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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to ask how you batch cook?

100 replies

cjt110 · 12/02/2020 16:20

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...

OP posts:
lazylinguist · 12/02/2020 16:24

But the whole point of batch cooking is that you don't have to cook lots of meals - you cook a ton of one meal and freeze it in portions. I mean ok, cooking 8 meals' worth of bolognese does take a bit longer than cooking one meal's worth, but not 8 times as long. It saves time, that's why it's good.

recrudescence · 12/02/2020 16:27

the idea of even slinging someone in my instant pot makes my body hurt

Well, cannibalism isn’t going to be the solution to your problems anyway.

cjt110 · 12/02/2020 16:28

But then what do I do the next night? Have bolognese again, or cook 8 portions of.. curry for instance and freeze?

I want to get my head around this and get a tonne of meals cooked and ready so on nights like tonight where I cba cooking and havent any freezer/oven goods in I can just microwave something that's ready done....

OP posts:
cjt110 · 12/02/2020 16:29

@recrudescence Fuck... you caught me Grin Freudian slip there...

OP posts:
formerbabe · 12/02/2020 16:31

The freezing and defrosting thing confuses me. Do you cook from frozen or defrost first...if you defrost, how? In microwave, just leave out or put in fridge.

Spanneroo · 12/02/2020 16:34

You need freezer space.

So, using the 8 Bolognese example, it gives you 8 weeks' worth of one meal being a Bolognese.

We have 0 freezer space, so I don't batch cook. What I do do, however, is plan meals so that 2 per week use left overs from previous meals and are therefore easier.

E.g. slow cooker roast chicken on day 1, stir fry with left over chicken on day 2, and pasta bake with chicken on day 3. Same can be done with a bolognese type sauce. A basic sauce of tinned tomatoes, onions, celery, and mince can become a pie filling, jacket potato topping, or a Bolognese.

Strugglingtoquit · 12/02/2020 16:36

I cook and freeze in portions at the weekend when I have more time, then I can defrost and have quick meals in the week. I take it out of freezer and stick it in the fridge before I go to work.

Cooking a big batch isn’t much more effort than a small one. Just more ingredients to chop really. The cooking process is pretty much the same.

lazylinguist · 12/02/2020 16:36

But then what do I do the next night? Have bolognese again, or cook 8 portions of.. curry for instance and freeze?

No, because nobody wants to be batch cooking every night! Besides it would be very expensive to spend weeks cooking multiple portions every night. Cook your normal weekly meals, and then one day a week (probably at the weekend), make a shit ton of something. After a while you'll have a bank of stuff in the freezer.

Smellbow · 12/02/2020 16:38

I'd suggest starting small by cooking double quantities of whatever you're having (so long as it's freezable) and putting the extra in the freezer. Do that a few times and you can start dipping into the stash in the freezer whenever you can't be bother to cook.

cjt110 · 12/02/2020 16:40

@Spanneroo Yes we have almost no freezer space/. The top drawer is a "pizza" drawer so about 2/3 inches deep but full length.

Then we have the middle freezer drawer which is a normal sized drawer 6-8 inches deep and full length then a weird half draw full height about - inches 8 high but half width.

OP posts:
PrincessHoneysuckle · 12/02/2020 16:40

You've already got a thread going in chat about this

Strugglingtoquit · 12/02/2020 16:40

Agree you need freezer space. And keep a list of what meals you have in there to make sure things get used.

i try and do a couple of meals on the same day, so one on the hob and one in the slow cooker. Because lots of the time I don’t feel like doing it at all, so when I’m in the mood to I make the most of it.

Crunchymum · 12/02/2020 16:41

Another alternative is to double the portions and then you cook 2 meals?

Stick half in the fridge and then you have the basis of a meal a few days later?

You can't batch cook properly without freezer space though!

cjt110 · 12/02/2020 16:41

Ok.

So I;m going to give it a go tonight. I have a gammon that needs cooking and chicken. I could make some meals with that.

OP posts:
inwood · 12/02/2020 16:41

I spend boring sundays cooking and then freeze. It's dull but makes for an easier week when we are all really busy.

Scrowy · 12/02/2020 16:41

Look up The Batch Lady on Facebook.

Loads of batch meal ideas and it revolutionised my freezer storage.

I do a mixture of specially batch cooking (mainly mince and onions/ bolognese/ stuff in gravy/ soup) and freezing leftovers or deliberately double portions.

