Cookbook Giveaway: Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites

When I read about the opportunity to review a new cookbook from the Once-A-Month Cooking (OAMC) gals – I was REALLY excited.  While I do love to cook, I do NOT enjoy the daily cleanup.  I wanted to see what tips & tricks – as well as recipes – the Family Favorites cookbook had to offer, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I immediately dug into the Introduction section, and found the tips and recommendations to be DO-able!  I was glad to see that I wasn’t being told to invest in a lot of containers and new products that required more storage space – but instead was advised to use good freezer bags and my regular freezer to store everything.  Yay!

My favorite part of the cookbook, as I was reading it page by page, was the layout.  Broken down into One-month cycles with coordinating pantry list, freezing supplies, shopping list, and preparation order – I could see how simple preparing a month’s worth of meals could really be.  And there are 2 One-month cycles, as well as several Two-week cycles.  One of the recommendations in the Intro section is to cook with a friend, so for someone like me with a small prep space, that idea is very workable!

The authors of the OAMC books, Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg, have much experience with cooking, and have developed a very friendly system for meal planning, in my opinion! The coordinating recipes for each month’s cycle contained many recipes that my family would actually eat and enjoy.  No bizarre recipes or unusual ingredients.  Recipes like:

• Creamy Chicken Enchiladas – p. 36

• Chicken Broccoli Casserole – p. 32

• Macaroni – p. 118

Not only that, but I was actually intrigued by many of the fish dishes since I don’t cook fish.  However, I’m considering the Tilapia Fillets (p. 134) because we want to eat more fish, more often, and this recipe seems very simple.

Since the cookbook also offers several Two-week cycles (which appeals to me as I’m usually buying groceries every two weeks, and would be more manageable to prepare ahead in my own kitchen), I’m going to start with one of them and see how it goes.  The Two-week cycles include a Gluten-Free plan, a Summer Two-week plan, and even a Gourmet plan!

I’m so thankful for my free copy of this cookbook – it’s one I’m really excited about not just reading but applying to help with meal planning, and planning ahead for my family!

Giveaway!

So here’s the fun part!  Not only did I get a free copy to review, but I got one copy to give away to one of my readers!  If you enjoy cooking, the recipes are very friendly – and if you’re looking for a Do-able plan for freezer meals and menu planning, this could be a great tool in your kitchen!

How to Enter:

Required: Leave a comment telling me if you’ve ever tried Once-A-Month cooking – how it has worked or not worked for you – and/or how you handle meal planning for yourself or your family now. Make sure your email address is included in your comment entry.  (If you don’t leave a comment for this, you won’t be entered.)

Extra Entries:

1. Twitter about this giveaway once daily thru 10/15/09 – leave your twitter id/link for each entry. (1 xtra entry per  Tweet).

2. Link to this post on your blog. (1 xtra entry)

3. Share on Facebook and leave me a comment with your FB link. (1 xtra entry)

***Contest ends Thursday, 10/15/09 at 11:59 pm.  Winner will be contacted via email and announced on Friday, 10/16/09.***

You can read my disclosure policy here.