Jean MeriamCook in Advance to Save time and Money
July 29th 2008 21:56
Batch cooking. Some people love it and swear to it as an enormous time saver. I hate it. Having spent an entire resentful weekend tied to my kitchen, surrounded by raw meat and unprepared vegetables I swore I would find a better way.
Call it modified batch cooking, but doubling up on meals or portions of meals and preparing a few items a day ahead can still be a huge time saver for those who hate the feeling of being trapped in their kitchen.
Easy foods to double or prepare in advance
Ground beef and Chicken I buy bulk packs of ground beef and fry the whole package at once. Why not? The meat is there, the pan is already on the stove and it doesn't take any extra time or create extra mess in the kitchen. Use what you need the first evening and freeze the rest in portioned baggies for quick tacos, chilli, spaghetti or lasagna another evening.
When roasting a chicken, roast a second one to be chopped and frozen for another meal.
Double up and Save
Pasta meals can almost all be doubled with the second batch being frozen for those too busy to cook evenings. Soup and tomato based pasta sauces also freeze well. When I make homemade spaghetti sauce I make a huge batch and freeze the extras in freezer bags for for spaghetti, lasagna and homemade pizza. Chili also stores well in the freezer.
Too hot to cook?
Even the barbecue can be dragged in on the advanced cooking action. When you take out steaks to thaw for the evening bbq, defrost a few chicken breasts to grill alongside them. Use the breasts the next evening for a quick and easy chicken caesar salad with garlic toast.
The bonus of preparing a few select items in advance is that it will save you money and add to your health. Why go out for hamburgers when you have healthy seasoned and cooked chicken breasts in the fridge?
Call it modified batch cooking, but doubling up on meals or portions of meals and preparing a few items a day ahead can still be a huge time saver for those who hate the feeling of being trapped in their kitchen.
Easy foods to double or prepare in advance
Ground beef and Chicken I buy bulk packs of ground beef and fry the whole package at once. Why not? The meat is there, the pan is already on the stove and it doesn't take any extra time or create extra mess in the kitchen. Use what you need the first evening and freeze the rest in portioned baggies for quick tacos, chilli, spaghetti or lasagna another evening.
When roasting a chicken, roast a second one to be chopped and frozen for another meal.
Double up and Save
Pasta meals can almost all be doubled with the second batch being frozen for those too busy to cook evenings. Soup and tomato based pasta sauces also freeze well. When I make homemade spaghetti sauce I make a huge batch and freeze the extras in freezer bags for for spaghetti, lasagna and homemade pizza. Chili also stores well in the freezer.
Too hot to cook?
Even the barbecue can be dragged in on the advanced cooking action. When you take out steaks to thaw for the evening bbq, defrost a few chicken breasts to grill alongside them. Use the breasts the next evening for a quick and easy chicken caesar salad with garlic toast.
The bonus of preparing a few select items in advance is that it will save you money and add to your health. Why go out for hamburgers when you have healthy seasoned and cooked chicken breasts in the fridge?
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