How do you freeze your batch cooking?

lauhol1980

Hi there

I'm a bit of a lurker on these boards and have been picking up some great tips :j so a BIG thank you :beer: to all who post.
Now, as I've been lurking I have been frantically copying and pasting recipes that other posters have provided and have been giving them a try. Now a lot of you suggest batch cooking which sounds a great idea to me and as I have a tall upright freezer, I have plenty of space. Now for the stupid question..how do you freeze your batch cooking?! I get how you freeze say, spag bol or chilli because you can transfer that to tubs etc but what about lasagne or pie or shepherds pie?! Do you leave it in the dish you cooked it in and freeze it as is or do you transfer it to another container? And if you transfer it to another contain how do you do that without the end result resembling something like a disaster:rolleyes: ?!
Sorry, said it was a stupid question but I really just don't know and would like to start batch cooking.

TIA:D

exlibris

I leave them in the dish they are cooked in. I have gradually acquired oval, square or oblong dishes as the round casserole ones take up more room. When frozen, the meals are covered in plastic bags and then stacked in the freezer. The bags are washed and re-used when the meal is taken out of the freezer.

chocolateteddy

When I cook lasagne I take out what we need for tea then let the rest cool down then using a knife cut it into portion sizes and gently using a big spoon put either into tin foil tray (like you get if you have chinese, available from supermarkets) or freezable containers They still look like lasagne when defrosted as long as they are cool when transferred If they are still hot find they go everywhere!!!!!
HTH

lauhol1980

Thanks for the replies. Didn't think about letting them cool down first chocolateteddy. I suppose as it cools it sort of sets? I was just concerned that I was going to batch cook lots of lovely meals and by the time I had transferred them to the freezer they were going to resemble something like road kill, lol!!!

pollyanna24

I must admit I have never frozen lasagne or shepherd's pie.

For lasagne, I have always frozen the bolegnese sauce in a tub. Then when it's defrosted, it can be either made into lasagne or just heated up to be spag bol.

Same goes for shepherds pie. I freeze the cooked mince/gravy mixture, then when thawed, it can be just eaten like that or made into shepherd's pie.

But if I do want to start freezing them, they can be frozen completely cooked? I.e. the pasta sheets in lasagne and the mash on top on shepherd's pie?

If so, how do you heat it up again? Just in the oven? For how long and at what temp?

ashbart

I cook and freeze the mince part of shepherds pie (like I do spag bol) and then when I want to have it, I do fresh mash and stick it on the top and cook as normal.

ClaireLR

I've frozen shephers pie before in portions, when I want some I just pop it out of the container (all in individual portions) and defrost in the microwave before nuking on high heat until everythings piping hot.

Not sure about oven temps tho, I'm a microwave queen! I suppose it's trial and error depending on your oven, I'd just check everything is really hot all the way through before serving, should be fine.

dolly_day_dream

Bolognaise sauce, chilli and their vegan counterparts are frozen in plastic containers from poundland. I can use them again and again and they stack really well in the freezer. I also use them for curry sauce, soups, and mashed potato. Lasagne and mousakka and sheps pie tend to go into the longer metal containers and these are reheated in the oven. These containers are then washed and reused but do not last as long as the plastic ones. I have to portion out all of my bulk cooking because I am vegan and DD is not. This way we can have the same meal but each suited if you see what I mean. This also means that we can eat a home cooked meal even if we are past the point of being able to cook when we get in.

exlibris

pollyanna24 wrote: »

I must admit I have never frozen lasagne or shepherd's pie.

But if I do want to start freezing them, they can be frozen completely cooked? I.e. the pasta sheets in lasagne and the mash on top on shepherd's pie?


I make mine up as complete dishes ie. layering the lasagne and sauces and putting the mash on the mince for the shepherd's pie. I leave the cheese on top of the lasagne unmelted and then when it is heated it doesn't overcook. I usually make 2 or 3 and cook one off completely for that day and freeze the rest.

I try to take a pie out in the morning and leave to defrost in the fridge. I would heat them in the microwave but OH likes his mash on the shepherds pie brown so I flash them under the grill to brown. (The aim is to cut down the time the oven is on to heat one meal)

HTH

buxtonrabbitgreen

I know what you mean 1980. I had a session of making pies and crumbles with a lot of free fruit and ended up with all my glass pie plates in the freezer. Luckily there is a charity shop in the villiage so I just went and bought some more. I have not tried freezing lasagne but I have frozen leftover shepherds pie. I leave it to cool. then reheat in the miclrowave. I also freeze any mince based sauce and freeze in plastic (chinese) boxes.