Once A Month Cooking - Main Dish

Before you get busy cooking, fill your sink up with hot, soapy water. I don't know about you, but I don't have enough utensils to use them once and then go get a new one, I would have to wash it so I could use it on something else. It's inevitable when making numerous meals that you will need to reuse utensils. So keep that soapy water ready so you can wash as you go!

Slightly undercook food that will be reheated after freezing. That should help prevent overcooking.

Freezer Friendly Tips

1. Here's a tip that's handy when making soups or sauces that call for a few tablespoons of tomato paste. When you purchase a large can of tomato paste, line a baking sheet with wax paper. Drop the paste by tablespoonfuls onto the paper and place the baking sheet in the freezer. When frozen, the tomato paste "drops" easily peel off the paper and can be stored in a resealable bag or freezer container.

2. When you have apples for baking pies but don't think you will be able to use them before they start to spoil, try this idea:

Peel the apples and slice them. Add sugar and cinnamon as well as flour or cornstarch and put them in a pie pan as if you are making a pie. Cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and store it in your freezer.

When you're ready to bake, remove the pie pan and allow the apple slices to defrost while preparing the crust.

Place the bottom crust in a second pie pan and simply spoon the thawed apples into it. Add butter to the apples, cover them with an upper crust and pop it in the oven.

3. Buy three to four bunches of parsley at a time, clean them and remove the stems. Put the parsley in a plastic bag and secure it with a twist-tie, making sure to leave some air in the bag. Then put the bag in the freezer overnight.

The next day, use a rolling pin to crush the frozen parsley, then quickly pour the frozen crushed parsley into freezer bags before it defrosts. With a bag in the freezer, you'll always have fresh-tasting parsley on hand. You can take out only the amount and put the rest back in the freezer for next time.

4. When browning ground beef for a recipe, cook

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