Batch cooking

[helenatroy]

So as preparation for when my baby comes I want to cook and freeze lots of things that can be defrosted and heated quickly. Stuff to serve with pasta, cous cous, easy stews, currrys, breakfast muffins and that sort of thing. Any suggestions?

Cottage pie, pasta sauce, soups (vegetable, chicken, tomato etc). I would recommend putting as much veg as possible into each thing so it can be a "complete" meal and you don't need to mess around with anything else on the side.
Butternut squash and chickpea curry. You could serve with microwaved rice and naan if you keep the naan in the freezer.
Anything you can eat with one hand!

I agree with cakes chocolate and would add
Cake. Lemon drizzle cake freezes well.
I would also stock up on things like scones, crumpets and bagels.

One handed lunches for one person are just as useful as full meals. Pizza roll ups are good or hand pies. Or soup in mug sized portions - get out in the morning and put in the microwave in a mug so at lunchtime you can just heat it and drink one handed.

Soups and cakes saw me through mat leave.
Soups I would do a tomato and lentil, country veg, broccoli abd Stilton, pea and ham, chicken- country chicken and noodle version -, French onion, cream of mushroom and butternut squash.
Single mug sized portions were a god send at 3am.

Was a pre sliced frozen loaf of banana bread ( freeze loaf cakes- lemon drizzle, ginger, Madeira, Angel, coconut, malt cake, fruit loaf, cherry, etc etc sliced and defrost in minutes in a toaster bag in the toaster....mmm warm cake)

Meals I would freeze cottage pis, chilli, chicken and mushroom pie, sausage and bean casserole, beef bourginon, lamb hot pot, corned beef pie, beef stew and dumplings ( dumplings frozen seperately)

Good luck :)