How do you batch cook?

[cjt110]

I know HOW, obviously, but I don't have the energy to cook one bloody meal, let alone tonnes. And let's not even get started on the space to freeze if if I manage it.

I would LOVE to have a barrage of ready cooked, healthy and ready to go meals but right now (staving off an ME crash) the idea of even slinging someone in my instant pot makes my body hurt...

ajandjjmum

Always on the lookout for new recipes - I would love to know the recipe for ‘Dottie’s chicken’

Wait so when people ‘batch cook’ they don’t just cook double portions and freeze the leftovers? They actually cook several different dishes at one time?? The washing up must be horrendous! I’ve always wondered why people say batch cooking takes three hours!

Just double the portion of whatever dish you cooking that night and freeze it. Do that several different nights with different dishes and you are set for a few weeks.

@LochJessMonster,
I am out of the house for at least 10 hours a day and often 12 / 13 hrs so there is no way I want to cook when I get home so doubling a meal and saving some wont work for me although I get that it would work for others ,
So yes I spend around 3 hours cooking ( and washing up which your right is sodding horrendous ) but then I heve very little to wash up during the week so I win that way

So I stick my headphones on and put some good music on and crack on with it .

StopChelping

Dottie's Chicken

Chicken Breasts (seasoned flour coating chicken before frying)
Onion - chopped
Green pepper chopped
4 oz button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
sml tin of Cambell's tomato soup (concentrated)
1 tbsp. Worcester sauce
2 tbsps. vinegar
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Brown chicken in oil.

Put in a casserole dish.

Fry onions and pepper until soft.

Brown mushrooms and garlic, add to chicken.

Add water to soup (as per instructions) and bring to boil.

Add Worcester sauce, vinegar and thyme and stir well.

Add Sauce to chicken, onion, pepper and mushrooms.

Cook slowly at 170 until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Hope you enjoy it!

I just double up on recipes and freeze the 2nd half. It does take twice as long to do the chopping etc, but like others say the cooking time is similar. I'm out of the house 11 hours a day but tend to eat something that I've previously batch cooked when I get in, and then sit for 30 minutes with a cup of tea and rest and then prepare/cook something for the following day/freezer. Then go to bed. I must admit that I struggle to get out of the chair to start cooking, but if I didn't do it this way we would never eat home cooked meals (not that we do every night anyway, but I try for health/cost reasons)

I don't batch cook as such either, but when I'm making something like bolognase I do a massive pot of it and freeze portions for future dinners as well as the one that evening.

So the things I bulk cook:
Bolognase sauce
Chilli
Lasange
Shepherds pie
Jambalya
Bobotie
Burgers and burger buns

Then there are things that I prepare proponents of - like, I like sausage casserole but hate the mess and faff of frying off sausages, so I deep fry those in bulk and freeze them singly on a tray before transferring to a freezer bag.

I bulk make thai curry paste and freeze it in cubes for a quick curry.
Stocks for soup and seafood chowder. Pulled pork, and even elements of a fry - sausage, pudding, potato cake in individual portioned bags so you can add an egg, beans and mushrooms and you've got a full fry. I freeze mozarella cheese so I can throw up an emergency pizza if needed. A rummage in the fridge usually yields enough toppings, but the cheese was one ingredient that I never had.
We are moving soon so I plan to get more freezer space and be more creative in what we have in stock in the freezer.

OP I also have ME and am in a bit of a low patch with it at the minute. When I’m up to it I find batch cooking really helpful (and really enjoying doing it) but the thought of spending 3-4 hours doing it right now is exhausting and honestly, even when I’m well, I’m generally worn out by the time I’m finished. Instead right now I’m cooking bigger portions of whatever we’re having for dinner and freezing some. If I’m not up to cooking a proper meal at all then it’ll be pasta pesto, eggs or whatever but I like having a stash in the freezer.

I don’t know if you work or how old your kids are but if you have any time at home alone, could you break it down throughout the day? Eg yesterday I made a big pot of veggie curry. I broke it down into a number of tasks across the day - sorting out ingredients, rest, sit at dining table to prep some veg, rest, finishing prepping veg, rest, much later thrown everything in pan. Stirred occasionally. Choose recipes that don’t need a lot of of “looking after”. Even bunging a chicken or couple packs of chicken pieces in the oven is good I’ve found as then they can just be left for a while and made into a number of meals once cooked.

Oh and we don’t have a huge amount of freezer space so I find freezing flat in freezer bags is the best. Unless it’s something like lasagne or fish pie or whatever that’s layered then obviously a box is required. I use the foil ones that takeaways use then they can be put straight in the oven to warm up.