Giveaway: Part 2 - 30 Meals in One Day!

We have a WINNER!  It's:
Sable of http://gotgiveawayinfo.blogspot.com/ and http://atlmuzikfanzinc.blogspot.com/

Being single I obviously decided NOT to make up 30 meals.  It wouldn't all fit in my freezer or fridge - but then again, I wouldn't have to cook anything up for the next year.

Today was my cooking day and I have the BBQ Turkey Sandwich filling in the crock pot and the 

Almost ravioli in the fridge (it looked to good to freeze - it's going to be my dinner for the next week!) I'm also making the Carrot Apple Muffins for breakfasts and the Beef and Broccoli.

Notes to myself:
1) Poach the chicken (I used chicken instead of the Turkey in the sandwiches) and brown the hamburger up the day before.
2) If you use fresh vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, etc) get them prepped the day before.  I used frozen broccoli in the Almost Ravioli instead of the spinach and after I steamed them in the microwave and cut off the stems so they weren't in the casserole.  I think next time I won't steam them as long as the package says either.
*** This will save you a ton of time if you do this kind of prepping on shopping day.

I found the recipes to be very easy to follow, although they were definitely not low fat.  I personally would be "tweaking" the recipes to make them weight watchers friendly and low fat.  Also, many of the recipes have dairy in them and due to my dairy, whey and soy issues I'm praying that I can tolerate the Almost Ravioli - it sounded so good that I'm keeping my fingers crossed (it has cottage cheese in it).  I'm thinking next time I will try it without the cottage cheese - it'll be more of a spaghetti dish but that's OK.  If not - I guess everyone at work is going to be enjoying it!

30 Meals in One Day has generously said that I can share my recipes. I absolutely loved the way they suggest to do individual servings - this would be great for latchkey kids, singles, small families or families that are on the run (sports, lessons, church, etc).

Almost Ravioli, Dinner Is Ready, 6 servings
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped  (I used frozen chopped onions w/ pepper strips)
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 cups bow tie pasta, uncooked  (cook this 2 minutes less than directed on pkg)
1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce  (my jar of Newman's Own was 24 oz)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbl sugar
1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed  (I used broccoli)
1 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh), shredded

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Cook bow tie pasta in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes less than the shortest time recommended on package. Drain. Add pasta to ground beef. Combine spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, pepper and sugar. Stir in spinach, cottage cheese, eggs and Parmesan cheese. Add to ground beef and pasta. Gently combine. Place in freezer bag. Label and freeze.
To serve: Thaw. Bake in greased baking dish, uncovered, 45 minutes at 350º.  (I added mozzerella on top while baking)

Apple Carrot Muffins, On The Side, 8 muffins
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups carrot, shredded
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 apple, peeled, shredded
2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir in carrots, coconut and raisins. In a small bowl, combine oil, eggs, apple and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon into paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. To freeze: While still warm, place each muffin in a sandwich bag. Press out air and seal. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place bagged muffins in a gallon freezer bag. Label and freeze.   To serve: Thaw and serve. Heat briefly, if desired. 8 Muffins.

"I absolutely love your product! I have cooked with a couple of girlfriends and they all love it as well. My husband was skeptical in the beginning but now he would rather eat the freezer meals than go out to a restaurant!"   —Julia Adkison, Morgans Point Resort, TX

Purchase it:

The full retail price is $40 and you can get it online for $32.  If you WIN the set, 30 Meals in One Day has offered to refund your purchase price of the set.  If you purchase the complete 3 book set they will refund $60 of the winners order. 

So, you have nothing to lose if you decide to purchase it up front! Cool huh? (Orders must be between 9/19 and 9/30 to apply for the winner receiving a refund on their order)
Note US: When you order use this promo code: CAROUSEL to receive FREE Shipping within the US.  Canadians: don't use the promo code, ask to receive $4 off your shipping cost.

Giveaway! ends 9/30, US only 
30 Meals in One Day is generously giving away a set of the  Dinner is Ready cookbook and software combo.  With easy to read and clear instructions, this book details every aspect of the process that will put 30 meals in your freezer in one day, a fraction of the time it would take to make each of those 30 meals individually. Don't have a day to spend in the kitchen? Choose one of the shorter options!  Beautiful 240 page 6" x 9" softcover cookbook contains clear instructions plus more than 150 freezer-worthy recipes. No strange recipes. No strange ingredients. All simple, freezable and delicious. Easy to read, large print format. One recipe to a page.

30 Meals in One Day

—your best resource for freezer meals, freezer recipes, and once a month cooking (OAMC).

Mandatory Entry

ä Go to Dinner Is Ready and take a look at the Sample Recipes.  Which ones look really good to you?  Come back and leave a comment as your entry.  Be sure to leave your contact information with all posts.  You can do it like this:  contact(dot)thebooklady(at)gmail.com so you don't get a TON of spam.  

