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Bulk cooking and freezing - or how to cook once every 3 weeks

70 replies

FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 17:54

Right this is quite long, but some people expressed an interest in it, and this is easier than emailing it out.

This is just an example of how I do it. You don't have to cook these exact things, just meals or parts of meals that can be frozen.

Week 1:

Sunday: fry huge amounts onions and mushrooms, divide into 3

add tomatoes and kidney beans to 1/3 and cook pizza sauce (4 days' worth)
add brown lentils and tomatoes and stock to1/3 and make shepherds pie filling (4 days)
add carrots and beans and leeks and tomatoes and stock and make stew with 1/3 (4 days)
make pizza bases and roll up and freeze, if you don't want to make them on the day

If you have a decent cooker and enough pans you can get these going at the same time, so you aren't cooking literally all day. It's crucial you don't wander off and go on MN (I speak from bitter experience) and let stuff burn. If you do, it can be very expensive and you have wasted a BIG amount of food.

Then you have your other quick meals which you just prepare on the day, like pasta and pesto, salads, pittas and hummus, omelette, etc. So the week's meals could look like this:

Sunday dinner: pizza
Monday: cook mashed potato and have shepherd's pie (make enough mash for 2 days)
Tuesday: Stew
Wednesday: Leftover shepherds pie
Thursday: one of your quick meals
Friday: pizza again
Saturday: quick meal

You can see at this point you have had 5 different meals and only had to cook properly on 1 day. You have left in your freezer: pizza x 2, shepherd's pie x 2, stew x 3

Week 2:

Sunday: fry huge lots of onions and mushrooms again (these are just examples, we seem to eat a lot of mushroomy meals)

add barley to 1/3 and make barley risotto with stock, peas and corn, and sun dried tomatoes (4 days)
add to 1/3 and fry peppers, bulgar wheat and kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, stock and make a kind of bulgar risotto which you then bake in the oven (4 days)
add red lentils, squash and carrots to 1/3 and make a kind of vegetable dhal sauce (4 days)

Sunday: barley risotto
Monday: bulgar wheat
Tuesday: veg dhal - cook rice or quinoa or naan to go with it
Wednesday: quick meal
Thursday: stew from week 1
Friday: barley again
Saturday: quick meal

This week you have had 6 different meals. You now have in the freezer barley x 2, bulgar x 3, veg dhal x 3, pizza x 2, shepherd's pie x 2, stew x 2.

Week 3:

make butter bean and vegetable soup (x 4)
vegetable crumble (root veg and kidney beans with white sauce and nutty crumble topping) (x 4)
vegetable korma with coconut and chickpeas (x 4)

Sunday: bean soup
Monday: veg crumble
Tuesday: quick meal
Wednesday: veg korma (cook rice or quinoa to go with it)
Thursday: bulgar wheat
Friday: veg dhal
Saturday: quick meal

You have had 7 different meals and you have barley x 2, bulgar x 2, dhal x 2, pizza x 2, shepherd's pie x 2, stew x 2, bean soup x 3, crumble x 3, korma x 3 = 21 meals in the freezer, plus 2 quick meals per week = a month's worth of food all sorted with only minimal amounts of cooking left to come, so you could have 4 weeks off now if you wanted to. If however you bulk cook again on the 3rd week, you can cook about 12 (I try for 15) days food every 3 weeks, and add in a couple of quick meals each week, and just keep a 3 week cycle going.

On the day, you may need to cook quinoa, rice, and sometimes extra veg to go with a meal, but not stand over the cooker stirring stuff. I know it is easier for me as there are only 3 of us, so to make 4 days worth is not so hard. However even for larger families, it still works - you just need to either cook more frequently than every 3 weeks, or make larger quantities each time.

I have got recipes for any of the above if it would help. They all freeze reasonably well. If you cook mostly vegan stuff it helps, as beans / veg / lentils all freeze well. Nut roasts also freeze well (I have 2 recipes), as does virtually any kind of veg soup or stew or curry or sauce. Sorry but I don't know anything about freezing meat or fish.

