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What have you batch cooked?

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sweetilemon
sweetilemon Posts: 2,243 Forumite
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in Old style MoneySaving
Well I spent my day batch cooking for the freezer and am now stocked up with:

Chilli, bolognaise, chicken tikka, squash soup, califlower&broccoli cheese, marinaded chicken & veg in fajita spice and cooked and sliced pork (frozen apple juice) and roasted a chicken for the weeks lunches.

I find it a lot easier to have things cooked and works out cost effective than back and forth to the shop. I was guessing it's common practice here, what have you all cooked to freeze recently? What are your favorites?

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  • determined_new_ms
    determined_new_ms Posts: 7,825 Forumite
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    yesterday I made 2 lasagna's - one for tonight and one in the freezer for next week. Must say I was pretty impressed with myself! Think from now on I'm going to double up on something once a week and put a second in the freezer. Makes life so much easier on days I'm working
    DF as at 30/12/16
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  • Towser
    Towser Posts: 1,303 Forumite
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    Bolognese it seems to be my only successful one that I do regularly.

    I will try to do more especially doubling up on successful recipes.

    Apple crumble has always been a good one too.

    It's all useful stuff especially on swimming night when need something quick avoiding the temptation of a take away.
  • jackyann
    jackyann Posts: 3,433 Forumite
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    I am careful with batch cooking as some things freeze better than others. I do think that mince, in all its guises freezes well, but am wary of freezing anything spicy for too long.
    I tend to double up, but eat the frozen thing within a couple of weeks. I think this works well for the moussaka / shepherd's pie / lasagne style dishes

    I do a lot of ' building block ' freezing, portions of basic mince that I then add spices to, for example.
  • maman
    maman Posts: 28,618 Forumite
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    jackyann wrote: »
    I am careful with batch cooking as some things freeze better than others. I do think that mince, in all its guises freezes well, but am wary of freezing anything spicy for too long.
    I tend to double up, but eat the frozen thing within a couple of weeks. I think this works well for the moussaka / shepherd's pie / lasagne style dishes

    I do a lot of ' building block ' freezing, portions of basic mince that I then add spices to, for example.


    That's strange. I always think that chilli tastes better after it's been frozen. It seems to marinate even in the freezer.


    On average, I keep frozen things for 5-6 weeks. I cook for 2 generally so when I do a SC of, say, Bolognese then I end up with about 5-6 meals for one a week maximum.


    Last weekend I made pork burgers from YS pork. We had some on Saturday and I've got 3 more portions left.


    Yesterday I did 'singing swede'. I'm rubbish at cooking swede so I find this the best way. I made two dishes of carrot and swede mash. We ate one yesterday and there's one in the freezer.


    Yesterday we ate the last of the braised, red cabbage from the freezer so replacing that is next on my list.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    I don't batch cook, my freezer's too small. When I make something in the slow cooker that's enough for 4-5 meals, or when there's a pie that is sliced into quarters, I try to eat as many portions as I can face in the next 2-3 days before finally freezing the remaining portions that can't be faced/eaten.
  • rach_k
    rach_k Posts: 2,236 Forumite
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    sweetilemon wrote: »
    Chilli, bolognaise, chicken tikka, squash soup, califlower&broccoli cheese, marinaded chicken & veg in fajita spice and cooked and sliced pork (frozen apple juice) and roasted a chicken for the weeks lunches.

    Do you have any tips for cauliflower(and broccoli?) cheese please? I've made cauliflower cheese before and eaten it on the same day but I've never tried to freeze it. I've read that the cheese sauce can split but I'm happy to mix it after reheating! Is it possible to do a whole cauli or do you have to split it into florets? Sorry for the million questions. Any tips would be much appreciated.
  • jackyann
    jackyann Posts: 3,433 Forumite
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    maman - I too batch cook mashed veg and braised red cabbage (wonderful). I wonder what spices you use in your chilli? It may just be a question of individual taste, but I do wonder if, for instance, cayenne pepper / chilli powder does less well in the freezer than chopped fresh chillies?

    I also find that stews (diced beef,lamb etc) seem to dry out a bit in the freezer. However, mine is quite small, so I can use things within a few weeks.
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