Kosher Once A Month Cooking: Poultry (Part 1 ~ Tips, Menu & Printable Labels)

I am excited to welcome KOAB reader and organizing junkie Shaindy Gerstein for this two-part series about Kosher Once a Month Cooking (OAMC). As the name implies, OAMC means that you cook once and eat for a month, thanks to cook-ahead food that freezes well.

As a full time working mom with two small kids, I barely have time to eat, let alone cook!

After a long, hectic week, I want to come home to Shabbos, with a traditional homemade meal. If only I had more time to prepare one!

That’s when my internet research on work-life balance for the busy homemaker led me to once a month cooking. I fell in love with the idea. I could totally do it! Problem was that none of the menu plans were kosher.

Luckily, in my research I came across Once a Month Mom. Awesome site! They have tons of kosher adaptable recipes and a detailed tutorial on how to prepare your own menu plans. So I got to work. I read through all the posts and followed them to the T.

Now, after all the hard work, I’m so glad to be able to share my plan with you.

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As Jews, we eat A LOT! It was almost impossible to include an entire month of meals into one day of cooking, so I mostly concentrated on Shabbos meals (of course, you can eat them during the week too!). Here are a few other insights into the way I planned the meal plan:

• Each dish makes enough for at least 4 people

• My menu includes:
• 2 x 4 main dishes
• 2 x 4 side dishes
• 2 x 2 desserts

• I tried to steer clear of crock-pots, so they can be reserved for cholent, if Friday is your cooking day. If a recipe calls for a crock-pot, the cooking time can be adjusted to cook in the oven.

• My menu only includes chicken dishes in order to make it more “budget friendly.”

Kosher Once a Month Menu ~ Poultry

Tips to Make the Most of Your Cooking Day

• You MUST read through the ENTIRE plan before beginning. You don’t want any surprises on your cooking day.

• Buy extra chicken. Once you are cleaning chicken, you might as well clean/cut as much as you need. You can also store chicken in storage bags with desired marinades and vegetables.

• If you have a large family or just want to have more in your freezer, then double this menu plan.

• If you like the idea of KosherOAMC, but don’t have an entire day to dedicate, you can divide the menu plan into 2 or even 3 days.

• If you like larger kugels, make 1 9×13 pan instead of 2 8×8 pans.

Label Your Food

• It can be hard to tell what each item is after it’s frozen, so make sure to label everything you freeze!

• You can use a plain old sharpie (I got 2 free ones from Target- thanks Mara!).

• Or you can print out these labels I made up, which are compatible with Avery template # 5163. If you do not want to use actual labels, you can print them out on regular paper, cut them, and tape them onto each item.

Tips for Storage and Freezing

• Make sure each item is well wrapped and air is squeezed out. Food can be stored directly in freezer bags.

• Do not use cheap freezer bags. From my research, people have NOT had success when using cheap quality

• Before you go shopping make sure you have enough of the items below. If not, add it to your shopping list:

• Disposable tins (8×8, 9×13)
• Freezer bags (quart, gallon, 2-gallon)

• When thawing items stored in freezer bags, place them in a tin or bowl. In case there is a small hole in the bag, you won’t have a huge leak in your fridge!

Stay tuned tomorrow for recipes and the step-by-step cooking plan to turn this menu into a month’s worth of Shabbat meals!