Batch cooking for the freezer - is it worth it? Ideas please

[LaineyW]

I sorted out my freezer yesterday (chucked stuff out literally from the last century...) and now have lots of room.

I've been surfing on Amazon to try and find a really good freezer cookery book that will give me say a month worth of recipes which I can pre-cook in a weekend.

Can anyone recommend a book like that? There are heaps of American books but they just drive me mad with all their cups and sticks etc.

Don't know about a book but anything mince-based or of a stew/casserole nature is great in the freezer.

Definitely worth it IMO

I do freeze loads of stuff and I find it very much worth it as I work almost full time and it's great being able to rustle up home cooked stuff quickly.

If you look on archives here there was a brilliant thread on here about batch cooking (frannyandzooey I think it was who started it) with some great ideas.

I make bolognese sauce with 4 packets of mince at a time and then I freeze it in bags.

I tend to make double of things like bolognese, cottage pie, lasagne, stews, casseroles and fruit crumbles etc and freeze half. You can make basic casseroles then add diofferent things when you cook it. I've got a good old good housekeeping freezer cookbook that was my mum's. I don't know if it's still in print.

Don't waste your money on a book. Most meals can be succesfully frozen, and if you're unsure come and ask on here and you'll get all the advice you need.

Batch cooking is definately definately worth it, on both cost and time.

Can't recommend a decent book but batch cooking rules around here. Lots of mince with veg for children which can be served as cottage pies, added to mashed tomatoes for bolognaise or as mince which DH eats too.

Fish pie is good in the freezer, as is lasagne (meat or veg) but I find it doesn't keep well for more than a month.

You need lots of boxes/trays/dishes for freezing the appropriate portion size. What you use depends on whether you defrost before cooking or use a microwave.

i could not survive if i didn't batch cook.

i also could not survive without my slow cooker.

slow cooker recipes are very easy and simple:

meat (beef, chicken, pork)
onions
booze (red, white, cider)
I might add some root veggies but very large chunks to avoid disintegration.

cook for 6 - 8 hours and thicken with gravy granules or soured cream/yoghurt etc.
I use braising steak and chicken thighs for the slow cooker as not only are they cheap but they work well with slow cooking.

Other recipes I batch cook are:

spag bol (spag and bol go in freezer!)
cottage pie, put handfuls of frozen mixed veg in too.
lasagne
salmon and broccoli in a cheese sauce
mashed potatoes
rice
chicken/lamb curry
chicken/beef sweet chilli stir-fry

i also freeze extra portions of roast veggies like parsnip, sweet potatoe, carrot and potatoe tossed in olive oil with paprika and roast from frozen with a joint or chicken.

i am also a tupperware queen, actually i am an "any sort of container that will go in the freezer freak"!

I shop for a month, cook week one and two then have weeks three and four off! Lamb chops and things are also handy just to have in the freezer.
I use those pyrex dishes with plastic lids as you can just put them into the oven (minus lid, unless you are microwaving).

I'm obviously a bit of a lazy cow... but as you all say, once you've done the actual cooking bit, you do get lots more time off rather than doing it from scratch every night.

I vaguely remember looking at Jamie Oliver's website too, which has a good forum where they were all discussing how to save money by batch baking and cooking.

I really like your cook week one and two and have weeks three and four off Pinkyminkyohnooo!

Thanks for everyones' replies.

Lainey- it's just a case of planning a bit what you'll be eating- I don't like cooking huge amounts at once, but double is easy and then you can be really lazy!

So you just cook up double the amount then put it a tub, into the freezer. Then defrost in microwave and then reheat?

Is this how its done?

That's about it!

I freeze bolognese (then use it for spaghetti, lasagnes etc), chilli, casseroles, fish pie, shepherds pie, curry - saves time and is v useful for when (cooking phobic) dh is home alone!

just be careful about how often you re-heat it.

if it's already been cooked then you should only de-frost and re-heat once.

as there's only me and dd i tend to freeze a portion for me and a smaller portion for her seperately.