Optional entries:  (Note: please leave individual comments for each entry - feel free to use cut/paste - I do). You can do ALL or some to enter. (If you already follow me, feel free to use those entries, just know I do check when I draw the winner)

ä Follow ME on GFC publicly and Networked Blogs (left column)  +1 each

ä Follow Holiday Gifts and More on GFC and Networked Blogs (left column)  +1 each

ä Follow ME on Twitter and tweet the following for 5 entries each time (that's 5 comments, you can tweet daily if you'd like)   "A freezer full of delicious meals is truly a beautiful thing.  WIN a Dinner is Ready cookbook, 9/30, US  http://ning.it/9bhfpw"
ä Follow ME on Facebook and post for 5 entries (1 post please): "With delicious meals in your freezer you can always say, Dinner is Ready! WIN a Dinner is Ready cookbook, 9/30, US  http://ning.it/9bhfpw"  


Extra Entry:  Worth 10 entries (Note: please leave individual comments for each entry - feel free to use cut/paste - I do). 
ä How many recipes is in each cookbook?   Hint: I answered this in Part 1 of this review.


DISCLOSURE: A product sample was provided for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed in this post are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Part 1 - 30 Meals in One Day

Dear friends,

This book and software review is going to be done in 2 parts just to make it a little easier on me.  Part 1 will cover the menu planning, software and shopping trip.  Part 2 will cover the actual cooking process.  When a person has Fibromyalgia or another chronic illness it's important to split tasks up into more manageable pieces and that's what I like about this program.  

The 30 Meals in One Day program is written step-by-step starting with short easy to read chapters covering everything from What is Freezer Cooking, to selecting recipes, using lists to make it easier to teaching you to take 2 days - 1 for planning and shopping and 1 for prepping and cooking.  They will teach you how to package your meals for freezing and getting your dinner on the table.

The set I received was the "deluxe" set - 3 cookbooks, software, and labels for your finished product.

I started out by grabbing Lunch is Ready - the book I was most interested in.  I work 30 hours a week at my "main" job and a minimum 20-30 hours on my "FUN" job which is sharing The Books Kids Love to Read (along with doing product and book reviews online).  Some of the recipes in this book are: Beef and Chicken Fajitas following up the next day with Beef Fajita Salad, Ranch Hoagies, Zesty Beef and Vegetable Soup, Pizza Joes and several recipes for dressings for salads.  With over 200 freezer-worthy recipes and lots of menu suggestions you will have plenty of options for lunches.

Dinner is Ready has over 150 recipes perfect for the freezer such as Almost Ravioli, Chicken Stuffed Manicotti, Chicken Enchiladas and Grandma's Beef Stew.  Some of these recipes arecompletely assembled, others have all their pieces/parts and you assemble them just before baking. 

Lastly, On the Side has over 350 scrumptious side dishes to compliment all the meals from Dinner is Ready that you have prepared. Plus a suggested Complete Menu is on every recipe in the book. Use the suggestions or mix and match recipes according to your own preferences. There are endless fabulous combinations. There are 8 pages of menu's (!) such as:

Chicken Stuffed Manicotti

Red, White and Green Salad (pg 152)

Creamy Italian Dressing (pg 286)

Mushroom Puffs (pg 370)

Old Fashioned Bean Soup

Ham and Cheese Muffins (pg 326)

Smoky Maple Chicken

Bacon Pilaf (pg 118)

Parmesan Zucchini (pg 98)

Triple Orange Salad (pg 242)

Before I left for the store I sat down and pulled up the software.  The software contains all the recipes from the cookbooks. It does take some playing with the software and computer to get the hang of working this program, so I would suggest you don't do this the "day of" shopping.  I kept deleting what I thought I was saving - but once I got the hang of what I was doing I didn't have any problems.

(Note: to keep everyone from being confused - I will be referring to the 3 book set/software from now on.  This also applies to the individual book sets you can purchase if you don't want the entire set.)

All the recipes from the set is on your software.  You can choose a recipe, click on edit and change the # of servings.  When you click "Add to menu" your recipe is added to a list.  At this point you can indicate if you want say 2 batches of a recipe that you want to make.  This comes in really handy if you a cooking for 2 families, want to double a muffin recipe, etc.  Then you can create your shopping list, print off your recipes and labels and you're all set to go for the next day.

You can either purchase the individual books and their individual software, or you can purchase the "deluxe" set and get everything.  Purchased individually you would spend $95.85 once you ended up purchasing the book/software 1 at a time.  Purchasing the "deluxe" set right now (it's on Sale) saves you $20! So, it's $75.00!  (Note: these are using SALE prices)

___________________

At this point, I know you are really intrigued by this great program and maybe are itching to go and purchase your own.  BUT, you have a couple of options - yes, you can go ahead and go get your own.  Everything is on SALE and if you WIN the upcoming GIVEAWAY (and have purchased the full set of cookbooks/software) you will be refunded $60 of your purchase.  WOW!

Or, I will be posting the GIVEAWAY on Sunday as soon as I put up Part 2 of this review.  I will be sharing my cooking experiences, along with a couple of yummy recipes for you to try.  Until Sunday, go to the website take a look at the recipes and try a couple too.  Feel free to email the company if you have any questions.