Batch cooking ideas please

Seakay

Generally it is advised to keep meat in the freezer for 3 months, but I have to admit that I don't worry about that too much myself. It is true, howeverr, that after 6 months freezer burn and evaporation can start to alter the texture and consisency of dishes in quite a noticeable way.

There is a thread on another forum all about reheating with links to yet more forums!
http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=43412

MrsGSR

Hi, before we had our daughter I batched cooked the following
Chilli
Curry sauce (defrost and add meat)
bolonaise
lasagne
Made meatballs from scratch to freeze
tomato pasta sauce
Hubby works with freezers and he advises that you use decent containers (we collect the plastic ones from takeaways which hold two portions of whatever it is) and that you don't keep them frozen for any longer than 6 months because the food could get freezer burn (but this also comes down to using decent containers)
Most things you can cook from frozen, so I would chuck the meatballs frozen into a deforsted and heated through sauce but I would defrost the curry sauce before adding meat to it.
Also another thing I would say is to cook meals that can be eaten with one hand cos in the early weeks one or the other of you will only have one hand free! so don't be cooking spaguetti with your bolonaise!

squeaky

We have lots of threads on batch cooking which are well worth a browse... batch cooking threads here on Old Style MoneySaving


The main thread is this one:- Batch cooking ideas please and I'll add your query to it later.

Good luck

esmf73

Definately have to agree with the one handedness comment. In the early days of having DS1 and then 17 months later DS2 hubby and I often thought about bringing out a cookbook of things you can cook and then eat with one hand whilst holding baby with toddler clinging to your leg.

Best of luck xxx

plumtreebabe

Although if she is going to breastfeed strong chillies and curries may affect baby through her milk - he/she may not like it! Don't be put off completely though, it didn't affect my daughter but it did affect my friend.

artichoke

re currys /chillis and breast milk

i craved curry throughtout my pg and also ate it loads whilst bfing as well...

my kids now both love hot curries and DD chose to go the our local Indian Restaurant for her 6th birthday meal...

although i do know other mums whose kids reacted badly to garlic, chillie and even fish which went through into breastmilk and caused stomach pain for the babies...

art

FelinePrincess

Hi,

I fell downstairs yesterday and hurt my tailbone badly, it's very painful to sit down and bend down but standing up and walking about isn't too bad, I'm getting really bored now and want to do something constructive but am really short of money and obviously am limited as to what I can do with my injury..

Any ideas of something constructive OS that I can do? Preferably something that will help me save money?

I'd be up for some batch cooking but only have store cupboard items in really.. There is a supermarket very close buy so I could go and buy some ingredients but I'm on a budget so can't spend too much.

Any ideas gratefully appreciated

simmed

I've been doing this a lot, I'm a student. I don't freeze it, just fridge it, because I don't really mind eating something a lot if I like it (e.g. one time I had made a really big spag bol sauce, and had spag bol for both lunch AND dinner over the next 3 or so days) :P

I'm going to branch out though and try a big curry. Lots of onions, peas, mashed up cauliflower, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, chilis, potatoes, any other ideas? (I've only been cooking for a month or so, so very limited experience)

I find Italian and Indian foods are really good because they have thick sauces which you can cram a huge amount of vegetables into and not really notice them.

exlibris

Do a stock-take of food cupboards (if you don't have to bend). Also tidy out clothing drawers and bedroom cupboards. I often find things I have forgotten about or that needs mending which I can do if I am really bored!

FairyPrincessk

Do your ironing, organize your kitchen cupboards (the ones up high), wash anything that could use a good scrub in the sink (knick knacks, artificial flowers, dishes that you might have on display such as in a Welsh dresser etc).

Not sure any of these will 'save' you money but they are things that have to be done sometimes so maybe they will save you time later.