The trick is to use freezer bags and freeze stuff flat and as thin as possible so it stacks in the freezer in layers and takes a fraction of the time to defrost as it's a wafer thin sheet you can break bits off if you want a smaller portion, rather than a big solid block.

YesItsMeIDontCare · 12/02/2020 16:44

What I do (for example) is cook bolognese for 8 on Monday night, serve 3 portions and freeze the rest in separate tubs. On Tuesday I'll do a curry for 8... on Wednesday I'll do casserole... etc.

In reality I only do one batch cook a week because other stuff is already in the freezer.

Defrost overnight in the fridge.

Arthritica · 12/02/2020 16:47

Ziplock bags are your friend. Put your cooled sauce/curry/chilli/casserole in them, seal with all the air removed as best you can and they take up so little space in the freezer.

I batch cook most weeks at least once - say 3 meals worth of chilli one week, so the next week I have an easy night with no cooking (thank you Last Week Me) and I cook 3 meals worth of bolognese. The following week I get 2 nights off and cook 3 meals worth of curry.
By week four I've for 2 nights off (bolognese and curry) and I cook 3 meals of chilli again. So thew cycle goes...

At any point you've only for 4 or 5 ziplock bags of food in the freezer BUT every single week you have 2 nights you don't need to cook.

SummerInSun · 12/02/2020 16:50

I don't have the space or time to make meals to freeze, but every week we will cook at least one meal that serves 4, and DH and I eat half that night and the other half two or three nights later. So yes, we will have curry on Sunday and Wednesday, or cottage pie Saturday and Tuesday, or whatever. If it's something the DC would like, I might make a bit more for them too (DC are young, so they eat at 6pm, whereas DH and I eat at 8pm or later after they are asleep. Almost all meals will keep ok in the fridge for at least a few days.

dwum · 12/02/2020 16:57

I also chop and prepare food for the slow cooker so I just have to pull it out the night before, then pop slow cooker on in the morning .

Please don't use ziplock bags. I reuse all of our jars. Plastic consumption!!!!

Ouchaheadinmybehind · 12/02/2020 17:04

I also have M.E amongst other things. Batch cooking is a life saver.

The days I am well and cooking a meal I cook in a large amounts.
Making a curry -I use 8 chicken breasts so instead of just 3 portions, with lentils and veg there will be 6 extra portions for the freezer.
Mince for cottage pie the same then only mash needs making next time.
Beef casserole by cooking double we have a meal for next week I don’t have to cook.
Mince for spag Bol is batch cooked in massive amounts because adding chilli seasoning & kidney beans when defrosting portions means it also makes chilli.
Baked salmon fillets & jacket potato with veg for days when we don’t fancy any of the frozen batches.
It does mean we have a freezer in the garage to store it all but without it we couldn’t eat as well.

TorysSuckRevokeArticle50 · 12/02/2020 17:11

The other way is to batch prep rather than cook, so buy big trays of pork loin steaks or chicken breasts, separate into portions so if there's 3 of you put 3 in each ziplock bag and add flavours like honey &mustard, red wine, coriander & lime, bbq sauce. Then freeze. It marinades as it's freezing and defrosting.

Take a bag out in the morning and put it in the fridge. When you get home preheat the oven, put meat on a baking tray for 25-30 mins gas 6.

Serve with microwave rice, frozen microwave veg, salad etc

Or chop the meat and stir fry with noodles, or serve in a wrap with salad.

Or build a sandwich with mayo, ciabatta roll, lettuce and cheese

Less than 5 mins time spent doing any actual work and you have 25 mins rest time, also very limited washing up.

pallisers · 12/02/2020 17:22

When I did it this I basically set aside one sunday morning in the month.

I usually made at least:

4 portions of chicken curry

4 portions of chicken casserole
4 portions of bolognese sauce
4 portions of tomato sauce
4 portions of beef stew
4 portions of shepherds pie/savory mince

So at least 24 dinners made in one go. The chicken could all be cooked in one pan, as could the mince, as could onions/garlic and then divided to each dish. It really was not that much bother. I had all the same size freezer containers so they could be stacked on top of one another.

It was a big help when we had 3 under 5 and we both worked full time

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/02/2020 17:22

I don't batch cook, but any time I've cooked a bit too much, I put the spare into the deepfreeze, labelled with what it is, the date I froze it, and how many portions I think it is.Even if it's just part of a meal not a full meal. means that if I don't feel like thinking about what to cook, I may be lucky and find there;s something suitable in the freezer.

