January 2010 OAMM Menu, Podcast, Grocery List, Instructions and Labels
Thanks for joining us again or welcome first time visitors! We are glad you have joined us. This months menu is another ALL STAR menu from the year. (December was also an ALL STAR menu). After cooking and eating monthly meals I have been asking readers to rate their favorites. This menu is built on a selection of those favorites from throughout the year.
I kept in mind sale items, of course. I hope you enjoy these meals as much as our early readers/cooks have. If you are new and not sure how to get started, read here. For frequently asked questions visit here.
Podcast
- Due to the birth of my second child, there is no audio podcast to this month’s menu. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Menu
- Included below are the menu items that we will be preparing as part of our Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) BIG DAY. In the printable menu the menu items are listed as single, double, or quadruple depending on how much we need to make on the BIG DAY. The recipes linked below are ONLY for the single batch, to see the amounts we are making on the OAMC BIG DAY you will need to visit the Printable January Menu.
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Breakfasts
- Banana Sour Cream Bread (made as muffins)
- French Toast Sticks
- Breakfast Eggwiches
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Lunches
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Dinners
- Mandarin Orange Chicken
- Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Cannelloni
- Mexican Stuffed Shells (unstuffed)
- Beef Fajitas** (Don’t Panic Recipe)
- Buffalo Chicken (Pasta)
- Monterrey Jack Quesadillas
- Deconstructed Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
**Indicates meals that require NO COOKING on your OAMC BIG DAY!
Grocery List
- Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your January OAMC BIG DAY. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
- Grocery List
Instructions
- These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your OAMC BIG DAY!
- Instructions
Labels
These customized labels are designed specifically for the January Once A Month Mom Menu. They contain not only the name of the dish but also the serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free.
These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163
Helpful Hints/Resources
- How To Navigate the OAMM Menu
- Tips and Stories from other readers – coming later this month
What do you think of January’s menu?
And don’t forget to check out the right sidebar weekly to vote on past month’s menus!
this is the best menu! i need to find someone to do it with me b/c i really really want to make this menu!
Erinne not available. :) I think she should take the plunge! Tell her I said so. :)
The instructions link is not working for me for some reason.
For some reason the link was broken. It should be fixed now.
I always look forward to the first of the month to see what you have planned. Looks great! I am doing a OAMC spread over a few days. I am working on making freezer meals from my pantry…a fun challenge! I will be making the French Toast sticks you have posted from bread that I made in my bread machine. We love the Monterrey Jack Quesadillas and I have the Mandarin Orange Chicken on my list as well!
Happy New Year!
Forgot to post…Here’s my blog where I’ll be posting what I make from my pantry for the freezer with links to recipes. Thanks!
http://www.forfreeyatake.blogspot.com
Thanks for putting this together! I just did my first OAMC and loved it! Also wanted to add if anyone wants to use reusable 8X8 pans, Gladware Ovenware, I ordered 18 on Amazon for $32. Not as cheap as throw away ones but by month 4 they will pay for themselves.
Great advice! I will add that to the Amazon store as well.
Heads up! On Amazon.com the 8×8 Gladware Ovenware talked about in the above posts qualifies for Free Super Saver Shipping! I will get my order Jan 11! Thanks for the advice!
Great idea once again, I have added them to my Amazon store. And I am about to take stock in the company. :)
Tricia, I’ve been subscribing to your blog for months because I loved the idea, and as a NY’s resolution I am finally taking the plunge next Saturday with this menu. I pulled a neighbor in on it, too. I’m nervous, because this is more than I can typically chew, but once it’s done I think I will love the results. Thanks for all the work you put into this and congrats on your new baby!
You are most welcome. Give yourself 24-48 hours after the experience to figure out if you will do it again. :) My feet often say “no way” but later in the month my stomach and calendar say “let’s go again”! Good luck!