OP posts:
amidaiwish · 09/09/2007 18:37

wow, inspiring!

i would love some of your veg curry / bean recipes - i've decided as we have stomach/bowel cancer history on both my parents' sides of the family that i should start to eat way more beans etc and less meat.

WideWebWitch · 09/09/2007 19:25

It's making my head hurt but I am v tired!
We are on Economy Drive so we can buy a house so will re read this. I have made a lot of cottage pie recently.

Doodledootoo · 09/09/2007 19:31

Message withdrawn

ruddynorah · 09/09/2007 19:37

please tell me about the dahl. i love dahl but have never made it myself.

cheechymunchy · 09/09/2007 19:41

I love you, FAZ. Have recently lost all my inspiration for DS so this has given me some fab ideas.
Bad news - no freezer yet (just moved). Have saved your recipes/ info for when one's bought.
Thanks once again

Vulgar · 09/09/2007 19:59

Much respect F&Z.

you cook the sort of food I would like to eat every day. yum!

i am a crap cook. would you be able to give detailed instructions for some of the receipes?

sorry, i know that's a lot to ask.

I would really like to be able to make a really tasty veg shepherds pie.

hotcrumpets · 09/09/2007 20:02

An utter ton of respect, major organisation points for you!

Will save and look again when we have a freezer

Twiglett · 09/09/2007 20:05

ooo ... just how farty is your house?

MrsMarvel · 09/09/2007 20:13

Enough to make me turn vegetarian.

Could you give me an idea of quantities - like how many tins of tomatoes, how many kilos/pounds of onions?

snorkle · 09/09/2007 20:58

brilliant! Only problem, freezer is full of fruit at this time of year. Might try in a few months.

FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 21:32

Blimey

will try to answer questions but a lot of these recipes are made up and I haven't much idea of quantities. You know a tin more or less of tomatoes is not going to make any difference when you're cooking 16 portions. However I appreciate it is hard when you have not cooked a certain recipe before.

Shepherds pie - this is Rose Elliot, serves 4 so scale it up:

8 oz continental lentils
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 stick celery
1 lge carrot
4 oz mushrooms
1 tsp herbs
1 tbsp tom puree

Soak lentils overnight then drain and rinse. Cover with cold water in a saucepan and simmer gently until tender. Drain. Fry all veg until tender then add lentils, herbs, tom puree, salt and pepper, put in oven topped with mash. Bake for 40 mins at 200 deg / GM 6

I really recommend Rose Elliot's Bean Book actually, for very cheap and easy, freezable family recipes. I expect they have it second hand on Amazon, amidai

Nut loaf (all quantities excitingly vague):

Cook onions and mushrooms until nicely browned. Can also add red pepper or in fact anything . Cook brown rice until tender. Mix with a good quantity (probably 1 part nuts to 2 parts rice and 1 part fried onion / mushrooms) of ground or chopped nuts and seeds (ground best for young children) - you can get ground almonds in the shops, while cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds grind up nicely in a coffee grinder or nut attachment on blender. Add a stock cube mixed with a few tbsp hot water to make a sort of sludge, tom puree, herbs, seasoning, soy sauce etc to taste. Put in loaf tin or oven dish and bake on about GM 5 for about 40 mins.

BEAN CASSEROLE:

Fry garlic, 1 lb leeks, carrots, mushrooms (chuck in any other veg you have or whatever is in season) until tender. Add tin tomatoes, 1/2 pint stock, 1 tbsp paprika, splash soy sauce. Bring to boil then cover and simmer for 20 mins. Add tin kidney beans, good amount of frozen sweetcorn and you can add dumplings at this point (not healthy but bloody lovely - mix 4 oz self raising flour, 2 oz suet or veg suet, 1 tbsp dried herbs, 5 tbsp cold water into balls and plop on top of stew). Cover and simmer for 20 mins.

Freezes v well. Good on its own in a bowl, but cheaper to stretch it out with baked potatoes, crusty bread, dumplings, rice or quinoa. You can mess about with it and add extra beans, or extra root veg in season is nice too(parsnips, swede etc)

Sorry this one is so vague but it's a made up one. Just experiment until you find how you like it. You can ring the changes and add different nuts, cooked lentils, grated cheese, other veg, curry spices etc. Great for using up leftovers. The nuts can be pricey but not if bought in bulk or at one of those weigh and save places. Overall with the rice added it makes a cheap meal as you only give a slice of it and then bulk up the meal with veg.

