PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.

Cooking for the freezer - vegetarian

Options
Magentasue
Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
in Old style MoneySaving
June and July are my busiest months for work and in previous years, the rest of the family have taken over the cooking of the evening meal with disastarous results:

2002 - We lived on frozen pizzas,chips, baked potatoes etc
2003 - I taught OH and two teen sons to cook three simple meals each and a rota was drawn up. Lasted a week or two, then they lost interest. Back to frozen pizzas
2004 - Son 1 said as he would be on study leave, he'd do it all. He then got a p/t job and again it all fell apart

So, this year, I'm thinking of filling the freezer with meals that can be reheated. I'm thinking of cauliflower or leeks in cheese sauce, lasagne, pasties ... then my mind goes blank. I've got a fairly big freezer but it has to be vegetarian.

I did think about a slow cooker (now, what made me think of that?:D) but then decided against it. We only eat one sort of stew (ratatouille type) and a couple of soups (Leek and Potato and Scotch Broth type) and we don't eat a lot of those in the summer.

So...any ideas?
«13

Comments

  • Queenie
    Queenie Posts: 8,793 Forumite
    Options
    Vegetable Freezer Recipes - actually that site is full of recipes for freezing, not just vegetarian.

    Vegetarian Freezer Recipes - pages of them, should keep you busy for a while ;)

    HTH :D
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  • elona
    elona Posts: 11,806 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Options
    How about potato,cheese and onion tart with garlic - my kids love them and we are not veggie :)
    "This site is addictive!"
    Wooligan 2 squares for smoky - 3 squares for HTA
    Preemie hats - 2.
  • tiff
    tiff Posts: 6,608 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Savvy Shopper!
    Options
    elona wrote:
    How about potato,cheese and onion tart with garlic - my kids love them and we are not veggie :)

    How do you make those Elona, sounds like something my kids would love. :)
    “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” - Dave Ramsey
  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    Options
    Yep, cheese and potato pie would be good - I make one that I originally got from a Cranks book.

    It's a baked pastry case filled with a mixture of boiled potatoes, lightly fried onions and garlic, grated cheese, chopped parsley, lump of butter and salt and pepper. It can be topped with grated cheese or cheese and breadcrumbs. The pie is then cooked until it's the proverbial golden brown.

    Quantities can be varied but we like it heavy on the cheese and parsley.
  • elona
    elona Posts: 11,806 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Options
    I got my recipe from Cranks as well but I amended it a bit and do not always use parsley.

    Kids love the miniature ones made in a bun tray rather than one large flan.

    Cranks call it "Homity pie" and say it is an Elizabethan recipe - so I told my darling daughters that - added how "time consuming and difficult it was to make"
    (tongue in cheek :) ) and they LOVE it!!!!!!!
    "This site is addictive!"
    Wooligan 2 squares for smoky - 3 squares for HTA
    Preemie hats - 2.
  • Smiley_Mum
    Smiley_Mum Posts: 3,836 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Options
    I gave these a go and they are pretty good, you could freeze them no problem. Get a good spicy salsa, if you like them hot. You can adjust the amount of burgers you want to make so you can stock up to freeze.

    http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/MexicanBeanBurgers.asp
    “Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” - Oscar Wilde
  • bluesnice
    bluesnice Posts: 113 Forumite
    Options
    I've had a bit of a cookathon this weekend to stock up for the week as I'm working long hours. I've made lasagne, pie and shep pie which are in the freezer now. What is the best way to warm these up without drying them out. I do have a microwave, but aren't keen on using it. Do you think 30 mins in the oven would do? what does everyone else do? :confused:
    Saving money is fun :A
  • savvy
    savvy Posts: 31,128 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Photogenic
    Options
    I've always made up a massive amount of chilli and bolognaise (using vegetarian mince), then any left over, I've frozen so I can take it to work or use it when I've just got to cook for myself. It's absolutely fine when it's been frozen, so you could do a big batch of those, then all you have to do is the rice/spaghetti!
    Honorary Northern Bird bestowed by Anselm
    I'm a Board Guide and volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly on Special Occasions, Green/Ethical, Motoring/Overseas/UK Travel & Flood boards, it's not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Report inappropriate or illegal posts to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. Views are MINE & not official MSE ones ;)
  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    Options
    Thanks for the link to the bean burger recipe, Smileymum, will try them out next weekend when I've been shopping.

    Bluesnice, if I freeze lasagne, I make the sauces a bit runnier but I'd think it should be OK with 30 mins in the oven if you defrost it thoroughly.

    Savvy, I don't like soya stuff but I did think about making batches of bolognaise sauce and freezing it. Last time I did the Jamie Oliver trick of cooking some veg in the sauce and liquidising it to get some veg into the kids. I wondered about freezing batches of this so they'd never know!
  • Curry_Queen
    Curry_Queen Posts: 5,589 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Options
    Magentasue wrote:
    Bluesnice, if I freeze lasagne, I make the sauces a bit runnier but I'd think it should be OK with 30 mins in the oven if you defrost it thoroughly.

    Now I do this the opposite way and make sauces slightly thicker for the freezer as I find they come out runnier when defrosted/cooked because of the added water content from ice (don't ask me why it happens as I don't know, and in theory it shouldn't :rolleyes:)

    I also cook stuff like that straight from frozen for 45 mins to an hour (till piping hot in centre) which when you think about it, most supermarket frozen meals tell you to cook from frozen anyway :confused:

    If I'm re-heating say a casserole/chilli/bolognaise sauce then I'll put it in micro on defrost first before switching to medium to re-heat it. Takes about 20 mins in all.
    "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"
    ~
    It is that what you do, good or bad,
    will come back to you three times as strong!
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards