How to meal prep and freeze?

[Cocacolathanks]

Hi guys, sorry this isn’t really an AIBU but the traffic here is much better.

So I’ve decided to finally start prepping better meals for my kids and myself. I have ideas in mind like mini fish pie portions, lasagnas, spring rolls etc.

I have a few questions around it and I was hoping Mumsnet could give me some tips like equipment, easy meals, freezing tips and more.

One question is how would you freeze fish pie - in glass containers or small ramekins? Or plastic food boxes?

Any other help would be really good!

Thank you

I use foil boxes with card press in lids, they can then go straight in the oven.

Is there a place you can buy those cheaply/in bulk? I didn’t even think of them, I guess i thought glass would be sustainable?

I freeze in old plastic takeaway containers or Tupperware as more sustainable

I also use old takeaway containers, I only throw them if they are cracked. Glass Tupperware with the plastic airtight lids might be more sustainable for you? The only thing you need to be sure of is the lids being airtight, so they don’t get freezer burnt.

Pound shop - you can get ten of the foil trays for £1.

I freeze in portions of 2. I find 600ml containers the best size. I freeze mashed potatoes in a bag separately. I don't eat potatoes much so useful for dh and I don't like making small portions of it repeatedly. So eg freeze cottage pie bottom separate from mash for on top. I like the v thin v cheap slightly cloudy bags for freezing.
The best thing I found on MN about freezing was to use that papery tape (like a masking tape) on a roll for labelling with a sharpie. It sticks well and can go round neck of bags.
I rarely make only enough for what we need as it doesn't take much longer to do bigger portions and so always something home cooked handy for if in a hurry/working late etc. Also, larger portions of meat/fish can be significantly cheaper.
Actually I don't really know how much time I save tbh because DC come and take freezer meals away with them!
I was so fed up of wasting food that I freeze virtually anything now - feta half used packs for next time I make that dish, half tins of passata, coconut milk with label of mls for curries, cooked veg for soup. Parmesan I grate the whole block and store it in 50g portions for meatballs, pastas etc. Also do this with mozzarella and it's v handy not having to hunt for special ingredients in supermarkets then wasting half which I loathe.
Good luck

Had a day out to ikea today and bought some glass Tupperware with plastic lids on. Very reasonably priced too!

Our local Butchers often have special offers on. For example this week they had half price turkey crowns. I bought 2 and cooked them. This has given us:

Turkey Fajitas - various seasonings
Butter Chicken (Turkey)
Korma, Tikka, Casserole etc

I freeze in portions for 2. We have 20+ meals from this alone. I LOVE batch cooking!!

For dishes like lasagna that are robust, I cook a big pan ful, chill it whole and then when its really cold, I cut it up into one person portions, wrpa them in foil and freeze them that way. I write on the foil in permanent pen so I dont forget what is inside. If you are very good, you can take a meal that is sloppier like fish pie and freeze it whole and take it out after a couple of hours when it is semi frozen and chop it then. You have to remember in time though

I find that the biggest challenge is balancing using reusable dishes or wrap and needing loads as I batch cook versus using disposable containers and throwing away more than I would prefer. You have to find what works for you.

Also think about if you will reheat in the oven or microwave as metal cant be microwaved and some plastics arent great either.

Lastly expect your food to need a bit of added water or milk (or wine) when you defrost it. I dont know where the liquid goes but mine always seem pretty thick when defrosted

Have a watch of The Batch lady on YouTube, great for loads of ideas www.youtube.com/c/TheBatchLady

If you do make a chilli or spaghetti bolognaise or taco seasoned mince then I use a gallon zip lock bag and lie it flat so it freezes flat rather than in a block at the bottom of the bag. It defrosts quicker too. Same with "med veg" so roast off red onions, peppers, courgette, garlic in the oven, add some tinned tomatoes and decant into quart bags.

For fish pies or lasagne the foil trays are great.

Have you heard of smash burgers? This chap does the squishing in the pan but we pre-squish and season. Just freeze raw minced beef squished really flat between parchment paper, it defrosts fast and cooks super quick. We have a flat top though, both an inside non-stick one and a stainless steel one on the BBQ so cooking burgers fast is easy for us. The chap below uses a cast iron pan.

