Today’s post is dedicated to my new favourite thing – Batch Cooking.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to be one of those die-hard batch cooking people who spend a whole day every month batch cooking meals to last them for the next four weeks but I do want to take what I already do one step further now that I have a little more freezer space than I had before.
I’m going to consciously cook more foods that I can double up on so that I can gradually build up a stock of meals in the freezer and I’m hoping to gradually up my game a bit and find more recipes that are freezer friendly and more ways to make life easier for me.
Before you start, have a good clear out of your freezer. By clear out, I just mean try and make as much space as possible by using up as much as you can. Have at least one ‘eat from the freezer’ day in your meal plan to use up those odd bits and bobs that you have in. Last week we had a meal where Miss Frugal had waffles with chicken burgers and frozen parsnips, Master Frugal has some chicken fillets with curly fries and beans, I had a fish pie with roasties and parsnips and Mr Frugal has some leftover beef stew with some roasties, parsnips and a giant Yorkshire pudding. All to use up random things we had in the freezer to make some space ready for my batch cooking.
Decide what you’re going to use to store your food. I have in the past used all sorts of tupperware tubs but I swear the sock fairy also has a sideline in stealing lids because no matter how organised I think I am, I always end up with stacks of containers and no lids. I now use zip-lock bags instead and to give you an idea of cost, the one’s I’ve just bought were £2.25 for 25 which is less than 10p a bag and I’m sure I’ll get a few uses out of each bag even though they don’t say they’re reusable. If not, I’ve found some re-usable freezer bags online at Lakeland but I’ll wait until I visit the shop to buy them rather than pay P&P.
Make the most of your space by laying your freezer bag of food in a small rectangular tub (a flexible one is best so you can manouvre it out if it get’s stuck) before freezing it so it freezes into an easy to store shape. Once it’s frozen, you can take it out of the tub and it will keep it’s shape in the freezer.
Clearly label your bag with what’s in it and when you froze it along with any cooking instructions if you need to.
Make sure you know how long foods keep in the freezer. This is a great guide although I try to keep everything to under 3 months in my freezer.
Make sure you keep track of what you have in your freezer. This can be as quick as five minutes when you’re doing you’re weekly meal plan or if you plan to do quite a lot of cooking like I do and to have your food stored across two freezers (one in the garage) than a freezer inventory might be a good idea. I like this form which is free to download and makes it easy to list what we have and tick things off when we use them.
Freeze your food in different portion sizes (don’t forget to label the portion size on the bag) so you don’t have to defrost a family sized portion if you don’t need it. If you take chilli for example, I freeze in smaller portions for jacket potato toppings and work lunches for one.
Make the most of supermarket reductions by buying things like cheese cheaply and then grating it and storing in portions. I often freeze reduced fresh chillis to use when I need them although I find the best way to freeze smaller things is to spread on a flat tray to freeze and then into a bag when they’re frozen. This stops them sticking together when they freeze.
I make batches of sauce like my homemade tomato sauce and cheese sauce and freeze so even though I’ll need to cook something (pasta for example) the fiddly part of the meal is all done.
Don’t be fooled into think you need to add double the meat to make double the meal. I often add fillers like extra veg, extra potatoes, even things like lentils can be used to make meals stretch. Serve with dumplings or Yorkshire puds and plenty of frozen veg to make your food go further. Here’s my recent post about how to bulk out meals.
You might also like:
- 10 dump recipes to make batch cooking easy
- The secret to an organised freezer
- Make your freezer work harder for you
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Brilliant idea about the zip lock bags!
I haven’t tried batch cooking yet. This guide is so great and comprehensive. I’m willing to give it a try!
Such a good idea – I have to say that we often pop things in the freezer and forget about them, so although we have limited freezer space at the moment, I'm committed to having a bit of a clear out to make sure we eat what's in there as well as in the cupboards. I'm having some slightly odd lunches at work at the moment but it's working!
oh what a great list and tips! Pinned
I must try the zip lock bags – the whole lidless Tupperware is all too familiar here!
Oh I love your list idea! This is a great one – and IKWYM about the Tupperware fairy – she must have mixed up our lids and boxes though as I have loads of lids without matching containers! Love the idea of freezing a bag into the shape of them and of making extra sauces to freeze so the fiddly bits are done. Top tips, thank you 🙂
I never batch cook which I know is a shame – what I need is some new tupperware and I'm off off and away!
I have such a small freezer,it is shame as I'd like to batch cook. Mich x
Oh this is a fabulous post Cass.
Nothing gladdens my heart more than seeing my freezer stocked with meals and soups.
Brilliant tip about freezing the bags in a box container for the shape- I'd never have thought of that!
Cass, when we eventually get the go ahead to move on from Bavaria, can you come and stay for a while to help me use up all the food in the cupboards and freezer??? Thank you! 🙂
Fabulous tips, every now and again I do a batch cook and freezer (must do it more often!)
Cass, I always use leftover for breakfast. I think your tips are superb and very helpful.
Thankyou for the excellent tips, Cass!!! I'll certainly be referring to your list many times in the next few months. I love that you are entering into the 'changeover' slowly and steadily, by firstly using up what you already have and then doubling up on recipes. I really like your idea of your weekly 'eat from the freezer' night!
This is a great list Cass! Batch cooking to most people probably seems complicated and time-consuming but actually it's a great way to not only save time but save a shed load of money as well.