Batch freezing

funkymonkey

hi everyone - hope youre all having a fab evening! i keep looking through peoples meal plans for inspiration and i have a question about batch freezing.

1' What containers do you use?

2' How do you defrost it/cook it?

3' What kinds of things do you freeze? - ive seen chilli's and curry's but wondered about things with beans in etc - will they go mushy when you defrost?

Any ideas on where to buy cheap containers will also be gratefully recieved.


As always thanks in advance!

Pink.

Hi funkymonkey,

I tend to use old ice cream containers/margarine/takeaway containers or freezer bags etc for most things. For the likes of lasagne, pies etc I line the dish with cling film or tin foil, freeze in the dish and once frozen, remove from the dish and wrap it well to stop freezer burn. Doing this means I can re-use the dish as much as I want and when I am ready to defrost the meal it will easily fit into the dish.

Other Old Stylers have posted what they use on this thread:

Freezer containers (merged threads)

I usually defrost the food completely before cooking. I know it's recommended that food is defrosted in the fridge but I find that takes too long so my usual method is to lift it out of the freezer last thing at night and leave it (covered) on the worktop in the cool kitchen until morning. In the morning I pop it into the fridge until I'm ready to re-heat it. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry I use the microwave to defrost but I find it a bit hit and miss.

I prefer to re-heat food in the oven or on the hob although I know others like the microwave. I think it's just down to personal choice. As long as you make sure that the food is piping hot before serving it should be fine.

I do a lot of batch cooking, some favourites are bolognese sauce which can then be made into chilli, lasagne etc, casseroles, pies, soups, baking etc. I freeze almost anything that is leftover....it's a great way to have homemade 'ready meals' that can be pulled out of the freezer when someone in the family needs to eat earlier or later than the rest of us.

There are many more ideas for batch cooking on these threads:

Cooking for the Freezer..

Batch cooking ideas please

Meal building blocks for the freezer

I'll add your thread to the Cooking for the Freezer thread later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

katholicos

I use (flat bottomed) Pour & Store freezer bags for soups (about 89p for 8 from Home Bargains), casseroles and any other meals i with a fair amount of liquid in them (gravy/sauce etc). Other than that i use Baco (sp) freezer bags, clingfilm and foil and also if i am freezing leftovers etc i use small lock and lock containers.

funkymonkey

Oh my goodness a whole section! I should have checked before I asked. Thanks for having the patience to let me know pink and ta very much for the bag suggestions kath x