What is your favourite batch cooking / make ahead recipe please?

[NoMoreZigAndSharko]

Or more than one if you have a few suggestions!

I have decided to spend the weekend shopping for and then making some meals for the week ahead and extra for the freezer.

Looking for some make ahead / freezer friendly / batch cooking / family meal ideas if anyone has any

I batch cook curry bases ( leaves you more room in the freezer than whole meals).

Same for stocks and sofritos.

Anything in a sauce or with a saucy element -

Curry
Tagine
Chilli
Pasta sauce
Ratatouille
Stews/casseroles

Plus easy pasta dishes -

Macaroni cheese
Lasagne

Etc etc.

I tend to cook extra when I cook the meal itself, rather than doing enormous batch cooking marathons, but that’s just me. So I’ll cook 3 or 4 times as much as I actually need for that night’s dinner, then I’ll freeze the extra in meal-size portions.

A basic ragout which can be frozen in portions then used as is for spag bol or lasagne; or with spice and beans for chilli.
You can also top with mashed potato & grated cheese for a variation on cottage pie.

Beef stew. I cook a large batch. 2kg beef. Carrots parsnip and onion. Packed of oxtail soup I cold water. Slow cooked for 4 hours.

Chicken curry in slow cooker (mayflower curry powder)

Gammon (just cook in water intially and then add honey and roast)

I make this shepherds pie a lot - it’s delicious. I make double the filling (especially as it can be hard to get 250g mince) and freeze half, then when I’m ready to use it I just have to boil and mash the potatoes and stick it in the oven.

This spag bol is great too but I only make half and it’s still two meals for the three of us. Not sure I have a big enough pan to make the full recipe!

Chilli, sausage casserole, beef rogan josh, chicken rendang, hidden veg pasta sauces

Lasagne
Bolagnaise
Chilli
Shepherds/cottage pie
Curries
Casseroles

Burgers www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pork_and_apple_burger_94249
Fish pie www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/friday-night-fish-pie
Quiche www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/quichelorraine_71987 It serves 4 for an evening meal if we’re hungry. If not, we have leftovers for lunch the next day!
Enchiladas www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-and-bean-enchiladas

Goulash realfood.tesco.com/recipes/goulash.html with mash

Chicken pie www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/chicken-potato-pie/

Chicken and chorizo stew realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-chorizo-and-potato-stew.html

Martha Stewart's macaroni & cheese
Bolognese sauce
Beef stew

Cook once, eat twice is my motto.

Nearly every meal I make has leftovers for the freezer or for lunch the next day.

I usually only make things for the freezer out of items that need using up so I end up with components that will make making a meal easier rather than a complete meal. I will make mash out of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots. Spag bol sauce out of mince and any veg that needs using. Other veg and tomato type sauces.

I also buy a lot of meat from the butchers and spend some time dividing it up and marinading it all in different ways before freezing. This saves time and money making a meal. Then for example I pull out the marinated lamb chops/chicken thighs etc the night before and for dinner I stick them in the oven, heat up the mash and steam some veg. Dinner is done with only 5 mins of veg prep.

I’m making a goulash tonight and I will freeze half of it.👍

Not much really I'm pretty terrible at batch cooking and reheating.
I do put marinade on meat before freezing and I freeze extra pizza dough.
I eat microwaved leftovers but the family aren't keen on them, too dry/ soggy/ crunchy

Ragu by the bucketful. So versatile, a few herbs etc can turn it into the base of so many meals.

Thanks for all of these.

I love the cook once, eat twice motto. Very efficient!

I'm definitely going to be making the Annabel Karmel chicken pie and the ultimate makeover shepherd's pie. A few people have mentioned goulash - I don't think I've ever even tried that, which seems ridiculous! Will have to make that too.

Soups
Curries
Lasagne
Cottage pie

If I cook any of these I make enough for another night's dinner too. Most other things are cooked that night.

The rest of the freezer is full of frozen veg, frozen fruit for smoothies, and emergency fish fingers

Happy to turn any of these into recipes if you want:
Bolognese
Chilli
Lamb keema
"Spanish" chicken
Chicken cacciatore
Beef stew /slow cooked brisket
Cottage pie

I want a decent chicken curry recipe I can batch cook but I haven't got there yet.

Don't forget most soups will batch cook effectively too.

@SquigglePigs, could you please share your Lamb Keema and Chicken Cacciatore recipes if it isn't too much of a pain?

In return, here is my favourite chicken curry recipe and it is freezable;

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cardamom-butter-chicken

Oooooh, thanks. I'll check that out

The chicken cacciatore is actually my DM's recipe (if I'm honest I add many more peppers because we're quite pepper obsessed in this house!). The recipe serves 6 adults:

2kg chicken jointed (or equivalent pieces)
1 onion, finely sliced
1 green pepper, finely sliced
olives, handful stoned if you like (I don't but DM does!)
few bay leaves (4-6 depending on size)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic (1 crushed, 2 sliced)
flour for dusting
1/4-1/2 bottle red wine
1 400g tin tomatoes + 1 carton passata

season chicken, add bay leaves, rosemary and crushed garlic. cover with wine. marinate (at least 30mins but overnight better)
Drain chicken (reserve marinade), dust in flour. Heat oil in oven proof dish, brown chicken then remove.
Add onions, peppers and sliced garlic and soften.
Add olives and tomatoes/passata.
Add chicken and marinade.
Bring to boil. Cover, then cook in oven 1.5-2 hrs.
Lovely served with so many things - mash, Italian herby roast potatoes, rice, pasta, green veg, butter bean mash....

Lamb keema - this one is sooooooooo not authentic and a bit of a cheat but loved by both grown ups and our toddler!

Lamb mince (500g standard pack or similar)
Good quantity chopped veg - 1 onion, 1 pepper, good chunk courgettes, handful of mushrooms...
Garlic, crushed
Peas/petit pois (few big handfuls)
Passata
Curry paste of choice - our favourite for this is Pataks korma because it has lots of flavour but minimal heat

Brown off the lamb mince. Remove from pan. Add onions and garlic and soften in the lamb fat.
Add rest of veg, toss and soften for few mins.
Add the mince back.
Make some space in the bottom of the pan and add a good amount of paste (about 1/4 jar for 500g mince) and fry off a bit then toss everything else into it.
Add passata and some water (not super runny but not dry) and cook off for 30-40 mins. Just keep an eye on the liquid levels - you don't want super runny but not dry either.
Add peas/petit pois for last 5 mins, or if you're freezing just add in when you reheat.

Traditional is just the peas and diced potato but I like to chuck as much veg in as I can get away with.

It's obviously great with rice but both DH and DD love it as an "Indian cottage pie" using the keema as the base and covering in mash.

Thank you for doing that @SquigglePigs! They sound lovely. Will definitely be trying them.

Hope you enjoy them