What to batch cook ahead of birth

[orphanblack1]

I’m 36+4 and with it being BH weekend am thinking might be a good time to get batch cooking ahead of the young masters arrival. Question is: what?!

I’m gonna do a couple of lasagnas and portion them up in tubs but I’m kinda stuck as to tasty alternatives that freeze well

Anyone willing to share some ideas/recipes?

Curries is a good one
Bolognaise
Chilli

Sausage and bean casserole is my go to comfort food and if you cut the sausages up bite size you can eat one handed 😂

Spag Bol
Curries
Soup

We do a lovely crumb that freezes well. 100g chorizo fried off, add to 20g Parmesan, two slices of bread, 15g parsley, zest and juice of one lime, salt&pepper all blended together. Freezes well and really yummy to top cod/chicken

Stuff you can eat one handed which is not so drippy that it might drip on the baby.

I’ve done some lasagnes, Bolognese sauce, veggie chilli and a roasted veg ratatouille sauce.

I also did a risotto, then DH made some noises about the sensibility of freezing rice, so I cried and ate it all.

People always say soup on here but I think that’s a bad idea. Too drippy. Cottage pie, pasta bake, fish pie - all meals in one as such. Also cake—sponge with butter icing cut into portions. Then you can either whip it out for guests or eat a bit whenever you like as it won’t take long to defrost.

Soups work. I’d do a pea & ham with spinach thrown in at the end before it’s blended; butternut is another I like to have in the freezer. As you are already making lasagna, if you make bigger quantities of the cheese sauce and meat sauce, you can also do Macaroni Cheese / bolognaise / Cottage pie. Same base, just assembled differently. If you like stews, those also freeze/defrost nicely.

Oh yes, I also did a flapjack with loads of dried fruit in, to give to visitors when she finally makes her appearance.

I’m 41+4 and the flapjack is still in the freezer 🙄

Soup
Cottage pie
Pie fillings you can add pastry too before cooking
Pizza dough
Chilli
Curry
Spag bol sauce
Mash potato (easy side dish)

Soup
Cottage pie
Veg filled pasta sauces
Bolognese

At 37 weeks, DH was away for a night and I dedicated that day to batch cooking... I fell asleep as it was all cooling in the afternoon, and woke early morning the next day to spoiled food!

DS arrived before DH and I could replace it, and so we stocked up on frozen fish in steam bags and micro veg/rice. Not quite the cottage pie I had been looking forward to!

If you have a slow cooker you can chop, season and freeze meals. Then just throw them in the cooker as and when needed.

Lasagne, shepherds pie, beef stew, sausage casserole, curry, bolognaise, chilli...

A huge casserole pot of beef casserole from my mum saw me through the first few days. It was exactly what I needed as it had everything in it already and was so comforting. For that reason I say beef casserole.

Casseroles in slow cooker, risotto, paella, jambalaya, spag bol, chicken pasta bake, soup.

Do you eat frozen batch cooked meals now?

I only ask as I did this for DC1 and barely ate any of them. Ended up throwing most of it out not long before DC2 was born.

Despite having a very clingy colicky baby I found it was just as easy to stick a pan of pasta and sauce on (what I actually like to eat ) or stick a chicken in the oven as it was to try and tart up frozen batch portions with veg/salad/garlic bread and eat the same thing over and over again for weeks.

One thing to consider if you are bf - and the reason I didn't make chilli this time round - that strong flavours (onion, chilli, garlic) might come through in the milk and make your baby unsettled.

Cook a big batch of mince and divide it up can be used for Bolognese, chilli, Shepard's pie etc also if the weather starts to turn maybe soup. Bags of microwave rice. Was a big help after my youngest.

I will be making casseroles; chilli (chicken and beef versions), goulash, beef stews, osso buco and whatever else I can think of.
Soup; vegetable, chicken, minestrone. I am not sure onion soup freezes well, but I would love that.
Pizza (traditional and swirls), bread, sausage rolls, sweet bread/cake like cinnamon swirls and raw dough for biscuits/ginger cookies
Bolognese and lasagne.

I will freeze it all in portions for one or two people. Then make pasta, rice or mash on the day.

These are dishes that I have been batch cooking for years and enjoy eating as a quick meal, reheated, on days where we don’t have time to cook a meal from scratch.

I am due in January, and love meals like those during winter.

Stupid question... but how long do they keep in the freezer before they start getting that odd consistency when you cook? When - ideally - is the earliest you’re meant to make them?

Thanks ladies! Loads of great suggestions!!! Yes, we do (sometimes) batch cook now and eat from freezer. We also grow our own veg so not too diff to top up

Chili con carne would be good to have for iron levels if you lose blood in labour