Batch cooking favourites

[Holyforkingshirtball]

I'm trying to be organised and meal plan / batch cook stuff for when we're back to school in September.

I've got the usual spag bol & chilli on the list, as well as chicken & sausage casseroles but if you had to list your top 10 batch cooking / freezer meals?

Watching with interest... we're going to try to do the same. Got veggie tagine, beef bourguignon, sweet potato coconut daal and fish pie on the list

Fish pie www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/friday-night-fish-pie
Curry www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-tikka-masala
Chicken, bacon and leek pie realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-bacon-and-leek-cottage-pie.html
Lasagne www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lasagne_22392
Quiche www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/quichelorraine_71987
Goulash realfood.tesco.com/recipes/goulash.html
Cottage pie www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cottage-pie
Moussaka www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/moussaka-with-feta-topping/

Bouef Bourgignon, chilli, lamb curry, spicy shepherds pie.

Lasagna (meat and veggie)
Bolognaise sauce
Chicken "stew" - it's cooked in slow cooker with wine, fennel, star anise, cinnamon, stock and veggies (usually carrots, onions). Add cannellini beans at end. Remove chicken and shred before returning to cooker.

Those are about it for me on a regular basis. But I do use freezer for other things like:

Mashed potatoes - always make more than I need then freeze the rest for another day. Can be microwaved from frozen.

Desserts/treats - I'm about to start the batch freezing of apple/blackberry crumbles I always do at this time of year. I've also currently got a load of uncooked peanut butter cookies in a bag ready to be removed as and when we need them. I'm experimenting with other options eg cinnamon buns.

haven't done this for a while, but also sometimes do use trays of roasted veg with tomatoes and freeze as is or whiz with cream cheese, olive oil and (sometimes) nuts to turn into individual portions of "red pesto". It's fantastic on pasta, as a side sauce with grilled meat and fish etc.

Ooh I love these threads, and you've reminded me I need to get organised for September too!

Tarka dhal
Pasta sauce - tomato, veg and chickpea/tuna pepper and olive/lentil bolognese/meatballs in tomato sauce
Chana Paneer Masala
Beef casserole
Chicken casserole
Pulled pork - freeze in portions then serve with burger buns, salad, slaw
Chickpea and chorizo stew
Black bean chilli - I serve this either with rice or as fajitas

Similar items as above plus this veggie peanut stew is amazing

thegirlonbloor.com/slow-cooker-african-inspired-peanut-stew/

There’s a lentil chili on the same site that’s delicious and a go-to in our house!

Thanks everyone, some great ideas here

Exactly what I was looking for, I must get organised. Try Lauren Greutman recipes if doing dump bags (I'm going to try them) also facebook has slow cooker pages with lots of recipes.

What are dump bags????

So you put everything you need for a meal- chopped veg, cheese etc into bags in freeze. On the day you need it just grab it out and dump everything into slow cooker/ oven etc but you have absolutely everything you need all prepared. I'm going to try it.

I make and freeze all the usuals - curries, chilli, stews (meat and veggie) all work brilliantly. I also make a pile of homemade burgers (beef, pork, turkey) spiced and flavoured in different ways and freeze these. I'm also a big fan of putting meat into a marinade and freezing it in that, uncooked. Just take out of the freezer in the morning then it can be grilled or baked in the evening. It's mainly chicken I do this with, but I'm sure other meat will work too.

One of our favourite cooked meals to freeze is Campfire stew from Pinch of Nom. I make it in the slow cooker so it's hassle free, and we get at least eight portions out of one batch. You do need to think ahead to soak the gammon overnight, and then I just shove it all in the slow cooker for a day and that's that. pinchofnom.com/recipes/campfire-stew/

Leek, potato and ham soup
Beef (or chicken) massaman curry
Beef with soy and ginger (Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall)
Sugo (we have been known to eat it as soup)
Shakshuka base - in our house, this is chorizo, onions and roasted peppers cooked off with spices and chilli then simmered with passata until thick
Sweet potato enchiladas
Leeky mac and cheese

I echo what another poster said about freezing things like mash. Homemade mash is fab and it doesn't take much to stick some sausages in the oven, veg on the hob (or even veg in the oven with the sausages) to have with the mash. I also freeze cheese sauce.