Does anybody REALLY do batch loads of cooking and then freeze? and if so- what kind of things do you cook?

[Tiredemma]

I am returning to work (full time) in four weeks after 7 months Maternity Leave. I have two DS aged 13 and 10 and DD who will be 6 months (and DP)

The past few months obviously everyone has been returning from school/work to a cooked evening meal, because I am here in the day and have time to prepare it etc.

When I return to work I will be doing 37.5hrs over 4 days so will be out of the house from 8am until around 6pm.

Dp will be getting in from work at around 4pm boys similar time.

Im thinking about doing a batch of cooking that is easily frozen on a Sunday afternoon for the coming week- just to take the pressure off on the evening.

Any suggestions what freezes best? Never done this before and dont want to waste time and money doing stuff that wont satisfy come dinner time!

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

I freeze the lot spaulding

Then it just needs taking out of the freezer the night before or the morning that you want it and reheating while you cook the rice or pasta.

[DoItTooJulia]

I do now that I've gone back to work, inspired by MN!

We're veggie so everything I do is obviously meat free.

I buy freezer disposables, so less washing up when the meals are reheated. I've gone back term time, so every half term I make at least 7 main meals, so we can have one a week and then meal plan and stick the plan on the wall so DH knows what to do if he's the one home before me.

We eat a lot of beans on toast in the week too!

[deliverdaniel]

ok, this is a pathetic question, but how do you defrost the stuff when you want to eat? In the microwave? In the oven? In the fridge during the day and then heat it up?

Do you freeze the dishes fully cooked or half cooked?

THank you!

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

I freeze mine once they're completely cooked and cooled.

Then just leave them out through the day to defrost and reheat on the hob.

[jimijack]

Same here.

I make double of what we are having and freeze half in those Chinese takeaway tubs.

Cba slaving on my day off cooking.

Slow cooker gets bunged on allot. I never fry anything off, just sling it in raw the night before, in the fridge then on in the morning.

We have simple teas a couple of nights a week. A breakfast tea, beans & cheese on toast, omelette, wraps & chicken, stir fry that kinda thing. Quick, easy & fresh.

I meal plan to within an inch of my life too.

It doesn't feel like a chore and everyone is happy.

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

I do - our local butcher sells bulk buy meat packs so i borrow mums soup pan and pressure cooker and get mine out so 4 giant pans on the go. 2 different curries, plus a chilli / a bolognaise / stew or whatever

. Mos t batch cooking have onions / peppers / mushrooms etc so easier to do a couple of hours every couple of months than an hour cooking every night.

[jimijack]

Defrost in the fridge, take it out of the freezer before I go to bed the night before.

It's always fine for reheating when we get home.

[jimijack]

Ooh yes work soup, I do this. Again all gets chucked into the slow cooker raw & left to it all day.
Minimum effort, totally delish,filling & nutritious.
Never throw anything away, it all gets chucked into a batch of work soup.

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

In my old street 2 sets of neighbours used to batch cook then swop half - amazing!

[Antidote]

Marking my place and taking notes...

[HobbitWorrier]

Something i now do is when i make a sausage casserole or meatballs for one meal, but i always have too much sauce, so i freeze the extra sauce in bags so its a ready meal just by grilling a couple of sausages!

[ShiresCountryBumpkin]

I'm a child-minder & batch cook for my 3 x 2 yr olds that I have every day.......chicken, pork or beef casserole, risotto's, chilli, fish pie, shepards pie, basically anything hearty that I can get lots of veg into.....they don't care if it's not pretty by the time it's been reheated on the hob! I do use a meat probe though to check the temp' but you could always microwave I guess. I have developed a love of Tupperware & now have an enormous collection that covers tiny portions for the just weaned up to the big ones that will feed all 3 kids - saves so much time & then they can have something much simpler for their tea & I know they have eaten well already.

[ShiresCountryBumpkin]

Oh BTW - when batch cooking it is actually safer to freeze your food whilst its still hot rather than waiting for it to cool down first.....freaked me out first too!
Soo easy, just bung it into your Tupperware & chuck it in - carefully labelling first of course unless you prefer the freezer roulette option!

[tess73]

Oooh must try and get my kids to eat this kind of food! Fed up shopping and cooking everything fresh everyday

[MrsPear]

Can I ask how do I know what size containers to buy?!

