Batch cooking ideas please

DebtFree2012

I like the ideas here, one question re lasagne though - do you cook to to completion then freeze and reheat in microwave or part cook? I assume microwave heating will be economical opposed to cooking twice (fresh then defrosted).....
I really like the simple idea of not COOKING anything twice in a 4 week period. I may try to include this, might start with 2 weeks. Thanks.

Ruby789

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

I like the ideas here, one question re lasagne though - do you cook to to completion then freeze and reheat in microwave or part cook? I assume microwave heating will be economical opposed to cooking twice (fresh then defrosted).....

Hi Debtfree2012,

I am the least knowledgable person on this so I hope someone else comes along soon .....

I cook everything to completion and then freeze. I fully defrost before eating, and heat in the microwave, adding a few spoons of water if it looks like it needs it. But I really don't know in honesty!

JulieGeorgiana

Ok with lasagne I make 3 big ones at a time (take 20 minutes longer to make the one) I put it together and before I sprinkle cheese on to bake I freeze it. Then when it's needed I defrost, add cheese and cook in the oven!

However, once fully cooked I often put slices in the fridge or freezer, simply nuke in the microwave from frozen or defrosted or chilled.

Ruby - with regards to interchanging I do keep simular meals together (ie. sausage based, beef based, chicken based) we have chicken as roast, but I try to use the leftovers differently every time. It keeps veriety

LB29

Some recipes are good for using up leftovers. I make a pearl barley risotto, that can have all sorts chucked in. Omlettes, curries and pie are also brillant for leftovers.

maman

I'm curious which/what sort of recipes you've been trying that have proved disastrous. Maybe we could help by guiding you towards some foolproof 'hostess' meals as I remember you saying you wanted to cook for other people.

Ruby789

maman wrote: »

I'm curious which/what sort of recipes you've been trying that have proved disastrous. Maybe we could help by guiding you towards some foolproof 'hostess' meals as I remember you saying you wanted to cook for other people.

Hi Maman,

Thanks for replying. I'm veggie, but the others I want to cook for are not. I don't think this is significant, but it helps explain the recipie choices.

At the moment I only occasionally cook for my boyfriend, he avoids it as much as he can. He is naturally inclined more towards meat, but choses to eat veggie with me (but won't touch meat replacements). With previous boyfriends we've just had seperate meals so I've not had this problem before as I've not cooked for anyone. I have tried all of my normal everyday meals on him, and not one has he ever asked for a repeat of! :rotfl:I'm trying new recipies as I agree my tastes are a bit bland so my palete and my skills need growing.

Sometimes its obvious to me what's gone wrong, but excluding those most of the time they are edible, but nothing is actually delicious .

Here are the last couple of recipies I've tried and my notes. I have spent a lot of time finding ones with high reviews from mixed audiences so I am suprised they're going down so badly:

Moroccan spaghetti: He ate it, as did I, but wasn't memorable.

Kidney bean, carrot and cumin burgers: Liked the texture, but said they were too sweet and a bit sickly. Will double the cumin next time as I agreed they weren't nearly spicy enough. He ate only one of the two I gave him for dinner that day.

Macaroni peas: Didn't love this myself either, suprisingly. But said it was a side dish if anything and not nice having a lot of it.

Roasted Squash and shallots with merguez chickpeas: He hated this. Said the chickpeas were just oily and not spicy at all. I followed the recipie to the letter!

Spicy root and lentil casserole: I made this twice. The second time where I used paste and not curry powder went down better. But nothing remotely like the multitude of 5 star reviews.

Aubergene curry: my fault, I got bored grinding the spices so there was too much debris in the dinner. Learnt a lesson not to cut those corners.

In fact, now that I write it down, he mostly prefers shop bought sauces and ready made veggie bakes to anything I've made - so it's not the veggie thing. He eats a mix of shop and homemade stuff in the week when we don't eat together so it's probably not that either.

We both like spice and curries and chillis etc.... just not the ones I make evidently! He's really not being horrible here btw. He eats it, I just know he doesn't like it and that bothers me.

I would love some ideas of things that people eat that happen to be veggie and are enjoyed by meat eaters

Ladyluck1

I've just discovered the revelation that is 'dump meals' it's an American thing but I've adapted it to suit me
Basically make up most meals an just do the prep, pop them in a gods quality freezer bag and then thaw on the side for an hour and it cooks in the slow cooker all day.
I have in rotation so far;
Chicken curry
Bolognese sauce (also will do a lasagne with this)
Taco chilli
Meatballs
Shredded chicken already cooked
Am adding to this over the next few days so I have 2-3 meals a week in there and also a good way to put all my YS bargains in the freezer as a ready to go meal

maman

Didn't want to read and run but I'm not a veggie so I'll need to think.


Good news that the bf is flexible though.:)


Hopefully some veggies will come to your rescue.

Ruby789

Thanks Maman,

Actually, I think your favourite foolproof non veg recipies will help too. i might just be picking duff recipies, or ones subtely flavoured as thats how i'm naturally inclined?

If I can get the sauces similar to what he's used to he might be happy enough. Anything you'd describe as tasty. My tomato sause is not like jarred stuff no matter what I do for example.

Depth of flavour is maybe what's missing more generally. I've a good stock cupboard, but I've not tried lots of foods, never had a stroganoff for example but found a recipe the other day I might try .... Cream, mushroom and brandy, sounds hideous so he might like it! Lol

JulieGeorgiana

Do you add sugar to your tomato sauces?

Tomatoes are acidic, they need to be calmed by sugar. Salt and pepper to flavour helps too. And Worcestershire sauce is a must. Add a little at a time and taste.

I recommend the 'student cookbook' by Sam stern. You just can't go wrong with his recipes. Many are vegetarian, I think he has a vegetarian cookbook too. Check out the library.

Ps. He recommends lemon juice in tomato sauce, I admit it tastes amazing

Just remember to taste, too acidic = more sugar, too bland = salt, pepper

Hope I helped some x