Batch cook freezer meals

[Notthefoggiest]

I'm increasing my hours at work so we are going to have a few nights a week where I'll pick the kids up and need to get tea on the table pretty sharpish. What can I batch cook on slower days and reheat on busy ones, that doesn't involve mince? I'm struggling to thing of more creative ideas than spaghetti bolognese/cottage pie etc....

Check out batch lady you had both books and YouTube videos. She's great at batch cooking suggestions!

We do soup, lasagna, moussaka, veggie (cheese and spinach) lasagna, macaroni cheese with stuff added, eg
Brocoli, bacon, leeks, pasta bakes in addition to what you already do. Useful to have around.

any Curry
Fish pie
Cooked brown lentils or beans as sub for mince in dishes
Roasted Mediterranean veg ready to add to pasta
lamb or chicken tagine

Beef stroganoff, lasagne, moussaka, sausage casserole, pasta bake (add the cheese after defrosting), fish pie, lamb tagine, stew and dumplings, chicken/beef casserole…

What do you normally like to eat? Does any of it freeze well?

Tonight I took a batch of this pesto sauce out of the freezer. Made the pasta fresh, fried chorizo while it boiled and then added cheese and under the grill for five minutes.

https://www.mob.co.uk/recipes/pesto-pasta-bake

Yesterday I made a double batch of this vegetarian chilli. Ate half with tortillas and put half in the freezer to have nachos in a week or two.

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/pinto-bean-chilli

At the weekend we had tandoori chicken and a couple of vegetable curries to go with it. Again half eaten in the day and half for the freezer.

On a slight tangent, anything I have tried to batch cook (bolognese/chilli, chicken curry type stuff, all ends up being watery, so I cook it for longer, then it dries out
Or
The meat, especially chicken just goes dry and comes apart like pulled chicken and it all tastes mushy and horrible. Am I likely doing something wrong?

any one pot stews, casseroles, curry freeze and reheat well. I started by just doubling up on recipes and using takeaway tubs and freezing half, gradually building up a stock of different meals. now I just spend a sunday afternoon and mass batch cook (oven/pans/slow cooker) and its done and dusted for another month. advantage is a lot fo the veg is used in most recipes, so reduces wastage too (celery,onion,carrot,potato)
Get a good selection of spices/herbs and you can make a lot fo different meals with the same basic ingedients.

If it turns watery when you reheat, drain a bit of the excess liquid and add a small amount of fat to the meal - olive oil, butter, sesame oil, whatever suits the dish best.

Thank you. Will give it try.

We have a lot of nights when we need tea on the table quickly. I'd say avoid things that need to go in the oven for ages like lasagne, macaroni cheese etc. Stews and curries work well as they're quick to defrost and reheat. We also have a rice cooker with a timer.

Homemade pizzas freeze very well

Curries
Casseroles/stews
Soups
Macaroni cheese
Jacket potatoes I crisp right up in oven then freeze and microwave for later use
Pasta bake

On a side note. for quick crispy jacket potatoes, if you have an airfryer, then pierce all over, micro until cooked and then brush with olive oil and salt and air fry 5 to 10 minutes until crispy. Saves time and energy

I know you said no bolognaise but the first time we eat it with pasta, the second time I make Ziti from it so layer pasta (we use penne or fusilli) into a lasagne style oven dish, then layer sauce, then push in some torn basil leaves into the sauce, you can add cheese at this point, then layer again, finish either with just cheese, or tortilla chips/crisps then the cheese, a drizzle of oil then bake it in the oven.

Same for chilli, first time with rice, second time make nachos, layer tortilla chips, chilli sauce, jalapenos if you like things spicy, you can always just add this to one side for the adults, layer with cheese, bake if making several layers, grill if one layer, serve with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Definitely check out Batch Lady on YouTube, full of ideas.

I make a mango almond korma sauce, which I leave a bit thick and freeze in smaller boxes, then add a protein and a little water to let it down when I re-heat it.

100% vegetable sauce, just cook and blend tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, peppers, butternut, beetroot... just about anything really. I've used up lettuce even. You can then add spices and herbs to turn it into anything when you reheat each portion, add basil etc and it's pasta sauce, add ras el hanout and it's a sauce for chickpeas with couscous, add curry spices and spinach with paneer and you have Saag Paneer!