Meal prep/freezer

If I am making lasagna, I make 2 or 3 to freeze for later.
I make extra servings of chili or tortilla soup and freeze left overs. Beef and vegetable stew also freeze well.
Pulled chicken or pork freezes well too.
If you are looking to do meal prep, here are a couple I have done that my family likes:

https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/20-minute-tuscan-pasta-freezer-meal/#_a5y_p=5124451

https://www.passionforsavings.com/cheesy-broccoli-chicken-rice-recipe-freezer-meal/

Skinnytaste chili - Both of these are great!
https://www.skinnytaste.com/crock-pot-3-bean-turkey-chili-3125-pts/
https://www.skinnytaste.com/quick-beef-chili-recipe/

My typical freezer meal-prepping foods are:

• Chilli - veggie/mince/diced beef
• Casseroles/Stews - such as strogonoff/chorizo & chickpea/Chicken & mushroom
• Currys - various Chicken/Tofu/Paneer/Lamb/Beef - Thai/Indian are my usual go to.
• Veggie Soups - Cauliflower & Cheddar/Spicy Carrot/Broccoli & Blue Cheese/Aubergine & Mushroom
• Overnight Oats - usually I make mine with Alpro Oat Milk and Flavoured Soy Yoghurt and some dark chocolate chips and add a portion of blueberries (which I also freeze seperately). Let it sit in fridge overnight first and then freeze.
• Fishcakes/Burgers/Meatballs - I usually prepare these but freeze uncooked and pan fry.

My hubbie is the weekday cook and he struggles a bit with that. I try to help him out by batch cooking some freezer meals on the weekend. We've got a bottle of full fat cola bought accidentally in the cupboard so I will do coca cola chicken to put in the freezer this weekend. This is essentially a hacks version of chicken teriyaki.

Brown some chicken thighs and drumsticks and set aside. In the same pan, sautee some onion and then add some minced garlic and fry until fragrant. Toss in a cup of coca cola (not sugar free) with several large glugs of thin soy sauce. Braise about 20 minutes, taste and adjust with salt, sugar, lemon and sriracha to balance saltiness, sweetness, acidity and heat, remembering that sweetness will reduce once you caramelize the sauce. Turn up the heat to a rapid boil for 5 minutes so that the sauce turns into a syrupy caramelized mass, removing chicken if it is already cooked through (72C internal temperature).

Like all braised chicken dishes, this freezes well. Serve with rice and an asian cucumber salad an asian slaw, dressed with a commercial Japanese sesame salad dressing (=goma). If you don't mind the extra work you can also add a simple vegetable sautee such as spinach with garlic, or broccoli with garlic.

A rather modest batch of coca cola chicken with braised carrots cooling before going into the freezer.

I was surprised to learn that potatoes do not freeze very well. I made a huge beef stew in my slow cooker and froze a bunch; the potatoes turned rather mealy, quite an unappetizing texture in something you expect to be starch creamy, when reheated.

bigfoot27 wrote: »

Can anybody help me please. I have started to try batch cooking and have just defrosted some beef and made a casserole also minced beef and made some chilli con carne. After freezing them do I need to defrost before reheating or can I reheat from frozen (as obviously already been cooked) thank you in advance.

I’d say you are fine to reheat from frozen, just don’t set the microwave for ten minutes and walk away. Your food will still be frozen in the middle but your container will be melted LOL. Put it in for a minute or two, stir it, then heat it for a minute or two, stir again, rinse and repeat, until fully warmed through. This is my go to method—should be fine for you too.

born_of_fire74 wrote: »

I was surprised to learn that potatoes do not freeze very well. I made a huge beef stew in my slow cooker and froze a bunch; the potatoes turned rather mealy, quite an unappetizing texture in something you expect to be starch creamy, when reheated.

bigfoot27 wrote: »

Can anybody help me please. I have started to try batch cooking and have just defrosted some beef and made a casserole also minced beef and made some chilli con carne. After freezing them do I need to defrost before reheating or can I reheat from frozen (as obviously already been cooked) thank you in advance.

I’d say you are fine to reheat from frozen, just don’t set the microwave for ten minutes and walk away. Your food will still be frozen in the middle but your container will be melted LOL. Put it in for a minute or two, stir it, then heat it for a minute or two, stir again, rinse and repeat, until fully warmed through. This is my go to method—should be fine for you too.

I freeze gratin dauphinoise (scallopped potatoes in the US, I think). They need to be fully cooked before going in the freezer otherwise apparently the starch gets converted to sugar. This is the only potato dish I freeze but I find it works well.

I started cooking 2-3 extra servings of dinner every night. Then I put in divided Tupperware containers, sharpie what it is on the lid and freeze. Keep doing this every dinner and within a week or two, you have a nice selection of frozen meals.

bigfoot27 wrote: »

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply .

I also heat meals I have frozen in a covered pot on the stove top or in the oven, from the frozen state. It takes longer than the microwave, but works great if time isn’t an issue.