What did you all/will you be batch cooking?

[stopknockingonmydoor]

DC3 arriving in October!

I'll be off from the beginning of October and just trying to think of what I could cook when the others are at school/nursery to make the first couple of weeks back home easier for all of us

I'll do a lasagne, and a cottage pie, but open to more suggestions.

Also, what did you freeze stuff in? I'm thinking of ordering some large foil trays and lids so they can be bunged straight in the oven?

Chilli con carne is a good freezable meal!

Nothing. I will be doing meals which have short prep times and can be left to simmer or oven bake though. There are 7 of us and I simply haven't the storage space for batch cooked meals.

We do loads of turkey and beef meatballs once a week, and a really easy thai green curry (the secret is in getting the right paste!), and have 2-3 more dishes that we rotate. DP also does a mean chilli con carne and I make my mom's spicy tofu dish just to mix it up, but the meatballs and green curry are a staple.

One thing you could try is make a bolognese sauce in big batches, then just boil up some fresh pasta whenever you need it? Bolo sauce is a great one for the slow cooker - I'm a big fan of the "set it and forget it" school of cooking

Curry
Bolognese
Beef casserole
Stroganoff
Chicken Fajitas
Chicken and Brocolli pie
Fish pie

Every time we cook a chilli, a curry, a spag bol etc, we just make double portions and dole it out into old takeaway containers for the freezer.

Another great shout that my friend suggested is Cook... they do "new parents survival boxes"!! No good for the whole family, but may come in very handy in the early weeks - www.cookfood.net/menu/meal-boxes/new-parents

Nope. Pregnancy is exhausting enough. I was fine to make easy / quick meals once baby arrived. Newborns sleep a lot so it is possible to get stuff done, if feeling up to it. Plus DH happy to cook on paternity or after work. Takeaways too if it had been a tiring day / night.

Yep I'll be filling the freezer as much as possible. Last time I did spag bol, lasagne, chicken and ham pie, steak pie, mince pie, cottage pie, curries etc. Some I did in plastic tubs, but for alot of the pies I bought foil trays so they could either go straight in the oven or get topped with (thawed) frozen pastry.

I also made sure we had different serving ideas, so we didn't get bored, so like Chile beans and spices in the cupboard to turn spag Bol into Chile con carne, tortilla chips and cheese to make the Chile into nachos. I also stocked up on easy cook meals, so had sausages in the freezer and jars of Pesto or pasta sauce. It was a lot of work, but I was so glad of it once Ds had arrived as he was a high needs baby and I had very little time for cooking!

And LOLing at Newborns sleep a lot Sorry, not all of them do. DS wouldn't nap anywhere apart from in the sling while being walked for 6 months. Not the pram, or the car, only the sling!

@TheLovleyChebbyMcGee

And LOLing at Newborns sleep a lot Sorry, not all of them do. DS wouldn't nap anywhere apart from in the sling while being walked for 6 months. Not the pram, or the car, only the sling!

I also laughed at this

I'm expecting another Velcro baby, and then with 2 older children on top I'd rather not be prepping stuff.

Some great ideas, thanks! I'll be happy to do the odd 'freezer' beige tea but after my previous births I really wanted some nice, healthy food so anything I can cook early will be appreciated by my future self.

Not pregnant but I saw this pop up in active threads I hope it's OK to reply!

I always have homemade fish cakes in the freezer - I think should be child friendly? A mix of smoked haddock and cod is great. A lot of my freezer meals tend to be mince based so it's nice for a change. Also some thick soups might be good? I do pea, mint and courgette quite often and it's filling enough for dinner with some bread.

@MountainDweller of course!

Two really great ideas there that I wouldn't have thought of, thanks for that

I love soup, will make for some nice lunches while we're off (think DH would need a full loaf of bread to accept it as dinner )