<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/IMG_7043-1-1.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="263" /></p>
<p style="clear: both;">I must have been excited because I woke up right before my alarm went off on Wednesday morning. I may have been excited, but first things first, I needed coffee. So after my coffee was made I started working.</p>
<p style="clear: both;">I followed the instructions that I printed off of Tricia's site and did my best to follow each step.</p>
<p style="clear: both;">I won't give you the play-by-play because that would take all day but I will list a few of the <strong>highlights</strong>:</p>

<ul>
	<li>I started with Stuffed Pancake Cupcakes (which came out great!) I made these gluten free by using Pamela's Gluten Free Mix.</li>
	<li>I was pretty hesitant making the Beef Empanadas, but we ate them last night and <strong>they were delicious</strong>!</li>
	<li>Using a liner for the crockpots is a great investment, I <strong>saved so much cleanup time</strong> and the meals didnt' burn around the edges, which is a problem I often face when using the crockpot.</li>
	<li>Cutting up all of the vegetables the day before <strong>MUST be done</strong>, it would have been a great <strong>time-saver</strong>!</li>
	<li>I will invest in <strong>reusable containers</strong> so that there is not so much waste,  I do love the aluminum pans but if I do this often that would make for a  lot of expense and waste, something we're trying to reduce.</li>
	<li><strong>WEAR SNEAKERS</strong> IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON YOUR FEET ALL DAY! My feet are still aching me, I should have know better!</li>
	<li><strong>Clean as you go, especially the dishes</strong> - this is where a dishwasher would be handy too. (*hint hint sweetie)</li>
	<li><strong>Have a plan for your kids for the day. </strong>Claire our 3 year old was set up at the dining table for a while with playdoh, Caleb was able to spend some time with me in the kitchen in his highchair. I took a few breaks just to read a book or play for a few minute. They also enjoyed a good amount of Sesame Street, Blue's Clues, Dora and Thomas. I was really impressed how content they were all day while I worked, but next time I'll try to arrange a play-date or sitter for the kids so that I can get things done with out distractions.</li>
	<li>Making your own Granola is EASY and so <strong>delicious</strong>!</li>
	<li>Next time I'll <strong>make more breakfast meals.</strong> I skipped the pancakes this time but it would have been really nice to have them in the freezer for a quick breakfast.</li>
	<li>Set up <strong>extra tables</strong> if you need more counter space.</li>
	<li>I used our dining room table and <strong>set up a "packaging area"</strong> where I could package the meals and label them.</li>
	<li>I put food that needed to be cooled outside on our porch ( It was below freezing on Wednesday). This was actually very helpful!</li>
	<li>Labeling everything before you freeze it is so important! Many meals look similar when frozen. The labels on Once-a-month Mom's site are perfect!</li>
</ul>
I did run into one problem. I wasn't sure how to measure out the cooked ground beef for each recipe. I had a similar problem with the onions.I ended up guessing the amounts which worked out this time but I sent Tricia a message asking her if there was a solution to my problem. She replied (isn't she great!)
<blockquote>"I found somewhere that stated that 1 lb of raw ground beef is equal to about 12 ounces cooked, or 1.5 cups...
For the onions, I had given the amount of each so I was figuring everyone would just create "portions" and guess from there. Either way it is hard. Even for the hamburger it can vary by meat type (fat content). So it is always a little bit of guessing.</blockquote>
Thanks Tricia for responding to my e-mail so quickly! I did a pretty good job guessing the portions and everything turned out well, but now I know this for next time!
<p class="alert" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you have any questions?</span></p>
<p class="alert" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm working on doing a little interview with Tricia so I'd love to know hear from all of you what your questions are about Once-A-Month Cooking.
<strong> Please leave a comment with all of your questions/comments!</strong></span></p>


I'd like to say a special "thank-you" to:
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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="320" caption="My IPod, you kept me moving!"]<img src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/IMG_7047-1.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="240" />
[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="320" caption="Rebekah, for letting me borrow her Crockpot!"]<img class=" " src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/IMG_7050.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="240" />[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="214" caption="Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners, you made cleanup a breeze!"]<img src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/slowcookerliner.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="87" />[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Coffee, I couldn&#39;t have done this without you!"]<img class=" " src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/ANOTHERNEWSEASON/IMG_7051.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="320" />[/caption]

So if you're wanting to try Once-A-Month cooking, I say GO FOR IT! Find a friend, set a date and try it out! I am so pleased with the outcome and love being able to just grab a meal from the freezer.