BiddyPop · 12/02/2020 17:59

I'll sometimes do a day where I blitz it, making a few different things and freezing.

But my general approach is little and often.

So I will make a sap bol sauce, but do enough for at least 2-3 family dinners in 1 pot. The prep is not that much different - and I will use the food processor to dice up the onions (as a few in the batch), and then dice up extra veg to "hide" in the sauce (carrots, mushrooms, peppers, courgette etc), as I have the FP out already. I try to do this the day before I plan to eat the sauce, so after dinner on a Monday I might make it for Tuesday and then it has time to slowly cook down properly, and I will do the cooking before doing the washing up for both the Monday's dinner and Tuesday prep.

Then, Tuesday night, in from work, boil the kettle and start pasta, and put enough sauce for 1 night in a smaller pot to reheat. I generally leave the "tubbing up" until then too (well, after dinner again) so it had time to cool properly on Monday night. I usually freeze in washed plastic takeaway containers, as 1 person portions, and mark with a sharpie whats in them. That way, they will stack well, defrost slightly quicker (as smaller portions) and I can decide if my freezer meal is to serve 1, the whole family, or includes guests - and take out the relevant number of portions to defrost.

I try and take out things from the freezer the night before eating them also - usually after dinner - and I usually leave them defrosting overnight on the worktop and then put into the fridge in the morning. Sometimes I am organised enough to take them out either 36 or 48 hours in advance (so 2 nights before, or say Tuesday morning to eat on Wednesday night) and defrost in the fridge.

Some dinners do well as leftovers - mac'n'cheese (which is full of ham and veggies too) is great served hot and fresh, and leftovers get frozen to reheat (with grated cheese over the top) as a pasta bake.

And I am learning about having easier ingredients too - like dicing up chicken breasts before freezing so that they can go straight into a pan from the bag after work, not need dicing when I am tired and people need food NOW! And also about pre-marinating them too - I have some lemon and garlic chicken joints in the freezer at the moment, that I can defrost and throw straight in the oven - meaning I can even just take them out on Wednesday morning for Wednesday night dinner, and defrost them in the cold oven set on a timer to have them cooked when we arrive in home (along with some baby potatoes already oiled and seasoned for baby roasties).

If I have leftover cooked meat, say from a roast etc, I will freeze that too. It can be really handy for mixed meat Chinese stirfries etc to add to fresh veg, or to make leftover type meals midweek.

Some nights (weekends always!), we have a family curry feast. It is a combined effort in the kitchen, over the course of the afternoon at a relaxed pace. We make at least 2, maybe 3 types of curry, reasonably large batches of each. I'll throw a decent sized tray of Bombay potatoes in the oven. We will also make some rice, and if I am feeling really energetic, some naan bread (really energetic!). We enjoy a proper feast dinner that night, and then have plenty of leftovers to freeze for other nights. And by freezing in single person portions, when we are having a curry night some midweek night, we might all have the same, but if DD fancies one thing and DH another - that's not an issue (or we can reheat 2/3 different things and put them all in the middle for everyone to share). But it's also handy when there is only 1 person at home, or we are all passing through at different times.

Other things can be to make up a batch of savoury mince, and even if you don't have mashed potato that night with the first lot, freeze the leftovers as they are. Then another night when you ARE having mash (eg with sausages and fried onions?), peel enough potatoes for 2 nights at once (it really doesn't feel like 2 nights when doing it at once compared to doing it individually 2 nights in a row, only getting out the tools and potato bag once etc). Morning of sausages, take out the savoury mince from the freezer. After sausages dinner, put the mince into an ovenproof dish and cover with "leftover" mash, and tomorrow's cottage pie is ready for the oven.

I look on it as doing a little extra work at a time when I have the time/energy to do it (weekends, some evenings AFTER dinner, etc) that then minimises the work I need to do to get tasty food on the table when its needed after work and school midweek when everyone is starving, energy levels are low and often someone needs to go somewhere afterwards (and also reducing waste). So taking out the food processor for a few jobs makes that washing up worthwhile. Peeling double quantities of potatoes takes a few minutes longer, but not as much time as doing it twice 2 nights in a row. Prepping meat etc as I unpack shopping, to then use later in the week or even freeze (I tend to shop once and need to freeze some meat for the latter end of the week anyway).

Mash that you expect to freeze, try and use less liquid when making it (after the boiling and draining part - when adding butter, milk etc back in - someone gave me a tip years ago of using powdered milk not liquid milk as it will retain plenty of water on defrosting).