To think batch cooking and freezing is bleegghh

[Notgotajarofglue]

FT working busy mum trying to follow all the tips and hints on getting through these hectic years.
One thing always comes up:batch cook, freeze and reheat.
AIBU thinking that everything comes out Not envy
Watery sauces, soggy veg and dry over cooked meat in all the favourites recommended for this. Husband said it was like prison food. I don't know what I'm doing wrong as I'm a fab cook and it seems from mn that everybody loves batch cooking.
Can't just be me, they've got to be settling for eating horrid food just to save time right?

@BertrandRussell
I suppose it depends what you mean by "cook fro scratch"?

Our usual weekday meals are chicken, fish, occasionally steak with a pile of fresh veg or a large varied salad. Or a stir fry. Easy to digest and minimal/no carbs as we have to eat late due to work. We rarely have rice or pasta or potatoes during the week (but we do at weekends when we can eat earlier).

The salad or veg is prepared by us not ready done and the protein is cooked by us e.g fish in foil in oven, grilled chicken with pesto or garlic/herbs etc. I will admit to buying coleslaw as can't be faffed to make it late at night.
I do buy the bags of stir fry veg, then add protein and noodles and flavourings to that.
We just don't eat the sort of thing that can be frozen on a regular basis.

No horrid food in our house. I'm an excellent cook and do a fair amount of batch cooking.

Ragù
lasagne
Pasticcio
Mac and cheese
Curries
Katsu curry and fresh the prepped chicken (uncooked)
Italian meatballs with peas in red sauce
Roasted veg portions
Stock
Banana bread
blueberry bread
frozen yoghurt smoothies

Why do dreadful cooks thing everyone is a dreadful cook ?
Ive never served anyone brown watery sludge in my life .

I have a chest freezer and an american side by side.
I do

Chilli
Ragu
Pasta sauce( we have an allotment so glut of tomato, courgette, asparagus)
Sausage casserole with puy lentils
Butternut lasagne
Roast veg
Tuna pasta bake ( with tarragon and peppercorns)
Curries ( never chicken)
Daal
Sausage and fennel ragu
Beef casserole with butterbeans and apricot
Gnocchi in a basil and tomato sauce with whatever veg
As DH and I are now alone I do portions for 2 and in the indoor freezer portions for 1 which I take for lunch.
My colleagues always comment that my lunch smells delicious.
Its as much for budgeting as it is for convenience.

I've been watching Gordon Ramsey visit restaurants and every time they give him something that's been frozen he fucking hates it. Granted, it's s restaurant so you would expect more than someone's frozen batch-cook, but it's not the same as freshly cooked food.

I'm a qualified chef, and I can tell you that at least one of Gordon Ramsay's own restaurants batch cooks and freezes all their sauces.

My freezer generally has frozen soup, meatballs, chili, curry, bolognaise sauce, savoury mince for cottage/shepherd's pie, chicken burgers, turkey escalopes, biscuit dough in balls ready to bake, crumble topping, herb/spice butter, chicken stock, breadcrumbs, jambalaya base ready to go in the slow cooker, vegetable soup base with pulses and grains and chopped veg but no stock.

I found that the Mama Bake cookbook changed my attitude to batch cooking, and taught me how to do it well.

I don’t tend to batch cook, unless it is stocks and certain sauces, but I do batch freeze whatever I can, loads of stuff freezes well, such as cheese, cream, butter, certain veggies, certain fruits etc, I just process them whichever way I need them and freeze them. I also use up bread by wizzing the bread up in a food processor and then freezing as breadcrumbs. Mozzarella freezes well and lots of fresh herbs also freeze well in little ice cube portions.

Quiche can be batch cooked and frozen. It comes out excellent. Why would you put the oven on and faff about washing pots for just one quiche when you can have three?

Oh I just love batch cooking!!! Today made about 30 portion of Mac cheese with broccoli and peas. And a few loaves of banana bread. Last week it was sweet potato and butternut squash soup, apple and raisin crumble and Katsu curry sauce. Once I’ve stocked my freezer up I can go months without proper cooking

I find a lot of frozen veg have a strange texture.

When I make bolognese/curry/chilli/beef stew/soups/casseroles/ tomato pizza topping I always make enough for at least three meals and freeze what we don't eat. I've always got something in the freezer for a quick meal. The quality remains good, my preference is to defrost the dish and then heat but I heat from frozen if I need to. I add fresh veg/pasta/ rice (but freeze leftover rice too as it keeps really well). I freeze cake and fruit tart in slices as we don't eat it very often, it's nice to take out a slice when you fancy a treat. Rice pudding also freezes well.
I also like to keep chopped onion and herbs in the freezer - very handy to throw together a quick meal.
Leftover cooked sausages freeze well and if I've bought a few packs reduced or on offer, I cook them all up and freeze the extra.
The texture of fresh peppers and mushrooms will change in the freezer - I tend to avoid freezing things with those in or add some fresh when reheating.

If you are microwaving it directly from frozen then that would be your issue. I defrost slowly then heat in a pan and it always turns out lovely.
If not you may be generally overcooking your food before it is frozen to the point it cant take being reheated but that would be the case if you had leftovers the next day from fresh. Either way from your description your problem is overcooking, not freezing.

I batch cook and couldnt live wothout my slow xooler, and i also prepare dump bags, but it's all about what you make and how. Big quantities mean big pans or browning/trying in small batches.
I make mince based meals, pie flliings, curries stews, casseroles in my slow cooker, but all needs browning first, also I never put raw onion in the slow cooker. I slow cook meals for up to 24 hours.
I freeze extra mash too, cook it from frozen straight in the oven with a little butter.