Mumsnet Talk

We just seem to have less time these days, and I am finding that I don't actually want to come in from a long day's work and start chopping bloody vegetables

I love cooking and am pretty good at it, and so is dh, and we all have very wide taste, no veggie-refusenik kids etc

So what are your top 10 freeze-for-later dishes/ Joking aside, I do cook from fresh a lot and I like doing it, but there are increasingly frequently times when dh and I just look at each other and say "fuck it, there are some fishcakes in the freezer"

I've cooked and frozen things like soups, lasagne, burgers, veggie burgers, falafels, apple pies, strudel, steak pies

but would love some inspiration and some more exciting and tempting ideas!

Boeuf bourguignon (had to Google the spelling!). You can put it with rice, fresh crusty French bread, a green salad.

Anything vaguely Italian/pasta-ey (without the pasta, just cook that from fresh).

Chilli con carne
Bolognese sauce - just add to freshly cooked pasta
Cheese sauce - you can add to macaroni or cauliflower or put on a lasagne
Chicken and ham pie

Lebanese meatballs - make with beef mince, piece of bread soaked in milk, add chilli flakes, grated onion, cumin and coriander.

To cook just fry off and then simmer in a tomato sauce made with tin of tomatoes, an onion, garlic, more chilli, bit of sugar. Serve with cous cous and toasted pine nuts.

meatballs in tomato sauce to serve with pasta. Make a huge batch & then freeze. Easy & they don't take long to thaw.

Homemade soup, especially really hearty ones. Just need bread and maybe cheese and/or salad for a complete meal.

Soup e.g butternut squash, carrot and parsnip, just serve with nice crusty bread.
Chilli , meat or vegi.
Pasta sauces
Lasagne
Fish pie

I made a really nice pork and sweet potato casserole the other day from a recipe card I got in Waitrose... it froze really well.

recipe here

Enchilladas - assemble in an oven dish when you have some leftover chilli & can be bothered.

Curry.

Stuffed peppers (blanch, fill with leftover cooked rice & veg before freezing).

Any tomato-ey pasta sauce eg. tuna, roasted veg.

I also freeze home made chicken nuggets, breaded turkey escalopes, fish balls etc.

BBQ pulled pork

Pork shoulder in the slow cooker, when cooked pour away all liquid and then shred the meat and put back in the slow cooker with a bottle of BBQ sauce (or can make your own sauce obviously) give it another hour or so to cook through.

Fine to freeze and is nice with a jacket spud/ wedges and coleslaw.

these are great, thank you!

Lasagne, curry, Bolognese, pies - shepherds variety and proper crusts, soups and stews - generally anything saucy goes in my freezer thinking about it.

My general method is to freeze in those metal trays like the ones you get takeaways in, then chuck in the oven until stir-able and tested while I cook up whatever goes with it eg.pasta, rice, veg

The Americans are awesome at this some examples here 40 make ahead meals and melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/freezer-cooking-slow-cooker-meals.html freezer to slow cooker meals. Google once a month cooking for more ideas

Enchiladas freeze ok too, you can just do the meat and sauce to freeze then heat up the tortillas and veg and have lovely messy fajitas. Taco mince would be good too.

I also batch make & freeze a lovely curry sauce for fish - you can thaw it & even cook frozen fish in it!

Chicken Stew - I defrost it and add some dumplings.
Shepherds Pie
Mince cooked with anything
Fish Pie
Cheese & Onion Pie
Tuna Pasta Bake

Anything I make really, I make extra and freeze. Don't always label though so it is often pot luck

Curry
Bolognese
Sweet n sour
Meatballs in sauce
Chilli con carne
Lasagne
Casserole

- Chilli Con Carne
- Bolognese (with the mince, so you just have to make pasta).
- Shepards/fish pie
- 'Proper' pies, like a stew filling with an all round crust
- Cornish pasties
- Stew
- Chicken noodle soup! Ace for when someone is poorly.
- Lasagana - sounds hard, but put it in the fridge first and it'll go a bit hard, then you can easily portion into containers.
- Macaroni Chees - as above.
- Any leftovers you have from meals from the above. Sometimes this means you can have a 'pot luck' evening where everyone gets something different!!

I use the plastic containers that you get take-away food in like these - about 500ml is a good portion size.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-PLASTIC-500ml-MICROWAVE-FOOD-TAKEAWAY-CONTAINERS-/190784208454?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_FoodStorage_GL&hash=item2c6b9ffe46

Marking my place for some ideas

Sweet and sour (chicken) and sausage and bean casserole both on the change4life website.

batches of bolognese can become chilli [add beans and chilli pepper] or lasagne or moussaka it is very versatile.

Can I sneak in and ask how you freeze things? Do they cool on side then go straight in the freezer? How long do you cool on the side?

Sausage casserole. Make a big batch by fring up sausages then cutting into chunks. Throw in a pan with lots of tins of beans - kidney, borlotti, butter, cannalini (sp?), black-eye etc and cover with tinned tomatoes. Add herbs, salt and pepper and chilli to taste (and any leftover red wine). Simmer for half an hour. Serve with bread. Freezes really well - i get the plastic takeaway style cartons from pound shops.

Cowl - but with beef not lamb. Big pan of water, add pearl barley, lentils and split yellow peas. Simmer for 25 mins. Fry beef and onions, drain and add to big pan. Dice carrots, swede, leeks and parsnips and add. Add herbs and bay leaves simmer for 30 mins. Serve with bread. Again freezes well.

mybum I dish up into containers and leave to cool before freezing. You end up having to defrost your freezer more if you put things in hot.

Lurk