Once a Month Cooking - is it really possible? Does anyone do it?

[Ceolas]

Have been reading about this from a labour- and penny-saving perspective.

Any experiences?

I regularly cook and freeze:

kidney bean and leek stew
nut and rice roast (do tom sauce separately and freeze, it is the same as the pizza topping sauce)
cashew and sweetcorn roast
lentil and butternut sauce (to eat with rice / quinoa etc)
veg korma
parsnip and lentil soup
barley risotto
quorn bolognese sauce (for pasta)
pizza topping sauce (then add to scone base or dough made in breadmaker)
have made veg crumble but we went off it

in between days we have salads, pittas and hummus, pasta and pesto etc, other quick and easy stuff

when you are bulk cooking you start off with the ingredients that a few meals have in common, eg fry vast lot of onions for, say quorn bolognese, pasta sauce and veg korma

then separate off the onions for the korma and add the spices and veg for that

with the remaining onions add mushrooms etc and then separate and add the quorn to half, make the rest into pizza sauce, etc

so you are not in fact spending 3 times as long to make 3 different meals, you can get most of it going along at the same time

munz I have a set of plastic containers that are the right size, plus use the large size yogurt pots with lids, and ice cream tubs

we do:

a Nigella Cocacola Ham - not strictly freezer but it lasts us all week for sandwiches and we don't cook on Sunday when we make it

bolognaise
curry
chilli

lots of little bags in the freezer

when I am off work we cook from scratch, but when I do my 3 days it is so good to just reach in the freezer and just have to make pasta etc

anyway Hustle is on, I must be off!

omg. I simultaneously yearn and fear being someone who does that.
How does one go about it?
Is there an induction?

this sounds exactly the kind of shenanigans that would ruin my kitchen for a week

I made enough mess trying to make two lots of soup

I have frozen fish and sliced onions, mushrooms and peppers, would i be able to cook double (which i find very hard, does anyone else understimate food for 5?)and put half in the freezer? i reckon i could shop once a week if my family didn't eat bananas, as it is I am lucky if I make it 2 days.

I do freeze little pots of things for dd. She is 18 months and i work three days a week. When we get home on these days Freezer meals are a blessing.

She loves
Hash(not corned beef i use mincemeat)
Fish Pies
Beef Casserole
Chicken Chasseur
beef/lamb in gravy
Bolognese
Lasagna
Soups

I tend to do things i can make a bit of rice or pasta or mash with it.

I am waiting for DH to put electricity out to the shed so i can buy a freezer for out there and have more space to freeze.

Frannyandzooey...great advice...would you let me know how to make your lentil and butternut sauce and your barley risotto...they sound great...

The first one is a made up recipe and the second one not much better, but you will get the idea:

Lentil and butternut sauce

Fry onions, spices if you like them. Mushrooms are always nice, peppers, whatever you have to hand. Fry red lentils for a few minutes, then add stock and cook until nice and tender and smooshy. Meanwhile steam some diced veg, butternut squash is delicious but any root veg are nice, sweet potatoes, parsnips, a few carrots as well. Add to the lentils, and season, and hopefully you have a nice thick sauce with some tender pieces of veg in, which is good with rice or quinoa.

Barley risotto

Put 6 oz pot barley in measuring jug and add water to 1 pint mark. Leave to soak a few hours or overnight. Fry onions / celery / mushrooms (dried mushrooms that have been rehydrated are fab)/ leeks / sundried tomatoes (whatever veg you want, I have used various combinations of all the above, but use something tasty as it is pretty bland otherwise) until tender. Add barley with the liquid and a stock cube. Cover and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes. Add more stock if needed. Add frozen peas or corn near end if liked.

Blend 1 tbsp cornflour with a little milk, then add to barley with 1/2 pint of milk. Heat gently, stir until thick and creamy. Serve with lots of parmesan, salt and pepper

will be making next week! Many thanks!

I roast batches of sliced veg - pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini, red capsicum etc etc - and freeze them. Then use a bought pizza base, make a topping of tomato paste with a touch of pesto, load all the defrosted roast veg on top, add goats cheese and stick in the oven for 12 mins. Garnish with basil!

these roast veg are also good to add to pasta as a change from spag bog or pesto.