Batch cooking and freezing

flower10

Hi all,


I wonder if anyone could advise me- I'm struggling to get my head round how best to do this.


I want to start batch cooking and freezing meals more (I already batch cook, but have the same for a few days running which gets boring, so its the freezing bit I'd like help with).


1- When making things like shepherds pie, lasagne etc, do you freeze them before or after baking them?


2- If freezing before baking, I gather they need oven heating to cook/reheat. What containers do you freeze and then cook the meal in? The containers I have to freeze food in are a completely different shape to the ones I have to cook the meal in, so I'm struggling to see logistically how to get the meal from freezer to oven if pre-made.


3- Is it possible to cook food from frozen? My OH complains about planning what to eat in advance (e.g. in the morning for evening meal). Or whats the quickest way to defrost food (I'm not keen on microwave as it seems to dry food up).


Thanks in anticipation

Generali

flower10 wrote: »

Hi all,


I wonder if anyone could advise me- I'm struggling to get my head round how best to do this.


I want to start batch cooking and freezing meals more (I already batch cook, but have the same for a few days running which gets boring, so its the freezing bit I'd like help with).


1- When making things like shepherds pie, lasagne etc, do you freeze them before or after baking them?


2- If freezing before baking, I gather they need oven heating to cook/reheat. What containers do you freeze and then cook the meal in? The containers I have to freeze food in are a completely different shape to the ones I have to cook the meal in, so I'm struggling to see logistically how to get the meal from freezer to oven if pre-made.


3- Is it possible to cook food from frozen? My OH complains about planning what to eat in advance (e.g. in the morning for evening meal). Or whats the quickest way to defrost food (I'm not keen on microwave as it seems to dry food up).


Thanks in anticipation

If freezing things like pie fillings I line the dish I'm going to use to reheat it in with clingfilm. Once its frozen I'll transfer the filling to a zip lock bag.

I freeze pie fillings like this and get them out the night before I use it. If you want to defrost fast use a microwave (I know), put it in a sealed bag in water or get one of those defrosting plates.

Pollycat

flower10 wrote: »

1- When making things like shepherds pie, lasagne etc, do you freeze them before or after baking them?


2- If freezing before baking, I gather they need oven heating to cook/reheat. What containers do you freeze and then cook the meal in? The containers I have to freeze food in are a completely different shape to the ones I have to cook the meal in, so I'm struggling to see logistically how to get the meal from freezer to oven if pre-made.


3- Is it possible to cook food from frozen? My OH complains about planning what to eat in advance (e.g. in the morning for evening meal). Or whats the quickest way to defrost food (I'm not keen on microwave as it seems to dry food up).


Thanks in anticipation

I do a lot of different types of 'shepherd's pie' bases- some with lamb, beef, turkey/chicken/pork mince.

I add different things - carrots/turnips/onion to beef/lamb and onions/mushrooms/tomatoes to the white mince and add different herbs/sauces.
Mint for lamb, maybe a bit of horseradish sauce for beef.
I make it up as I go along.

I don't freeze it as a finished pie, I freeze the bases and freeze mashed potatoes separately - sometimes I freeze mashed swede and sometimes mashed swede & carrot (if I can buy the diced packs when they are reduced).

I do it this way as you can quickly reheat the base on the hob and reheat the mash in the microwave and put it together so it goes in the oven hot.

I don't think I'd ever cook from frozen.

cat4772

I've started batch cooking for the slow cooker. Last weekend I prepared chili con carne (TVP soya mince and turkey mince mixed). I chopped all the vegetables and mixed everything together then split the raw mixed ingredient between three large ziplock bags and froze. yesterday I took on bag of chilli and left out to defrost, this morning it went into the slow-cooker and will cook on low for 7 hours ready for tea tonight. delicious!

Best part is any leftovers we have can be frozen as I didn't cook any of it originally.

Cat.x

suki1964

I use all different methods

Lasagne for instance I will sometimes make up in the dish then freeze before baking. Other times I bake it, cool it, portion it then double wrap in film and foil and freeze

Casseroles, stews and soups, I portion into freezer bags and freeze

Quiches and some pies, I portion , wrap and freeze

I also use the tin foil dishes you get in pound land and the such as well as the plastic take away trays from the Chinese. The foil dishes are great as you can just bung them in the oven

DebtFree2012

I make them whole (cooked) and freeze as one. They are in small portions in cookware dishes you can eat from then I microwave to heat. I don't want to put my oven on just to heat it as for me I'm trying to keep costs down and the point of batch cooking for me personally is to help with costs and times. Therefore a quick zap in the micro for smaller portions is quicker and not too expensive for a quick home made tea.

I'll watch with interest as I'm off work next week and would like to get the freezer full of nice home made meals.

Lennon

Whatever i'm making I tend to cook a large amount of it then serve the meal and portion up and freeze the leftovers as a finished meal.

If i'm making chilli/bolognaise i'll tend to make about 8 portions worth. When serving the actual meal, make note of how much a portion actually is so you know how much to freeze in each container. Sounds daft but I used to make this mistake a lot and not freeze enough or too much. I just stick them in plastic tupaware then freeze. I'll freeze some as single portions and some as family portions so there is always an option.

I microwave everything straight from frozen and just prepare fresh pasta/rice etc. I do this with bolognaise,chilli,shepherds/cottage pie, curry. Takes less than 10 minutes in microwave for the family portions of most things.

DebtFree2012

Great advice. I need to nip to the pound shop for some tubs.

maman

I make up a SC full of Bolognese sauce and freeze it in portions. Then I can choose whether to have it with pasta, jacket potato or make up into a lasagne so gives a variety.


Same with savoury mince so it can be made up into a cottage pie but sometimes with new potatoes or in a giant Yorkshire.


I find the plastic pots from £land (like the containers from Chinese) are ideal for two people and they stack well in the freezer. Label them with a bit of masking tape so you know what's in them! I think you get 8 for a £ (used to be 10:() so when they get scruffy they're cheap enough to bin.

Pollycat

maman wrote: »

I make up a SC full of Bolognese sauce and freeze it in portions. Then I can choose whether to have it with pasta, jacket potato or make up into a lasagne so gives a variety.


Same with savoury mince so it can be made up into a cottage pie but sometimes with new potatoes or in a giant Yorkshire.


I find the plastic pots from £land (like the containers from Chinese) are ideal for two people and they stack well in the freezer. Label them with a bit of masking tape so you know what's in them! I think you get 8 for a £ (used to be 10:() so when they get scruffy they're cheap enough to bin.

I have a big stock of the Chinese take-away variety and I use them to freeze food but when they've frozen, I take them out and put the food into freezer bags, labelling them carefully.

I can then wash the containers ready for re-use and even if the container was full, it does take slightly less room up in bags.

flower10

Wow thanks everyone for the advice, has given me lots of ideas and things to try:)