Freezer food to prepare for big kitchen makeover!

manicmidget99 · 3 September 2012 at 12:33PM

I am trying to be organised and prepare some food ready for when our kitchen is being extended and replaced (will prob take a couple of months!). Want to avoid too many takeaways for sake of waistline and the cost!
I have freezer space so was thinking of doing some meals that can be easily reheated in microwave - casseroles / bolognese sauce / chilli etc.
We will have limited facilities but would be able to cook pasta / rice etc as borrowing a plug in electric hob.

As suggestions as to what you be good to cook in advance gratefully received :-)
Many thanks

browneyedbazzi · 3 September 2012 at 12:44PM

Things like stews, chilli con carne, spag bol/pasta sauces would top my list (when I do that sort of thing I often do extra and freeze them in meal sized portions). I think there's a thread on the Old Style Moneysaving board about batch cooking so if you do a search for that they will probably have lots of suggestions and recipes.

Hope the building work goes well!

hazyjo · 3 September 2012 at 12:45PM

Another option - could get a mini-oven - £30 in Argos at the mo (at least it was last week - price reduction - might have gone back up). Can't get much in them, but might do for the odd thing. And a George Forman grill - very handy.

Is it just 2 of you, or kids too?

Jx

maryjanell79 · 3 September 2012 at 12:50PM

I am halfway through doing my bulk freezer meals to save money, this is what I have so far.

- Bolognese
- Chilli con carne
- Chicken curry
- Sweet and sour chicken and veg
- Chicken casserole
- Beef stew

Hope that helps

Fire_Fox · 3 September 2012 at 12:58PM

I have an older model of this Tefal multicooker and can highly recommend it, I've recommended to a couple of others and they love theirs too. You can make soups, stews, bolognese, Thai or Indian curry, chilli con carne, perfect rice, steamed anything. Alongside an electric non stick grill you have a lot of options. Most food questions are recipes are to be found on the Old Style board.

Recommend ingredients more than recipes - any canned beans/ lentils which can be added to meals for carbs, minerals, fibre and a little protein. Dry red lentils because they don't need pre-boiling so can be used for slow cooker soups, stews, curries or bolognese. Creamed coconut for healthy fats, fibre and flavour in soups and curries, I don't miss meat when I use this. Nuts and seeds can be used on or in many meals for protein, healthy fats, minerals and fibre - no preparation or cooking.

Yorkie1 · 3 September 2012 at 1:00PM

Slow cookers are great - just bung everything in, plug it in somewhere and it's ready at the end of the day.

TheConways · 3 September 2012 at 1:09PM

If you have limited cooking resources, a rotisserie chicken plus some boiled potatoes and salad is a super-easy dinner to put together. Keep some spicy sauce, some fresh herbs (if you can grow these in the garden?), and a lemon to pep things up.

If you can get hold of a slow cooker, this is a great way to cook a one-pot dinner. I make Pork Colombo ( http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/16643/caribbean-pork-colombo.aspx ), lamb curry (w/ coconut milk, tomatoes, and a malaysian curry paste), lentil soup, etc.

If you have a sandwich toaster, having soup and a toasted sandwich once a week is often a crowd pleaser.

krlyr · 3 September 2012 at 1:51PM

We're currently without a regular oven but have been using a combination microwave. Has served us so well that we've gone 9 months without being too fussed about replacing the old oven! We do still have use of the hobs which helps, but between the combination oven, hobs, slow cooker and George Foreman grill there's not really many meals we can't cook. The only snag really is if I need to microwave something when the oven feature is in use but a bit of careful planning solves that - oh, and a big meal like a roast for any more than 2 people may be a bit tricky space-wise!
We're getting the new oven at Christmas time but I imagine we'll keep the combination one and still use that the majority of the time unless we need the extra space.

manicmidget99 · 3 September 2012 at 6:57PM

:T Thanks for all your replies - all very helpful.
We are planning on getting a new microwave once the kitchen is done so will look into buying a combination one soon as that would likely be the most useful and at least I wont have spent out on something that I probably wont use again.
I am looking through the old style board for recipes that I can freeze.

Thanks again

Freezer food to prepare for big kitchen makeover!

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