A thread for simple batch cooking recipes!

[HushAByeBaby]

I'm an awful cook and I'm ashamed to say, often resort to the most convenient of meals for me and my 2 DC.

Anyway, I've decided I'm going to start batch cooking maybe twice a week.

Does anyone have any simple recipes I could use that I can make in large quantities?

Also, will twice a month be enough batch cooking to see us through most of the month or is it best to do it weekly?

Thanks in advance

What type of meals do you like/eat.

My cooking skills are limited so so far all I've got in mind is bolognese. Probably not a big lover of veggie meals, like to have some amount of meat in each meal. I'd love to be able to make a simple, mild, chicken curry. It's just me and my 2 kids (4 & 2) so need to be child friendly. They're pretty good eaters though. I suppose simple one pot recipes would suit as I'm so busy on my own with the kids.

I make big batches of Dahl and soup once a fortnight and fill up the freezer.
Also alternate stirfrys / risotto / mince dishes and freeze these too

Any recipes would be great and in laymen's terms 😆

Here are some of my favourite recipes for making in bulk and freezing.
Fish pie www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/jools-fish-pie/
Pasta bake www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1094665/cheesy-broccoli-pasta-bake
Chilli www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/236609/black-bean-chilli
Chicken pie www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11191/easy-chicken-pie
Another good chicken pie...! realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-bacon-and-leek-cottage-pie.html
Madras chicken curry realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-and-tomato-spiced-curry.html

As to how often you need to cook: it depends on how big your freezer is, how many of you there are, how much you multiply each recipe and how many recipes you're prepared to cook in one day.

How about getting a student cookbook which will give you recipes and how to guides.

Dancemom whats your Dahl recipe?

Spag bol is a good one to do. If you can make that all you do to make it into chilli is add chilli powder and kidney beans.

Spag Bol receipe is
4 250g 20 % fat mince
4 cartons chopped tomatoes
4 bags prechopped soffritto mix carrot, celery, onion
4 stock cubes
Red wine/balsamic vinegar (not essential)
Garlic
Herbs of your choice

Cook vegetables with olive oil, add mince cook till brown, add everything else, season, turn right down leave for 3 hours. Cool, check seasoning, then tub up.

I do big batches of shepherds pie filling - then all I have to do is defrost the bag and top with mash and pop it in the oven. Also do pasta sauce, spaghetti bologanise, chilli, and casserole.

I'll pop back with recipes as soon as DS is in bed they're really simple slow cooker ones.

Pasta Sauce -

2 cans of chopped tomatoes
1 grated courgette
2 grated carrots
1 dives onion
1 handful chopped basil
Salt/pepper to taste

I tend to blitz it to hide the non tomato bits from DH so it's chunky, almost salsa like in texture.

Shepherds Pie

500ml beef stock
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
Sometimes throw some gravy granules in if it's looking thin
Salt/pepper
1 pack mince
4 handfuls of green lentils
2 chopped carrots
Few handfuls of frozen peas

Casserole

Is basically whatever meant/stock/veg/pulses are kicking around.

I have really limited freezer space, so I do mine like this, so they can be kept flat and maximise space. I make fish cakes and bits like that too for the freezer. I just had a quick count, four cooking sessions have left me with 38 portions of things. So easily enough for a month! I just tend to do it weekly, and cook large quantities whenever I'm doing anything.

I really like this japanese curry sauce recipe - though it makes enough for 6 portions, not four. I freeze the sauce in bags then defrosted sauce just goes on steamed veg with whatever protein we fancy - chicken, salmon, pork. www.cooked.com/uk/Tim-Anderson/Hardie-Grant-Books/JapanEasy/Big-rice--noodle-dishes/Curry-rice-recipe

Check out the batch lady on Facebook, I'm trying to get into it for time/stress management!

Thanks all, this is a great help any more suggestions/recipe ideas welcome.

Very easy chicken curry. Scale up as required...
Ingredients
2 tbsps oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 Tsp of chopped ginger
1 Tbsp ground corriander
1 Tbsp garam masala
Pack of boned and skinned chicken thighs (5 or 6 thighs)
2 tbsps Curry paste (Rogan Josh prob good for little ones)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsps creamed coconut (it comes in a block so just cut off a chunk)

Method
In a large pan, fry the onions slowly and gently in the oil until soft. About 10 mins.
Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 mins.
Add chicken and cook until all pink on outside has gone. Stir it round a bit as its cooking.
Add curry paste and stir, cooking for about 2 mins.
Add rest of spices and stir again.
Add tomatoes and cover.
Let it simmer for about 25 mins. If it starts to dry out, add a bit of water. Check chicken is cooked through.
Add coconut and stir while cooking for about 5 mins.

My kids loved this when they were little. You can add more of less curry paste depending on taste.

I do a minced beef batch which can be served with pastry in a pie, served with dumplings, served with a Yorkshire pudding, or as a base for cottage pie.

1kg minced beef
4carrots cut as you want
2/3 onions ( depending on size) chopped finely.
About one third of a head of celery chopped fine ( this adds flavour but is not overwhelming- I don’t like celery but I use it in dishes like this)
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
Stock cubes ( I use beef and veg)
Cornflour or gravy granules to thicken

Optional extras
Bay leaves
Leftover red or white wine
Garlic

Simply fry off the veg, fry off the mince ( don’t drain the mince. Remove the fat when it is cold and has set. If you drain it you loose all of the beef flavour that has come out too). Mix together in a big pan, add the optional ingredients ( if using) , stir in the Tom purée and add enough water to cover mince mixture. Add stock cubes and bring to boil. Stir and leave to gently bubble for an hour. Taste, add more stock cubes if needed. Add cornflour/gravy granules and freeze in portion sizes.