Freezes well and goes nicely with either a simple tomato sauce, boiled pots and green beans, or roast veg and gravy, or cold with salad and mayonnaise. Also nice sliced in a sandwich

Here goes on the VEG CURRY one which is a bit vague (another home grown concotion)

Fry say 2 onions, and garlic if you like it, until tender, then add garam masala, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric (or whatever spices you have and like), say about 3 tbsp in total? (I am guessing btw please don't blame me if it's too hot). You could also add mushrooms and peppers and fry them too.

Meanwhile steam some diced veg such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, cauli, squash, swede, whatever. I think you could saute them in with the onions instead, but that takes so long I can never be arsed to do it. Steam so they are basically cooked but still have a fair bit of bite to them. Save the water used to steam them.

Mix the veg with the onions, and add ground almonds (erm, say 6 oz?), a block of creamed coconut, a few handfuls of raisins, and enough of the reserved steaming water to just barely cover it all. I usually add frozen peas, green beans or sweetcorn at this point as well, and a tin or two of chickpeas. Simmer gently until the veg is all tender and the sauce has thickened a bit. If still too sloppy more almonds may rescue it, or take some of the veg out and liquidise to thicken it.

Anyone who can cook proper Indian food will probably be appalled at this bastardised version but it does taste quite good

We usually eat it with rice or quinoa, although it would be good with Indian breads like naan as well. It freezes very well and children like it because it's very sweet tasting.

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 21:33

Lentil and butternut dhal

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

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 21:34

I am cut and pasting these from having previously posted them on MN, so if they have bits that don't make sense, that is why

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 21:37

Vulgar was the shepherds pie one detailed enough? Just ask if it isn't clear

MrsMarvel can you scale up from the recipes I've posted? I don't weigh the veg, only things like barley or lentils which I am not so good at estimating.

OP posts:
MrsMarvel · 09/09/2007 21:43

So you're saying cook enough onions and veg on which to base 12 meals for four? Divide onions and veg base into 3 different recipes, each making four meals?

FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 21:45

erm yes, I think so

am I?

OP posts:
Vulgar · 09/09/2007 22:11

Ooo, thank you so much.

I can't waait to try these.

the veg curry sounds delish!

MrsMarvel · 09/09/2007 22:14

So I would start with 12 onions?
Sorry if I'm being pedantic, I'm just not good at this type of thing. Meaning, I suppose, following recipes.

littlemisssensible · 09/09/2007 22:42

Wow! Major respect Frannyandzooey!

I wish I could be that organised! Though I do tend to double up on recipes so that half the week I don't have to cook! (Don't necessarily use the same meal twice in a week but, like you, then have a selection of meals put by in the freezer!)

As a meat eating family i can confirm that meat versions of your meals, shepherds pie, stew, mince n' onions (DD loves it), lasagne, etc all freeze well. Pizza we don't tend to freeze made up, just the tom sauce and the bases then make up with tinned tuna or a little ham on the day!

FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 22:54

MrsMarvel yes I think so. Have you a big old pan?

OP posts:
Ulysees · 09/09/2007 22:54

Franny, can I live with you please?

FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 22:57

Can I point out although the OP makes it seem like extreme organisation, I actually just buy lots of veg and cook whatever I feel like cooking. The examples in the OP are just to show you how it can work over a period of a few weeks. I dpn't sit and plan the meals over a month or anything. I just cook stuff, and freeze it. It works.

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 09/09/2007 22:57

Ulysees no

I am not very easy to live with

OP posts:
Ulysees · 09/09/2007 22:58

Ok one can dream

I'm going to save these recipes as the boys and I love vegetarian food. Cheers

MrsMarvel · 09/09/2007 22:59

Yes, everything I have is big and old.

You do realise you have a fantastic idea for a book here you know - you could jazz it up with all kinds of systems, charts, nutritional colour schemes... and make a fortune! We all want to be healthy, we all want to save time, we all want to be organised.