Batch cooking ideas please

karren

I bulk cook he really once a week, then I prepare a slow cooker meal and put in zip lock bag as that gets thrown in before an early shift so no hassle, as a working parent it's a God send and I know what is in the meal so no additives

zippychick

ive merged this with our batch cooking thread

Zip

sixtiesgal_2

Hi all, I am trying to make an effort with my slow cooker and doing some batch cooking and freezing. So far its working and saving me money to boot

However, I would like some advice. How long can the meals be stored in the freezer before having to be used up?

I know its said you can reheat chicken, I want to do some chicken dishes but looked at some chicken in M&S today and it said 'do not reheat' on the back of the packet so is this a no no?

So far meals I am thinking about and a couple I have cooked so far are: sausage casserole, mince (bolognaise), chicken casserole and corned beef hash.

justjohn

we batch cook bolognas, Chilli, mince in gravy, curry
chicken /beef/venison

M&S is expensive
We are a family of 4 , we never have a problem with the life of food from the freezer....think I have a couple of un-cooked legs of lamb in freezer that are over 1.5 year old lol

Some of our batch cooked stuff is probably around 6 months old lol

Cooking fresh chicken then freezing the prepped meal is fine.

we have a chest freezer and a fridge freezer.

DomRavioli

Try the massive cooking sticky at the top of the group. Most of that can be batch cooked.

Steve059

My "rule of thumb" for frozen home-cooked meals is 3 months. I do only have a fridge/freezer, so have to keep the contents under control.

If you can't reheat the M&S chicken dishes, then I presume that they've already been frozen and are meant to be eaten cold.

wishies_x

Hi everyone,

I didn't really know where this thread would squeeze in so sorry if it's not appropriate!

So I am 5months pregnant and have a 14 month old, me and the hubby are looking At ways to save money and our shopping is one of them! I have stumbled across a few threads on here of people batch cooking and really think this would be a good way to save pennies. I just have no idea where to start.

I am so undomesticated it's unreal, before LO came along me and DH would just eat junk food, since having little one we are eating healthier but not very adventurous - mainly because all yummy recipes have lots of ingredients we don't have however I think it's time I start ex stocking up, once I have them I have them!

Anyway, batch cooking. How do I know what I can freeze? Do I have to defrost first? Do I even cook things first (eg lasagne, do I just make it up prior to the cooking in the oven stage). I am the most paranoid mummy and pregnant person ever and every bit of meat me and DS eat is cremated so this will be quite a scary thing for me to do! I actually froze chicken breasts the other day, took them out to defrost in the fridge (despite mum telling me to defrost at room temp) anyway a day and a half later they finally defrosted but I felt it took too long and threw them out! I am an absolute nightmare whilst pregnant when it comes to food, but money is tight and I need to make an effort! Any help would be appreciated xx

cottage_retreatist

hey wishies_x!

I will try and answer some of your questions though I am sure there are some more experienced batch cookers who might be able to come by and give some more substantive info.

Firstly - almost everything can be frozen - take a look on google or a website such as this one for some further info - http://www.helpwithcooking.com/food-storage/foods-freeze-well.html

the most important thing about eating food that has been frozen is letting it defrost - if it is not a warm day then doing this somewhere on the kitchen counter (on a plate) is fine! And also making sure it is piping hot before eating it!

I make a lot of lasagnes for freezer -they are my weakness and the way I do it that works best form experience is making up the meat sauce and the bechemel sauce, making sure they are cool and then layering them up with the lasagne sheets and cheese on the top then putting in the freezer. I even use those foil trays like takeaway containers so I can remove it from freezer, let it defrost, bung in the oven then throw the foil container away once we have eaten! Minimal hassel!

Some of my favourite meals for freezer cooking are:
lasagne
bolognese (just make a giant vat and portion up to make lots of different varieties)
fish pie mix
beef and pepper soup: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/stuffed-pepper-soup.html (i leave out the rice and add that once it cook it to eat!)
mac and cheese - sometimes comfort food is a must!!
pizza - i make a batch of dough and then half-cook it then put HM tomato sauce and veg/cheese on-top then freeze ready to bung into oven from frozen - just cook lower ie 150-60 instead of 180 to make sure it doesn't turn to cinders!

Gosh - i'm sure other suggestions will come along! At the time batch cooking does seem scary but i guarantee it makes evenings so much nicer when you can grab a foil tray and know your work has paid off!!!

xx

flea72

How i freeze it, depends on how i will reheat. In the case of lasagne/shepherds pie, i reheat by microwave, so that means i cook it before freezing. Raw Chicken and fish are the only things im wary of cooking from frozen, everything else is cooked straight from freezer

As i like crusty pastry on my pies, i reheat them jn the oven, so this means i freeze them uncooked (filling has been cooked tho)

Its all a case of trying and see what works for you. Personally im never organised enough to remember to get stuff out in the morning to,defrost ready for tea, so that why i tend to reheat from frozen. So i tend to cook all meat before freezing (dont buy chickem breasts i buy whole chickens, roast, portion up, freeze, then use from frozen).

evie451

Batch cooking and freezing is a great idea it saves money and its a lot healthier but its can be hard to know where to start!

tbh I think batch cooking mince (unless your veggie!) is a great way to start. I do two big packs of mince on the hob with 2/3 onions garlic red wine, chopped toms, beef stock and bay leaves its pretty wet to start with and reduces down bubbling away for quite a while.

its not bolognese/lasagne or sheperds pie or Chilli yet but it can be turned into any of these quickly by adding a few bits that you have in the cupboard at the time eg few spices and a can of kidney beans and its chilli, extra passatta and its bolognese etc
I portion it up into ziplock bags and either roll it up or leave it flat to freeze it depending on the room ive got. itll defrost really quickly if its flat in a ziplock you are then cooking it again to piping hot so no issues with freezing etc

If i fancy lasagnes I do them in the takeaway containers already mentioned that you can get int he supermarkets make it all up and then freeze it. defrosting in the fridge overnight or on the counter in the morning if you are cooking it through properly it wont matter.

I do curries and soup bases pretty regularly too...........a lot of what you do will depend on what you like though! curries again overnight to defrost, soup bases go straight in the slow cooker all day! :rotfl:

remember no one really starts off that organised or domesticated its a learning curve