Batch cooking.

Whispered

Sorry if there is a thread on this already. I did a quick search but am on mobile so may have missed it.

I'm looking for batch cooking recipes and tips please. Complete beginner so from tips on what containers I should stock up on, reasonable quantities to make for freezing, recipes/suggestions for whole meals as well as components etc

I'd like to save some money on cooking, have healthy home made food in the freezer and be able to give more variety in our diets.

Thanks.

RacoonQueen

I buy containers from dealz. You can get 8 - 12 containers (depending on size) for 1.50. Plastic ones are reusable, microwave and dishwasher safe also. The smaller ones are quite handy too as they fit a real sized portion (not the over sized portions many of us eat) so can help with portion control. They also do packets of the silver takeaway type containers. Quality isn't great with the plastic ones but you get a few uses out of each one.
When I batch cook I normally do lasagna, cottage pie, spag bol and chicken and veg curry (homemade none of these things are unhealthy) - in colder months stew, soup work well too - no space in my home freezer for most of this stuff though so ended up recently storing stuff in work
So much more you could do with batch cooking, stuff can be frozen for months - when I do lasagna I get about 14 portions of it so thats weeks worth of lunch for work when rotated with other lunches.

ToxicPaddy

Hey OP,

It's definitely worth doing and not only saves a lot of money, but guarantees that you have good quality healthy food to hand any day of the week. Spend one weekend a month cooking up big batches of soups etc and the will last you a month or more.

Ikea have these very high quality containers of various sizes

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/products/cookware/food-storage-organising/food-savers/

We use the FÖRTROLIG glass/pyrex bottom with thick plastic top and a removable rubber seal (for better cleaning). I've had the same ones for over 2 years now and they are used almost daily with no issues what so ever. I think they start around €2.50 each and come in sizes from a small soup bowl to ones large enough to hold a whole roast chicken.

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/products/cookware/food-storage-organising/f%C3%B6rtrolig-food-container-clear-glass-art-30233786/


While you're there get a couple of these 10L pots, perfect for large quantities of soups, curries and chillies

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/products/cookware/pots-pans/ikea-365-stockpot-with-lid-stainless-steel-glass-art-50256748/


Jeez i sound like a walking advertisement for Ikea but I do promise I have no links with the store or business :D:D


As RacoonQueen listed some perfect recopies already, I wont need to repeat.

The BBC food website is where I found most of my recipes and most are very straight forward to follow and keep. Create an account, log in, browse by category, food type, ingredient etc and save them for future reference or print out and laminate (so they can be wiped clean). then stick in a folder that's handy for the kitchen

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

Whispered

Thanks! I ended up in the supermarket shortly after posting so I got started this evening. I've been cooking since 8:30pm until a few mins ago but have the following ready to freeze.

Crustless quiche
Stuffed baked potatoes
Cauliflower and pasta cheesy bake
Roast chicken (shredded and portioned)
Lentil pie
Smoothie bags

Then tomorrow I'm going to do spaghetti bolegnese and make 4 times the usual quantity, I'll make a batch of soup too. Wednesday I'll do the same with a chicken curry and thursday will be spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

I didn't manage to get containers today so everything is frozen in bags or wrapped on a plate. Messy and a bit stressful sorting that so containers are a priority. Any excuse for a trip to ikea!

The foil containers, can you bake in them or are they for storage only?

tara83

I find dishes can be dry when defrosted even before reheating. Do you add more sauce to the likes of cottage pie before freezing or am I doing something wrong?

Mellor

tara83 wrote: »

I find dishes can be dry when defrosted even before reheating. Do you add more sauce to the likes of cottage pie before freezing or am I doing something wrong?

Dishes that freeze tend to be saucey dishes. Bolognaise, curries, stews, hot pots, etc.
There should be enough gravy/sauce mixed with the meat in a Shepard's pie to keep it moist. Unless you are one of those weirdos that like to put potato on top of dry mince and call it shepards pie.

jonnybravo

BBC good food website is great for recipes. Three of my favorites are below. I generally make double of the Chicken & Chorizo and Chilli Con Carne. I generally just freeze in small freezer bags from Tesco.



http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1167651/chicken-and-chorizo-jambalaya

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12798/chicken-tikka-masala

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3228/chilli-con-carne

souter

Without wanting to sound like another shill, and a bit OCD - invest in your containers and stick by them. It's a PITA trying to find matching lids if you have a hodgepodge of different "food preservation solutions".
Personally, I'd recommend Addis, http://www.addis.co.uk/kitchen-and-food-storage/food-containers/seal-tight.html - they've outlasted everything else we've used and they stack (and get an individual portion to work without leaking).
That being said, for freezing off family meal sized portion any old yoke will do - ice cream tubs are handy.
Another thing to look at is tinfoil and waxed paper disposable (or use a couple times if you are mean enough to clean them) casserole dishes. Great for pies and lasagne.
A good way to get going is to double up on meals - half for eating, half for freezing. Just don't make them too tasty or you'll be fighting off the seconds vultures.
Oh yeah, last thing - rotate. Every time you put something the freezer see if you can move something up from the bottom. I know the proper solution is to date and label everything, but that is so too much hassle if you have a reasonable turnover.