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

Shirescountrybumpkin Where did you hear that? Surely putting hot food in the freezer isn't good for the rest of the stuff in there.

[shoom]

The advice I heard was to chill it quickly, e.g. to divide it into portions in freezer-safe tubs and chill them in a sink of cold water. This allows the food to be put in the freezer within an hour of cooking it.

[shoom]

MrsPear- I use 1L or smaller tubs for my toddler, they easily take the 250g portion he eats, and the 1L size would maybe take an adult portion. I like a mix of tubs to cope with big portions for 2 adults and smaller portions for the toddler as there's always space somewhere to fit each one.

Home bargains (or similar shops) should have what you need. I got some handy pyrex dishes with lids too.

[BuggersMuddle]

Yes, but for time, not necessarily money, so for example, the Wahaca cookbook has some fantastic slow cooked recipes that serve 10-12. The actual price per portion isn't that high, but does require an outlay on fancy chillies and herbs to get started, so not great if on a low budget.

Like others, chillies, spag bol, pork meatballs in sauce. Occasionally soups or big stews (venison or beef with a bunch of random root veg). I mainly do it when I'm cooking something where quantity and effort are not particularly linked. I find that it has worked with most slow cooked recipes with a gravy / sauce it works well.

I tend to plan in the frozen foods though and not eat the same thing for days or we'd get bored. So e.g. Sunday I make chilli and we keep back enough for Monday, freeze the rest. Tuesday we might cook, or we might choose the stew we cooked and froze the previous week.

I'm not sure I could manage a week of homemade 'ready meals', but we also use 'quick' cookbooks midweek and try where possible to make a two night meal when cooking midweek unless it's really quick. I suppose it's a bit easier because if like last night, we eat at 20:30, it's a PITA but not a problem.

Oh and I freeze in ziplock bags in individual portions. Maybe less environmentally friendly, but we can't make good use of our (limited) freezer space with tupperware. I do aim to get a small chest freezer for the outhouse / garage at some point.

[TheSurgeonsMate]

I have a labelling tip. Get great big labels and stick them on the Tupperware. Write at the top what's in it, next time just cross it out and write what's now in it underneath. Looks horrendous. Looks even worse when it's been through the dishwasher. But it means you've labelled the box, which is better than freezer roulette.

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

I freeze in 1litre tubs, then once it's solid I get it out and put it in a freezer bag. No wasted space then.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

I didn't realise just what a good routine I'd got into batch cooking and putting portions in the freezer until this week. We're having a new kitchen soon and I told DS (13yo) that we might have to live on ready-meal/TV dinners for a while when the appliances are out of action. His reply?

"What's a TV dinner?"

Poor, deprived kid. :)

[Tiredemma]

"What's a TV dinner?"


The child hasn't lived.

I think this is my most favourite ever thread (boring I know)

Back to work on Monday 3rd and plan to spend next Sunday taking kids to park- having a nice meal out AND the Creme de la Crem- Batch Cooking on the sunday evening. Im buzzing.

[samesizetoes]

Much like everyone else I'll make double and freeze leftovers in portion tubs. I've also started batch cooking puddings too.

I've made up and cooked some crumble topping mix to store in the freezer, then whenever I fancy a quick pud I just put some tinned apples/pears/blackberries whatever fruit is lying around with a bit of sugar into a bowl with a handful of crumble mix on top and warm up in the microwave.

Plain steamed sponge cut into portions and wrapped in cling film store well in the freezer and just need to be warmed up in microwave. Add a bit of jam, golden syrup, chocolate sauce for variation on flavour.

Homemade breakfast muffins live in the freezer, just take one out in the evening and will be defrosted by morning. Cakes get wrapped and frozen in portions so its not all scoffed in one sitting.

[Wineandchoccy]

Make double the mixture of mince and use 1/2 for a cottage pie and the other 1/2 serve inside a giant frozen Yorkshire pudding.

Chicken, onions, peppers, in a fajita mix freezes well, then when defrosted can be made into fajitas or enchiladas.

Any bits of chicken left from a roast mix into a creamy sauce with mushrooms and make into a pie - I cheat and use mushroom soup for the sauce!