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

So... for my first batch cook, I'm doing:

Mince - As suggested on this thread, which can then be served as a shepherds pie/with Yorkshire puddings etc

Chicken curry - also from this thread

Moussaka - Hob to Table Moussaka from BBC good food website. Looks simple enough and I love lamb.

Pasta bake - also from this thread

Hoping I might be able to make all 4 in one day but we'll see how it goes.

HushAByeBaby. I have made the hob to table moussaka before and it is delicious!

I'd forgotten all about it, but now I've added the ingredients to next weeks food shop!

Oh good, looking forward to trying it. Unfortunately I don't like aubergines so was thinking of missing them out. Hope it still tastes food without them.

Some questions regarding re-heating. Can anyone help?

So if I freeze the food into portions, do I need to take the portions out the freezer the night before so that they defrost in time and then cook them? Or do I cook from frozen? Thanks.

Hi,

Re re-heating, with most things you can do either.

I am lazy/disorganised and rarely remember to defrost things in advance, so meals in sauces like curry, chilli, Bolognese sauce I would generally cook straight from frozen using the defrost setting on my microwave until they're un-frozen then blasting on normal/full power until piping hot. But anything like whole chicken breasts/thighs or sausages I would take out of the freezer the night before and defrost in the fridge overnight - you can defrost these in the microwave but it tends to ruin the texture.

However it's probably more energy efficient and also quicker to do the fridge defrost with many things if you can try and remember to do so, as a family sized block/container can take an age and lots of power to defrost in the microwave!

HELP!!! I'm following the recipe from upthread but I'm really confused about when to remove the fat from the mince. Do I have to leave the mince to cool & fat to set before I can move into the next step? I'm literally making it right now and haven't got a clue what I'm doing! Please help here's the recipe I'm following:

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.

Hi, yes that post meant to skim off the fat once the beef has cooled. TBH I don't think I've ever done that and the mince is OK so don't worry too much if you haven't time for it to cool before moving on to the next step, it may just be a tad greasier...

I don't bother normally. But if it's a lot of fat then I put a colander of a bowl and put the mince in that to drain. Then put mince back in saucepan and either leave fat to set in the bowl and then put into a tesco bag and then into the rubbish bag.

Hello Hushaby
I’m sat here secretly smugly happy you used my recipe! Hope you like it - we had minced beef pie yesterday and I’m doing cottage pie tonight!

Yes, you will cool it before you portion up and freeze it I’m assuming. So I just leave mine in the pan to cool and then stick it in the fridge for an hour or so then remove the fat. I used mince with 12% fat yesterday and skimmed off about 40g, so it’s worth cooling and skimming.

Let me know how it goes. Feel free to add gravy granules, Worcestershire sauce or extra stock to boost the flavour. Ypu can PM me if you have any questions or want any more assistance.
I love helping people with cooking!

Thanks pics to follow (if I manage to do a decent job of it. It's simmering away just now)

I've even got some homemade Yorkshire puddings in the oven 😆

First attempt 👍🏻

Chicken/chorizo casserole. Chicken breast or thighs, red/yellow or orange pepper, carrots, optional mushrooms, red or white onion, veg stock, tin of tomatoes, some tomato puree, italian seasoning. You can add tinned canneloni or borlotti beans to bulk it out. Nice if you can brown the ingredients but not essential.

You can re heat in the oven 20/25mins in a sealed oven dish.

It looks FAB,!
I hope you enjoyed it very much.
Clever girl! 😀

We loved it thanks! The kids cleared their plates too ☺️ which is always a bonus. Thanks so much for your help ☺️

Looks Fab, I'm sure your family will love it.

To use the leftover chicken.

1 small onion chopped
leftover roast chicken or a couple of cooked chicken breasts
1 tin of condensed mushroom or chicken soup
some frozen mixed veg
some chicken stock made with a cube/powder.
You can add a few mushrooms if you like them

Fry the onion, Add the soup, chopped chicken and frozen veg. Then thin the soup until its how you want it. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 mins.

I serve this over boiled rice, jacket potatoes or I put in a shallow dish and cover with either shop bought pastry (puff is better the shortcrust) or some suet pastry and make into a pie.

And I don’t know if you are a Yorkshire woman but your Yorkshire puddings are good enough for you to claim some Yorkshire heritage! The look beautiful!

Whenever you do cook, make twice as much as you need. It soon builds up!

Sausage casserole
Precook sausages when you have spare oven space. Keep them in fridge or freezer till you need them.
Add a tin of tomatoes, mixed herbs, some salami, chopped onions and peppers and a tin of mixed beans. Leave it in the slow cooker for a few hours, serve with crusty bread or pitta breads.

Pulled pork
Shoulder of pork in the slow cooker all day.
Pull off the fatty skin, shred the meat. Leave in the slow cooker with the lid off so the liquid reduces. Add a bottle of BBQ sauce. Serve in wraps with salad, or in rolls, or on mash with sweet corn on the side.

following :) mmm.

I recommend Jamie's ministry of food for anyone not confident in the kitchen. it's my most used cookbook. simple, family friendly recipes.

Get one of Jamie Oliver's cook books. Anyone can follow his recipes, you really can't go wrong. And you will build up some skills, confidence and a bit of a repetoire of dishes.

I highly recommend the Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food Cookbook.
It has tons of great family meals and lots of ideas for variations e.g. a really tasty mince recipe and then options to make it a cottage pie, mince and onion pie, hotpot etc.
Really clear and easy to follow.
Good luck!

Ah just seen it's already been recommended!

You pretty much can't go wrong with a vegetable curry. Start with onions and garlic and ginger, then you can just use a preblended spice mix and add whatever vegetables looking unbusy in the fridge and a couple cans chickpeas or add dried lentils and water.
It's a great way to use up odds and ends of food to save waste and fill your freezer.

I freeze my food in separate portion boxes, make sure you label stuff, things can look remarkably similar once frozen!