Tricia, I may be blind – but there are 4 pounds of grapes in the grocery list, and I can’t figure out which recipe those are for. I just didn’t want to buy that many grapes if I didn’t need them…
I don’t think you are blind, but I just might be crazy. I have them on my grocery list but looking through the recipes they aren’t there. I am removing them from the grocery list as unnecessary. Sorry. I’m not sure what that is from!
Hi. I just finished the Jan. menu for the month. I really did well for one person who never, never, NEVER cooks (my husband does the cooking) and 6 months pregnant! Anyway, I just had a comments on the grocery list. I ran out of chicken, so I couldn’t do the quesadillas. I believed that accounted for all of the chicken needed. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks for putting this together! I am taking the plunge this month starting new with the new year and looking forward to it. With a new baby and a toddler, I’m hoping this will get me out of the kitchen to spend more time with family and save us from eating out and saving some extra.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment! I was very surprised and honored! I kept telling my family “Guess who commented on my blog?! Once A Month Mom!!!!” I’m very happy to send visitors your way…you are awesome!
I wanted to point out that salsa was not on the shopping list this month and there are several recipes that call for it. I don’t want anyone in the middle of cooking to have to make a trip to the store like we did! (no worries, I live 4 blocks away so it wasn’t a problem!)
My pleasure! I love visiting blogs of readers and try to do so whenever I can. I think I updated that on the grocery list and wrote a post, but funny enough I can’t find the post. :) Guess I will do some investigating.
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to do all of this. My family had been trying to cut back on our grocery budget and it was really hard for me to make enough meals for the whole week with what I could spend. Now for the past few months we have been taking out all of the money at the begining of the month and buying what we need for your menus and the rest is for milk and fruit for the month. Your food is delicious and my husband just told me that thanks to this once a month cooking you just helped us save enough money to buy our first house!!
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing. These stories are what make the “work” of this blog worth it.
Okay, this is embarassing, but I will swallow my pride and ask. I am from the South, where I should know the answer to this question, but how do I roll the corn tortillas for the taquitos without breaking them? Could it be just the brand?
Oh, and they are kind of hot to roll with my bare hands when I get them out of the oil.
Any hints would be great! Thanks!!
I’m not sure about the rolling them part, any suggestions from readers? As for the tortilla part, it could be the tortillas you are using. It could also be a problem if they are cold. You may want to leave them at room temperature or even microwave them for a bit so that they are softer. Other than that, it might just be the brand. Any readers have suggestions?
I just randomly came across this website and I think it’s weird that I just asked my boyfriend how people at mexican restaurants roll their taquitos and flautas without them falling apart. The universe is telling me to find out… I’m not a mom but I am a student so I need all the frugal tips I can get too :)
About the tortillas, if they are not as fresh- they tear easily. I know some stores like Target have long expiration dates but they are still not as fresh and won’t work as well. When you get tortillas that were just made the day before for instance, they are more pliable. In California there are stores that sell them hot and fresh made that morning! The oil does soften them up, so let them cool a minute or so until they aren’t too hot on your fingers, just stack a few on a plate that have been put in the oil before you roll them up.
Susan, thank you for sharing this information. Very helpful. I know near us the new Kroger’s have fresh made tortillas. Maybe one resources. Probably Whole Foods as well if you have one near you. Thanks again for sharing.
Thanks, Susan!
I didn’t wait to roll them, I did it right away after I got them out of the oil. I’ll try waiting a minute, that will definitely help.
I did get the Kroger white corn tortillas, but I’m not sure what day they were made. I’ll be sure to check for fresh ones next time.
Thank you also, Tricia, for putting out the “all call”.
My family loooooved the taquitos, by the way.
My daughter bought a used one for my family. However I’m having some trouble and I need help.
Hey Tricia! I hope this isn’t a dumb question but the Chicken Wraps call for instant rice and the Mandarin Chicken just says rice…Is it important to use instant for the wraps and regular for the Mandarin chicken?
