Ideas for batch cooking

[RosaAbsolute]

I am currently 38 weeks pregnant and on maternity leave. Today is the first day I've had without relatives staying and I'd like to do some batch cooking for the freezer for when the baby is born (if I can drag myself off the sofa).

We have a fridge freezer with only a small freezer section - a smeg with the small freezer at the top- so won't be able to fit loads in but a few dishes would be useful.

Apart from lasagne and cottage pie can someone offer some inspiration? We aren't fussy eaters! Ideally dishes that won't need additional fresh things cooking and adding to them.

Op, im needing the same help. So far ive bulk made and frozen burgers, meatballs, soups, sauces. Today im freezing marinated chicken so that i can make fajitas with them.

Chilli, you can have with rice, baked potatoes,baked in a tortilla with sour cream. A larger portion will keep well in a fridge foe a few days

Boil and then freeze potatoes in portion batches. Easy to defrost then mash/roast etc.

Frozen stir fry veg is good with those microwave rice packets (and I read they take less energy to transport and cook and package than raw rice. No source, sorry).

Make a batch of pasta sauce too and freeze in freezer bags for efficient packing.

As said above, if space is the issue I'd only be freezing home made pasta sauces, curry pastes, curry sauces and the like.

We do big cook offs every 3 weeks and fill the freezer. Our freezer isn't massive but we fit quite a bit in, I think it's down to the boxes we use.

We make chilli con carne, curry, spaghetti sauce, gumbo, chicken and mushroom pie and cottage pie.
All the info is here cheaptastyandeasy.wordpress.com/cook-off-main-page/

If you make things and have spaghetti and rice in the house to cook on the day that will take up a lot less space.

Good luck :)

Whatever you cook, make sure you freeze a few individual portions (eg curry+rice, pasta+sauce) so you (or partner) can grab one when you're home alone with newborn. If you do them in plastic takeaway pots they will go in microwave and you can eat out of them too.

Best tip someone told me was to batch cook, freeze before baby comes. They wete a life saver.

Def do complete meals in.a tub so you can take out in the morning.

Chilli and rice
Curry and rice
Meatballs cooked in jar of tom, basil sauce and pasta
Cottage pie with lots of vegs
Sausages in onion gravy and mash
Cauliflower cheese, top with chuncky bacon bits
Beef stroganoff and pasta or rice
Slow cook a huge beef or chicken casserole with loads of veg - butternut squash chuncks, carrots parsnips, potatoes, leeks and divide into tubs and freeze...complete meal there.

I also did this... roast a joint of beef or pork or lamb. When cooked slice up and put in foil trays, add gravy and freeze. You jave several Sunday lunches all rrady just add frozen yorkshire pudds and a bag of prepsred vegs

Usually on a Monday I make a shepherds
Or cottage pie for tea for that night with the bubble and squeak from the roast the night before. There is always enough to make an extra one to freeze.

I usually also make the below aswell-

Chilli
Couple of types of curry
Spanish chicken (tomato based sauce, peppers, onions, chorizo)
Spanish salmon (same as above but with salmon)
Roasted baby potatoes
Chicken in white wine sauce or red wine sauce

Oh and a couple of dauphinois potatoes too

Meals that don't need anything else added or cooked:
Fish pie
Enchiladas www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11259/chicken-and-bean-enchiladas
Moussaka www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/moussaka-with-feta-topping/
Vegetable crumble www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1759643/wintry-vegetable-crumbles
Spicy chicken and sweet potato stew www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spiced-chicken-spinach-sweet-potato-stew
Tuna pasta bake www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/tuna-pasta-bake/
Sausage casserole www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/easy-sausage-casserole/

Daal is easy to make in big batches and freeze in portions.

Do you have any Christmas leftovers? I’ve made beef pie filling, chicken and ham pie filling and sausage rolls for the freezer today.