Easiest meals to batch cook and freeze please

[Needingsupportplease]

Due my 2nd baby in 2 weeks and doing the food shop today. Need ideas and recipes please for things that freeze well. Would like to make a chilli (never made one before so need a good recipe please) also thinking a cottage pie? I have no other ideas though. Anything I should stock the cupboards/freezer with thats easy to grab out. Me and toddler will eat together (if I have time) I then have to cook again for DH as he works 12 hour shifts until 7pm. TIA!

Curry, bolognaise, lasagne, stew/casserole, sausage casserole, pasta bake.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chilli-con-carne-recipe here's a good chilli recipe.
I would portion things out so you can have one portion for you and toddler in one container and one for DH in second container then reheat as needed.

Filled pasta is great. Usually got a longish shelf life in the fridge, cooks in a few minutes. Just add some cooked chicken or vegetables, sauce from a jar and it ready. Same with gnocchi.

Make a giant pan of spag bol, portion some off, then add kidney or other beans, Chile powder and smokey paprika.

Lasagne freezes well too, chicken and ham pie with Potato or pastry top is also good!

Thankyou @CalamariGames good idea my brain isn't working atm at all haha. Very good thinking about portioning separately! And that recipe looks yummy!!

I'm honestly clueless @TheLovleyChebbyMcGeeb are the bases to spag bol and chili the same then?

Mashed potatoes, then freeze some sausages and get microwaveable veg pouches. Also recommend getting a slow cooker for casseroles. You can do a batch of pulled pork in the slow cooker and then freeze. For chilli, I do a huge batch of bolognaise sauce (grated carrot and courgette bulks out the beef and I add frozen spinach extra goodness), then I use one portion of the bolognaise for chilli by adding kidney beans, chilli powder, paprika, cumin and curry powder.

I would make sure you get some nice little toddler sized pasta and pesto sauce in the cupboard and I like to make little pizzas on a round pitta bread with a spread of tomato puree and grated cheese, the pitta you can also keep in the freezer for emergency and normally go down well.

I've also always found enchiladas freeze well. You could add fajita spices to diced chicken and veg and freeze, then defrost and cook in a wok then have in wraps (wraps also freezable) with potato wedges.

Fish pie

I'd freeze meal components - make a big white sauce and freeze in small portions. Same for a tomato sauce. Keep some grated cheese in the freezer and some bags of chopped veg. Then you have the base for several meals ready for you. Also do mini portions for the toddler, I used a silicon cupcake tray to freeze bolognese and other meals, it's the right size portions and once they are frozen it's really easy to pop the portions out of the tray and into a ziplock bag.

Fish pie
Sausage casserole
Thai chicken curry

I make them the same way anyway!

I fry onion, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, and any other veg we've got lying around, add mince and brown it, add canned tomatoes, tomato puree and passata, a beef stick cube and garlic and simmer for an hour.

For spag bol I add Italian herbs, for Chile I add the the stuff in my post above!

I freeze loads... sweet and sour chicken, chicken/beef casserole, chilli, bolognese, lasagna, fajita and taco fillings, enchiladas, homemade flat breads, pancakes, beef in black bean sauce, curries, samosas, sausage rolls, pasta sauces... I always make big lots of whatever I'm cooking and put a good few portions away for days I cant be bothered to cook. It makes life so much easier around the kids.

I like using those foil containers for lasagna and shepherd's pie, then you can just whack them straight in the oven. The saucy things I use the plastic takeaway style pots as I can fit loads of them in the freezer drawers. Pasties freeze really well too. Make them up, don't cook them and then you can cook them straight from frozen. Yum!

I like using those foil containers for lasagna and shepherd's pie, then you can just whack them straight in the oven

We did this before DS was born, I know not the best for the environment, but it was very handy!

Given the age of your current DC I'd batch cook and freeze "building blocks" rahter than meals so:

Bolognese sauce - freeze in individual adult portions so you can defrost and give DC1 spag bol and then add peas or beans or sweetcorn, put in baking dish, top with mash and have cottage pie for you and DH

Chilli - make it mild and freeze as above give to DC with either rice or torlilla chips and cheese. Add some fresh chilli to the remainder for you and DH and have with guacamole and wraps/rice/tortillas and a bit of salad

Mash - freeze in 2 person portions and defrost to serve with casserole/top a cottage pie/mix with tinned fish, spring onions, tomato puree to make fish cakes

Casserole - any time you make one make about 4x what you need and freeze in 2 person portions - give a bit to DC with pasta/potato/rice and veg and have the rest with DH for your own meal.

Roast veg - again any time you make it make plenty and freeze - great to add to passata to make ratatouille, pasta sauce etc. Tomato and roast veg sauce makes a good lasagne with either cheese sauce/cottage cheese or thinly sliced mozzarella. It's also a great pancake filling with feta - DC might prefer it with grated cheddar as feta is quite a strong taste.

I like using those foil containers for lasagna and shepherd's pie, then you can just whack them straight in the oven

We did this before DS was born, I know not the best for the environment, but it was very handy!

^^

You can wash them and reuse (cut new tops from empty cereal packets) and then they are not that environmentally unfriendly

Soups
Pasta Sauce

This stew is a winter favourite - I make a job lot of it and freeze it into portions. We have it with mash as a stew, with pasty as a steak pie and then as a beef curry by defrosting and adding in spices/curry paste www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/beef-vegetable-casserole

This also freezes well. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/veggie-shepherds-pie-sweet-potato-mash. I make a big portion, freeze in single servings without the mash topping then cook it in the oven and top with Iceland mash (comes in a bag in weird pellet formation but cooks up lovely in the micro in five minutes).

Thankyou all amazing ideas 😁 much appreciated x