Whispered

So just completed my first week of batch cooking. The first night I made a few dishes and also cooked a bit during the week so currently in the freezer I have a lentil pie x 2 (one of these in the fridge for dinner later too), chicken and sweet potato curry x 2, spaghetti bolognese x 3, a couple of baked and stuffed potatoes, some crustless quiche and a heap of smoothie bags. Today, while the lentil pie is in the oven I'll cook some individual portions of spinach and ricotta lasagna for during the week. I think I'll get away then next week with barely cooking dinners at all.

Definitely need to get proper containers. I did get those foil ones and I'll try cooking the lasagna in them today and see how we fare out.

Absolutely sure that having easy lunch things there is improving my little fellas diet. I'm careful about processed foods anyway, but did notice myself falling back on sandwiches for lunch a lot and once a week or so potato waffles. Money saved so far is negligible, but I think this week will show a difference. I've picked up sides (pasta, bread, rice) and fresh veggies in the farmers market to the tune of €25 and that should do us for the week with the pre-cooked dinners.

There are a few things I can do to make it more efficient. I need to meal plan properly, also, rather than one day to cook 10 meals I should do maybe 3 days of cooking and double up. I need to come up with more lunch suitable foods.

So far it's working well for us, I don't know how long I'll stick with it though!

^^^ may all be ridiculously simple to most people but before I started it I only ever had frozen veg and icecream in my freezer so it's a revelation for me :pac:

snor

I find that freezing food in bags rather than containers means that I can fit a lot more into the freezer. Can be labelled and dated also.

Loveinapril

I try to base my freezer dishes on whats on sale in the supermarkets. Cauliflower is 39c in Tesco this week so will do a big cauliflower cheese. I am doing a beef and Guinness stew (maybe pie) and a big chicken curry (with cauliflower and potato) today for the freezer- i still have to decide on the sauce, my husband doesn't love tomato base sauces. I froze loads of mash a couple of weeks ago (with nothing added) and bought carrots and turnip on sale in Lidl for mash. They are incredibly handy to have. I just defrost and add the milk to the spuds and they go with defrosted stew.

Whispered

Oh does mash freeze well? I didn't know! Great thanks.

Loveinapril

Whispered wrote: »

Oh does mash freeze well? I didn't know! Great thanks.

Yeah. I literally just mash boiled spuds and freeze in a bag. I season and add milk and butter as I am heating them up for eating. It saves a half hour! I love the turnip and carrot mash too. It is delicious and is a healthy frozen addition to dinner.

kylith

snor wrote: »

I find that freezing food in bags rather than containers means that I can fit a lot more into the freezer. Can be labelled and dated also.

I do the same. The ziplock bags in Lidl are good, I find. It also means that I can freeze them flat which means that they defrost more quickly and can be stacked for storage.

snor

Parsnips and carrots together with a bit of butter freeze really well. As does rice.

Anne_cordelia

Great thread. Can I have your lentil pie and curry&desert potato recipe?

Musefan

Hey! I am a HUGE fan of batch cooking. The majority of meals I eat are batch cooked ones and I usually do once a month cooking sessions.
My favourite recipes are usually meatless ones from minimalist baker. I love that website.

Try out these ones:

This red lentil chilli is fantastic http://minimalistbaker.com/?s=lentil+chilli

Spicy red pasta sauce with lentils http://minimalistbaker.com/spicy-red-pasta-with-lentils/

Chana Masala http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-chana-masala/

This tikka masla freezes well: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/12798/chicken-tikka-masala

Mushroom Stroganoff http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1898646/mushroom-stroganoff

chuckles30

Loveinapril wrote: »

Yeah. I literally just mash boiled spuds and freeze in a bag. I season and add milk and butter as I am heating them up for eating. It saves a half hour! I love the turnip and carrot mash too. It is delicious and is a healthy frozen addition to dinner.

I'm a big fan of batch cooking and freezing, but I never knew or even tried this!! Thank you :D:D