Use whatever I put on the grocery list because I know that I made adjustments for whichever is on that list. The first time around everyone said there was too much rice for Chicken Wraps so you should be good either way.
We cooked the Jan. menu yesterday (2nd time for OAMC) I have a couple of comments/suggestions. Line the cookie sheet with foil before cooking the bacon and french toast sticks (less clean up time), we ran out of chicken as well and got a rotisserie to finish up, (we didn’t do the deconstructed chicken this time since we already had that before), somehow we had a ton of butter leftover, make sure when cooking the chicken that you save the broth to use in the recipes. We had to make more broth using a bouillon cube and worked out fine. Next time we do the quesadillas, we will make more. They are yummy! We will read the recipes more carefully next time before shopping b/c we could have left some tortillas off the list for now and bought them closer to when we eat the meals. Sorry this is so long. We really enjoyed this menu and look forward to eating the food! Thanks for all you do!
Thanks for the suggestions. Sorry about the chicken. So weird. I am still working on the tweaking of those equivalents. It either seems to be way to much or too little. Hmm. Again, thanks, the feedback is always most helpful to readers.
Holy cannoli, Batman! I am fuh-reaking exhausted after this! I see other people reference doing this pregnant and I am so impressed. For now it is only me and the hubs and I am worn out. I know it will pay off when we get home from work and don’t have to think about what to eat! I really appreciate everything that was posted on this site – it helped me with budgeting, using my stockpile, shopping and managing my time. This has been a great experience – although my feet hate you at the moment!
Ha! I usually don’t ask anyone how they liked it for at least 48 hours after. Your feet need time to forget and your stomach needs time to help you with the decision. :) Glad you tried it and hope that you will join us in February as well!
Got a question…how does the chicken salad do after freezing? It seems like the veggies and stuff would get soggy. Help!
Many of the readers have reported loving them and this is an all-star menu so yes they do freeze well! ;)
Thanks so much, Trisha! This is mine and my sister’s second time – tomorrow! I have recommended your site to many. Thank you so very much for this! We love love love it!!!
We are getting ready for our 2nd month of once a month cook and are very excited. I need just a bit of help – We are using the January menu cause it looks wonderful but was wondering can you recommend a substitue for the tequila? or would it be the same to just leave it out?
Thanks
This source says cactus nectar or juice. I have no idea where you get that but it is an idea.
Our group (4 of us) is also doing the January menu this month. Since I will be almost 39 weeks pregnant when we cook on Saturday it should be quite interesting! I’ll let you know if a hospital trip comes on Sunday! Anyway, I noticed that a few people mentioned not having enough chicken. Have you altered the grocery list as a result of that, or is it still the same? We might err on the generous side just in case. Thanks!
I haven’t changed anything. I would err on the side of caution and purchase and cook some extra. And be careful, it wouldn’t be the first time an OAMM day has sent someone into labor!
I wonder if people are partly having trouble with the chicken volume because some brands inject a lot of water and/or salt solution into their chicken breasts — the liquid would surely cook out of the meat, leaving less actual meat per purchased pound….? It’s the sort of thing one might not notice for the usual family meal size of a pound or two of chicken, but over the course of 20 lbs, it would add up. I can’t test the theory, since I am making a half batch and bought mine fresh rather than frozen….
I love your site. My sister in law and I had our 1st OAMM day and it was awesome. Here is a link with pictures from the day, our run down, suggestions for next time, etc.
http://codyandchelseagroves.blogspot.com/2011/01/once-month-mom-meal-planning-take-1.html
So glad you shared the link! I am sure others will love to see!
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I noticed that the link to the Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches recipe doesn’t go to a recipe and that the Fajitas doesn’t have a link. Is there a way to post these recipes? Thanks! *if this posts twice, I retyped it because Word Press said I was commenting too quickly…?
The recipes and their freezer instructions can be found in the “printable recipe cards” located in this post regardless of broken links.