Serve one and debone the other. Place the deboned chicken in 1 1/2 or 2 cup servings in freezer bags. It can be used for chicken salad, soft tacos, and of course, my favorite, a casserole. The list is endless.

Another savings can be seen in your grocery and gas bills. If you double your recipes, you'll have to visit the grocery store less often. That means less impulse buys to lure your money out of your pocket. Also, less trips to the market means less money spent on gas. Breezing through Drive-thrus on the way home from work will be a thing of the past. Well, not entirely, but you can diminish the need greatly by using the cook once and eat twice method of cooking. Knowing you have a meal prepared, or mostly prepared, at home will keep those hard earned dollars in your pocket.

Both time and money can be saved if you put some forethought into the dishes you use. I'm not talking about entrees or side dishes. I'm talking about actual pots and pans. It costs money to run the dishwasher, and time to scrape and load all the dishes. Use dishes that can be used in the oven, freezer, and microwave. I personally like the Pyrex and Anchor Hocking glass dishes. I purchase the ones with plastic lids, so I save on foil and plastic wrap when storing the filled dishes in the fridge and freezer. Yesterday, I saw baking dishes with glass lids that can be used in the oven, fridge or freezer. I plan to purchase one in each size.

The last thing I want to comment on is the mention of a weekly menu. I used a weekly menu for ease, as most people shop that way. A bi-weekly menu works just as well. I use a bi-weekly menu. My family would get tired of chicken (or beef) if I served it four or five times a week. Just because you double a recipe doesn't mean you have to eat it all in one week!