Batch cooking

[Gryff]

I go to Florida January 10th
I want to cook and leave meals for DH and our son and grandson ( now before anyone says let them get on with it our son is a supported single parent due to a disability and DH will be providing essential child care for 2 others gidks one 5 one 20 months and DS son 4 so cooking ain’t high on the agenda )
I’ve got on the list
Cottage pie
Fish pie
Meat balls and spaghetti
Spag ball
Lasagne
Chilli
Steak pie
Fresh chicken stuffed with family favorie stuffing in an oven roasting bag just ready to go
Roast beef / gravy and pre made Yorkshire pud
Roast lamb / gravy
Cooked gammon joint with pineapple salsa
Roast pork gravy and apple sauce
Fajitas kits ie chicken peppers onions in a freezer bag and a El Paso kit
Same for our version of gumbo etc
There will also be salmon fillets , chicken fillets , gammon steaks home made burgers ,fish .prawns and even the odd emergency pizza and chicken nuggets to cook from frozen
Also there wil be soup 6/7 kinds steaks salmon fillets
Only veg I;our freezer is peas , sweet corn and onion rings
DH and son can manage great roast veg / any veg cheese sauce / and potatoes any way
Oh they will have breakfast bags made up ie black pudding ,bacon ,sausage , tattie scone etc that they might use for a quick tea after the foot ball etc
I’m away for 11 weeks so any other suggestions are welcome
They eat anything
DS is a good cook but due to his disability some days he just can’t manage a full dinner from scratch for 5

[Sparksy72]

Helen you are awesome! What about a couple of curry’s? Maybe a korma for the kids? I also like to do a moussaka or even a chicken or tuna pasta bake with penne or curly pasta. The pasta bakes can have some vegetables popped in as well. We all like chicken and vegetable soup or tomato soup (they could make cheese roasties to have with it). The soups freeze well and are super quick to re-heat. Xx

[Gryff]

Sparksy
There will also be things like apple crumble / pie ,scones , muffins school approved for packed lunches ; home made flap jacks but the kids have to say ceral bars ( I make them a no added sugar , or the crap that’s in the branded bars but nursery / school said at first they could not have them they now use my receipt for the i school approved snack / treat cookery book
My muffin / cheese loaf recipes are also used on the list

[Gryff]

Curry is taken care of my BFF mil sees us right for curry etc all home made she’s cooked for the family restaurant for 50 years and my boys and gdks like us neve r eat curry unless mama has made it
It’s a completely different taste when it’s home made
Tuna and pasta bake is on the list
Moussaka they will all eat that as well as just my aburgeen and motarella bake so that’s now added
The kids love mama home made garlic chicken it blow your head off the first time Quinn at 20 months goes mental if mama pops in with take out to see what’s in it she loves the okra potatoe dish with chillies she makes it’s amazing

[Gryff]

It’s just okra potatoes chillies garlic and yoghurt with fresh spinach and coriander it’s amazing with a salad hot or cold or with rice or orzo
We eat it with dal and roti as that’s how she brings it usually
It’s easy to make it vegan too
So simple to make vegan you just use a coconut yoghurt based one

[Disney_time]

You can see lots of mums on tiktok preparing meals in polybags with all the meat, sauces, seasonings etc, but then freezing them before cooking. I suppose these are for the slow cooker, but being tiktok, they don't actually explain what they are going to do with them. I'm just not organised enough for all that, but I can defintely see the point.

[Gryff]

Ha ha I’m not on tick tok but I’ve done slow cooker meal prep for years but=I use slow cooker liners I’ll do beef burgeon, goulash , and the latest request lamb hot pot all in liners to lift out the feeezer the day before to go in the slow cooker
And a couple of breakfast casseroles for the slow cooker for Saturday/ Sunday mornings before swimming and football etc

[Bootrip2]

You sound so super organised and it all sounds delicious. Am I intruiged by Breakfast casserole?!?! Do you have a recipie please? X

[Gryff]

The breakfast casseroles is easy
There are loads of versions on line but here’s mine
I just cook the bacon and no more
Brown off some sausage meat now you can use junks of links or skin them and use the meat drain both on kitchen paper
Mini hash browns or tater tots onion and cheese
Put in the slow whisk 4 eggs pour over the bacon mix it through
Lid on and cook on low for 6 hours
If prepping for freezer I just bag everything up and add the eggs when I go to put it on
My lot like red pepper ot jalapeños mixed in
Just look on line and you will find a version that suits
My slow cooker has a timer on it so I can make it before I go to bed and comes on and is ready in the morning

[enjibenji]

Hi Helen, you are super organised and a very kind person.
I'm not sure if I see beef stew and dumplings and lamb hotpot on there, they are nice especially this time of year. 😊