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.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Home made ready meals

Options
17810121320

Comments

  • marking - I do batch cooking all the time but I'm never totally happy with my results. Hoping for inspiration here
    Keep calm and carry on
  • helenut
    helenut Posts: 79 Forumite
    I'm going for a 2 week course in Kent next week (all the way from Warrington) and I need some help for a variety of food I can cook when I'm down there.

    The accomodation is like student halls - 14 people sharing one kitchen (2 electric rings on a hob and a small oven). Last time I was there, cooking anything was an absolute nightmare. I usually ended up going to the pub for dinner as it was quicker and easier but very expensive and I can't afford to do that again.

    As we can get there on the Sunday and the lectures don't start until the Monday I was thinking I could go early and cook everything beforehand and just add pasta/rice/whatever on the day depending on what I cook.

    Breakfast and lunch gets provided so it is just the dinners. Lectures are everyday and start at 8ish and finish at 6ish depending on the day and I am usually starving by the time I get back so I need something relatively quick.

    Does anyone have any ideas? What would you do or cook in this situation? And how would you prepare before hand?
  • krlyr
    krlyr Posts: 5,993 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Is there storage, e.g. fridge and freezer? Is there a microwave? I'd be tempted to prepare complete meals, e.g. chicken pasta, cottage pie, curry and rice, etc. all together, and zap in microwave or chuck at the bottom of the oven to heat up while others are cooking, save worrying about any preparation. Does depend on having the ability to store the ready-made meals though.

    Alternatively, pack something to eat at 6pm - fruit, cereal, something snacky that will fill you up for a few hours and eat dinner later, once the kitchen has quietened down.
  • helenut
    helenut Posts: 79 Forumite
    Oh yes, forgot to mention that. There are 2 microwaves and 2 fridge-freezers, but with 14 people they get full very quickly!
  • krlyr
    krlyr Posts: 5,993 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 12 March 2012 at 12:51PM
    Another idea, are you friendly with any of the people on the course? Perhaps get in touch now and see if they'd be up for pooling resources - buy the food and split the bill, or agree to cook a 2-person portion of each dinner and alternative days/weeks. With only one of you needing to get into the kitchen to cook, it cuts down the number of bodies clogging it up. Maybe even arrange it between the whole group - 14 people, 14 days, someone can cook a big batch of casserole/mince/stew/whatever for everyone to share?

    Is there electricity in your own room? If you own or can borrow a slowcooker, you could prepare dinner in the morning, leave it on low all day and come home to it ready-cooked. You could try some quicker alternatives to rice/pasta/potatoes/etc. such as a nice crusty roll to go with a casserole, or couscous in place of rice (only takes a few mins with water from a kettle)?
    You could try to borrow a mini fridge to store cooked meals in your own space, neatly packed takeaway blocks would make use of the space and you could always freeze the food beforehand - it'll slowly defrost in the fridge and perhaps stay a bit fresher (not sure if mini fridges are as powerful as the real deal). Or even just freeze everything and pack a cool box, if you make sure you bulk out the space left when you remove a meal, the meals further down shouldn't defrost that quickly and you could get away without needing freezer space until a good few days into the course - by then, others will have got through the food they've brought along with them (if they're not being greedy and hogging the space with 2 week's worth of food) and made room for you to freeze a second batch of food prepared after week 1.
  • GreenQueen
    GreenQueen Posts: 539 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Photogenic
    Just sitting here eating noodles for my lunch. They're the fine ones, and you just need to put boiling water over them for 2-3 minutes and then drain. I've got them with left over sweet and sour veg from the weekend, but they're also great with shredded, cooked chicken or prawns and chopped veg - things like peppers, carrots, onions, mushrooms that can be stirfried quickly or even eaten raw. Good for an office with lots of people and limited cooking facilities (in our case kettle and microwave).

    GQ
    2021 - mission declutter and clean - 0/2021
  • zippychick
    zippychick Posts: 9,339 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men :cool:
    Norn Iron club member #380

  • pavlovs_dog
    pavlovs_dog Posts: 10,215 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I need help! We have just had a huge change to our circumstances. To avoid redundancy, OH has had to accept a change of hours and a 25% pay cut. The pay cut means we need to take tighter control of our grocery spends but it will also have a huge impact on our approach to meals and food. For 5 nights out of 7, we will no longer be able to eat our evening meal together. He will take his to work to reheat on his break, and I will reheat mine when I get home.

    The nature of our hours means that neither of us will have much time, never mind inclination, to cook on a daily basis. What I need is a bank of healthy, balanced meals that can be batch cooked in advance, frozen as complete meals (e.g adding rice to a curry) in individual portions, defrosted and then reheated in a microwave. This is a long term, ongoing situation so I want to build up a good repertoire to prevent boredom kicking in. I also need meals that I can get lots of veg into, as I don't fancy getting scurvy on account of OH's antisocial shifts :D We'll both eat pretty much anything.

    I know we have many threads on batch cooking for the freezer, but the focus seems to be on meal building blocks rather than HM ready meals.

    All ideas, advice and tips gratefully received.

    Ideas so far include:

    spaghetti bolognaise (i'm assuming pasta freezes ok)?
    lasagne
    pasta & meatballs
    curry & rice
    stew/casserole (do dumplings freeze ok)?
    soup
    shepherds pie/hotpot
    fish pie
    ratatouille (does cous cous freeze?)
    know thyself
    Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus...
  • pavlovs_dog
    pavlovs_dog Posts: 10,215 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    i should add that I can cook and bake, have a slow cooker, and the space for a 2nd freezer if required.
    know thyself
    Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus...
  • Popperwell
    Popperwell Posts: 5,088 Forumite
    Consider a microwave combi and/or if chosen carefully a halogen oven too...
    "A government afraid of its citizens is a Democracy. Citizens afraid of government is tyranny!" ~Thomas Jefferson

    "Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in" ~ Alan Alda
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 244K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.