Oh gosh loving the ideas so far!!! Making a note of everything I can use, thank you guys. I’m actually excited about batch cooking now 😂

I prefer to use my vacuum sealer so i can store my prepped meals flat.

I always have packets of pulled pork or flat mince and vegetables in portions in the freezer, it defrosts within an hour and all i need to do is cook some spaghetti or make it into a lasagna.

Following...
Would love to start but am daunted by the freezing/defrosting side of it (sad I know!)

Every few weeks I make a really good, rich tomato sauce in bulk and freeze portions in plastic bags which go pretty flat- I don’t have a vast freezer space. Then take out and add spaghetti with prawns or something for a delicious but extremely speedy dinner.

I do the same with Ragu. I do say 2kg of mixed pork and beef mince pressure cooked into a rich Ragu, portioned up and frozen. This can be spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne, cannelloni, cottage pie, chilli (with some added flavours)

@MatildaTheCat recipe for the tomato sauce please?? 😉

I’ve always purchased readymade sauces and mixes and chopped tomatoes etc. I would love to have homemade sauce frozen so it could be used whenever we want a speedy meal. Sounds perfect!!

I make large batches of soup, curry, and tomato sauce, and freeze in old soup / creme fraiche / takeaway containers

This recipe is good for tomato sauce for pasta www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/slow-cooker-tomato-sauce/

For environmental reasons, I wouldn't use plastic bags for raw meat, as I wouldn't be comfortable re-using the bag

For fish pie / lasagne, you could (1) freeze in a serving dish, (2) when it's frozen, dip in hot water long enough to loosen (3) remove fish pie and store in freezer in eg an old bread bag (4) use your dish for other things until you want to eat the fish pie (5) return fish pie to the dish (6) defrost (7) cook in the dish

Lots of dishes can be frozen. Just get into the habit of making extra for the freezer when you can. You'll build up a store of meals quite quickly

Curries freeze well, and it's a real treat to remove several curries from freezer and have an interesting meal with not much effort

How else would you freeze meats? Genuinely wondering as I’ve actually only ever used plastic packaging! Would like to be more sustainable.

I cook a double or triple batch of things and freeze in takeaway containers from the pound shop or wilko. Tomorrow I will make a batch of Thai curry, eat one and freeze the rest.

DH makes home made burgers and freezes them in pairs wrapped in clingfilm.

Think about portion size when you are freezing. I might freeze pancakes in 4s i.e. 1 each for the 4 of us or 2 each for the DC etc. What you don't want is a stack of 8 where you have to defrost all of them to give the DC 2.

That’s another very good point. I like the homemade burger idea, my kids would love that! Need to start looking for recipes

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude

I cook a double or triple batch of things and freeze in takeaway containers from the pound shop or wilko. Tomorrow I will make a batch of Thai curry, eat one and freeze the rest.

DH makes home made burgers and freezes them in pairs wrapped in clingfilm.

Think about portion size when you are freezing. I might freeze pancakes in 4s i.e. 1 each for the 4 of us or 2 each for the DC etc. What you don't want is a stack of 8 where you have to defrost all of them to give the DC 2.

So, at risk of making myself sound totally incapable can we go through this step by step...

1. cook curry (I can do that but!)
2. Decant into individual portion airtight tubs. Add name and date.
3. When cool put in freezer
4. do you take out to defrost? If so in the fridge or outside? And for how long?
5. or do you cook from frozen? In oven or microwave?

Thank you! (name changes out of embarrassment)

In theory I take them out and stick them in the fridge to defrost in the morning. In practice I take them out in the evening and stick in the microwave for a couple of minutes to loosen them from the box then tip into a saucepan and melt in there (I like to be able to stir it as it defrosts and heats).

If it was something like a lasagne or fish pie I would just put it in the oven to cook if it was in a foil tray or I would microwave.

I use plastic boxes, 2 different sizes when kids were small. For fish pie I wouldn't actually cook the fish, just mix into cooled sauce and top then freeze