Once a month cooking

Uniscots97

What about HM burgers? Do I cook these then freeze them or just prepare and freeze? Does anyone have a good recipe?

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unixgirluk wrote: »

What about HM burgers? Do I cook these then freeze them or just prepare and freeze? Does anyone have a good recipe?

Hi unixgirl,

As long as meat hasn't been previously frozen they'd be best frozen uncooked. If it has been frozen before then you'll need to cook them first.

There are lots of recipes and tips on this older thread:

HM Burgers!

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rach

thanks for this thread. I am having a major lifestyle change soon: getting married and living together for first time, moving town and into new flat, and starting a 9-5 job including an hour long commute each way!! I was just talking to my mum the other day about how to manage the cooking. OH will cook but i have a feeling i will do the bulk of it...

have been thinking about doing a fortnightly menu plan (OH's mum used to plan for a month so he is used to the idea) and having cooking days every few weeks to stock up the freezer. mum was saying about making an extra one for the freezer when cooking lasagne etc. we plan to eat out or take away on a friday (and sometimes saturday!) and we like the occasional easy comfort meal like fish fingers & waffles. we will also go to OH's parents every couple of weeks for a sunday roast.if anyone is interested i will post my potential plan here.

lindens

angelavdavis wrote: »

Yes I regularly batch cook on a Sunday usually. Answers below to your specific questions. I do it to keep costs down, ensure OH is eating properly if I am working away, reduce the temptation to get a takeaway and also to keep the salt/sugar intake down.



Its quite satisfying seeing a full up freezer with all your HM goodies. Like Cat, I tend to put stuff into freezer bags or freezer/oven proof containers to freeze. Believe it or not, I only have a 2.5 draw freezer, but it is usually full up when I have finished! I would probably do even more if I had the room!!

oooh whats cauliflower and broccolli bake please?

angelavdavis

Lightly boiled cauliflower and brocolli (sometimes I add leeks on top too), put into an ovenproof dish, covered in a cheese sauce, topped with grated cheese and a few breadcrumbs to add crunch.

I usually put in the oven at the same time as the roast potatoes, but if it is freshly made, I would just put under the grill.

stefejb

Ooooh I did this once - the cooking day was hell on wheels and then I lost the notes of what we were having all month and of course nothing was properly labelled - nah never again -

rosieben

I used to do a bake up once a month - large and small cakes, savoury and sweet pies and tarts, quiches; but that was in the days when I was feeding 4 teenagers and there was never enough food to fil them all up

I used to bake and freeze it quickly - I had tried cooking extra and putting up main meals for the next day but they never lasted that long so didnt dare leave extra cake sitting in the kitchen!

DdraigGoch

Having just fallen over this thead, I thought I'd say that I've done the OAMC a few times and yes, the kitchen ALWAYS looks like a hurricane's been through, plus I'm useless for anything for the rest of the weekend! On the other hand, it does mean that the month is menu planned and the savings can be brilliant. Is it worth it? Depends how much you like batch cooking. I'm ok with it, but I doubt if I'm ever going to be that organised again ....

Westie69

Hello - new to this forum, but I juast had to put in my bit.
I quite often make up a big batch of either; curry (usually chicken), chilli, stew (especially for the winter), pasta sauces, and of course a variety of soups. I have even started to make up 'shepherds and cottage pie filling', and also, fish pie filling. My partner said he'd used turkey, but we're not sure how to describe that, so I tend to write 'turkey shepherds pie filling' on the label. I bulk buy the foil containers from makro, as they come with nice clean cardboard lids to write the contents and date it was cooked on.
I have very recently started to list all freezer & cupboard contents onto a spreadsheet, and sort them by expiry date. That way, I just buy veg or cook pasta/rice to go with the meals. Certainly helps with the meal planning aspect, as you have to defrost it, but it's also making the shopping easier.

Westie69

I love it, the whole day spent making lots of lovely food, the different smells, and also, as my Nan always said, some things are better the next day. This is just as true for things that have been cooked before, and then defrosted. I've been doing it for years to be honest, but never really thought of the money saving aspect, just the time saving, and the fact that I can have a really nice home cooked meal during the week when I least want to have to be creative from scratch in the kitchen!