I usually do a 2kg batch and this does us (family of 3) four or five meals with some leftovers so would do about 18 portions. And we are big eaters too!!

hushabybaby
When you cook, count the portions, then you know how many days food you have.
Can I also just say a big big WELL DONE
I think in this day and age it takes courage to say ‘I’m not a good cook’ but you want to learn. It will save you time, money and it will taste better. Check out ‘ cooking on a bootstrap ‘ as there are some amazing recipes on there which are cheap as chips to make.
If you have a disaster don’t get downhearted. I have cooked professionally and I still make many a mistake!

You are setting a super example to your children too. Depending how old they are get them involved. I used to sit my DD in her high chair with a wooden spoon to bash and I used to pretend I was Delia (or Nigella depending on how I looked!) talking to camera while cooking ( I think a lot of us secretly do this). I got her to stand on a stool and help me make cakes, she chopped herbs with scissors in a plastic beaker, as she has got older she makes Yorkshire puddings and stuffing on a Sunday. She’s just turned 11 so she is going to start doing more now as she wants to. You are going to teach yourself a great life skill and you can teach your kids at the same time AND save money!
There’s nothing like the smell of a lovely warming dish wafting round the house on a cold winters day!
Have fun and never be afraid t9 ask for help! Good luck.

•1 tbsp sunflower oil
•1 small onion, peeled and chopped
•1/4 tsp fresh ginger, shredded (optional)
•2 tblsp mild curry paste (like korma)
•200 mls chicken stock or water
•200mls coconut milk
•4 dried apricots, coarsely chopped
•1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and finely diced
•4 small chicken breast, cut into small cubes

DIRECTIONS
•Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and ginger, if using, and sauté gently, stirring for 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and sauté, stirring for 30 seconds.•Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 12 minutes until the squash is tender and the chicken is cooked through.

Thanks all I'm actually looking forward to giving all of these a bash. With regards to reheating the chicken meals, how's best to do this? I'm a bit nervous about reheating chicken.

Is it best to microwave it or to heat it up on the hob? How do you know for sure that it's reheated thoroughly?

Also, how long do the meals keep for once frozen?

Shameless placemark!!

Making a basic tomato sauce is a brilliant start.
Finely chop and fry two large onions, two carrots and two sticks of celery with some slightly more roughly chopped mixed peppers (make sure one is red for the sweetness, then any other colour - 3-4 peppers.) Fry them in a bit of oil - olive oil ideally but sunflower or corn is fine. If you like them, add some chunkily chopped courgettes towards the end of frying, so the outsides go a little golden but they don't turn soft and slimy.

When veg has slightly softened, add a tablespoon of garlic paste, a heaped teaspoon of mixed herbs or dried oregano, a beef stock melt if you're not veggie, a splash of wine if you have some (about 25-35cl) two tins of chopped tomatoes or passata (sieved tomatoes), some salt and pepper.If you like them, add chopped mushrooms at this point too. Let it bubble for about 20 mins on a lowish heat. Stir occassionally so it doesn't stick. When cooled, divide into 3 pots for freezing.

You then have the basis of several meals.
For spag bol, just brown some mince and add the sauce to it. Serve with cooked pasta
For chilli, just brown mince, add kidney beans and chilli powder to it. Serve wth baked potato or cooked rice
For pasta bake, layer it in a pot with cooked pasta and slices of mozzarella.
For spicy enchiladas, just cook some chopped chicken thighs or breasts, add the sauce, some sweetcorn and smoky paprika or BBQ sauce, and serve in wraps with salad.

It's a really good basic and doesn't take long to make once you've done it a few times.

I don't batch cook yet (eagerly awaits new giant fridge freezer) but I gain lots of time from using the slow cooker.
Eg today- we are starting our house move. So I put a 1kg beef brisket in the slow cooker with some beef stock cubes and water to almost cover it. I will serve with frozen mash (both Waitrose and tesco frozen mash are v simple ingredients: potato, butter, milk) and microwave frozen beans. Any left overs I chop and then fry up in butter and it becomes crispy. Can serve with eg microwave rice or cauli rice.
Pork ribs also good in slow cooker. I use a recipe without sugar as it sets my teeth on edge with meat but otherwise just cover in BBQ sauce.
If you do batch cook tomato sauce I swear by Waiteose frozen soffritto (chopped carrot, celery, onion). Sweat (low heat for 45 mins or so) in olive oil from frozen. Aim for one bag to two tins of tomatoes. Cook for ages- two hours? Add water if dries out. Then blitz with hand blender once cooled a little (so you aren't scalded). Is delish and hidden veg bonus.
Good luck!

I would keep something frozen for a maximum of 6 months. I prefer to reheat in the microwave, stirring halfway through. Always ensure it is piping hot. You can buy a cheap temperature probe to ensure meat is hot enough.

About to do my Tesco food shop and buy a load of the ingredients! Tomorrow will be a day filled with cooking, or attempting to cook if anyone has any other recipes, please keep them coming. Thanks all.

Great thread thanks. Does anyone freeze cottage pie? How does the potato taste after its been frozen and reheated?