Bulk cooking - any success stories?

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Shamde

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Hah, that title sounds kind of strange, but basically, I'm wondering what peoples experiences are with trying to cook in bulk. I want to try it myself, but might need to get a second freeze or fridge first.
 
Bulk cooking is an excellent alternative for busy people.

As a college student, I cooked most of my meals on Saturday. This way, I had nutritious, affordable food throughout the week. The trick is to purchase an array of containers for storage. Also, you want to predetermine what freezes well. See: Freezer Meals

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I also freeze a lot of meals. I like to make a big pot of chili or vegetable soup and freeze what we don't eat. Then on a cold day, I can pull the frozen soup out of the freezer and heat it up. Dinner's ready, quick fast and easy!
 
I cook in bulk for my sick aunt. My uncle doesn't really know how to cook so I cook for her every week and freeze, freeze, freeze. My uncle will defrost things in advance, but a lot of storage containers and labeling each container really helps out.
 
I would cook in bulk a lot more if I'd have more storage place. Sharing a fridge with and a small freezer with a roommate is not the ideal solution for bulk cooking. However I always cook enough for at least two meals and then put half in the fridge for the next day.
 
I'm a failure at bulking because I don't care for leftovers. I'm really picky about leftovers so there are some things (well a lot of things) I won't eat on a second day. Very picky. The only foods I really eat for leftovers are pastas. Yeah, I know, right?
 
PSLoveCharli said:
I'm a failure at bulking because I don't care for leftovers. I'm really picky about leftovers so there are some things (well a lot of things) I won't eat on a second day. Very picky. The only foods I really eat for leftovers are pastas. Yeah, I know, right?
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My husband is the same way! He is picky, picky, picky! He does not like leftovers at all! I usually try to trick him into eating them. For example, if we have chicken for dinner and I have it left over, I use that chicken to make chicken salad, or chicken tacos or something and pack it in his lunch. (He takes his lunch to work everyday-one of the ways we save money) I can get him to eat leftovers if I turn them into something different that what we had. In his mind it is a whol new meal-but reality is, its leftovers. He just doesnt like to eat the same meal twice, unelss of course its pizza. haha! :)
 
A big batch of a meat sauce or a ragu will hold up well in the freezer. Break it down into meal size portions, then all you have to do is boil some pasta while you warm it in a sauce pan or on the microwave. Similarly, chili holds up really well too, as do meatballs. I would suggest not trying to prepare entire meals and freezing them, but rather just make ahead some components of the meal that hold up well to freezing. I would rather have fresh pasta, for example, than cooked and frozen pasta that's been reheated. It only takes minutes to throw some fresh cheese on something and pop it under the broiler, rather than melting cheese on it, then freezing it and reheating it.

You could also make pre-prepped portions of your favorite veggie medleys (have all the onions and garlic chopped along with peppers and mushrooms for example), then all you have to do is thaw out the portion and toss it in a pan with some fresh meat for a quick meal with practically no prep.

One of my worse make-ahead meal projects were breakfast burritos. I made a huge batch of them only to realize they tasted awful after I tried to reheat one after it had been frozen. The eggs were all water-logged and the whole thing tasted really bland.
 
I usually cook a pan of pasta sauce (tinned tomato, onion, pepper, courgette and either minced beef or tuna, or sometimes just veggie) on a Monday, my day off. I eat one portion then, and divide the rest up into meals for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when I get in tired from work - all I have to do is reheat them, and cook pasta.

Friday, I'm either off to see NT or he's coming to me, so I'm more inspired to cook again.

It helps that I'm perfectly happy to eat the same thing 3 or 4 days running.
 
I have done freezer cooking for years, and basically I just make double when I cook things like soups, stews, or casseroles like lasagna. Then I just portion one of them out into individual meals in the freezer. This was a life saver when my babies were born!
 
I have done this in the past and I really need to get back into it. It is so easy to make lasagna, spaghetti sauce, casseroles, meatballs and pizzas in bulk and freeze them until later. You can also make biscuits and yeast rolls and freeze them until later as well. The breads are just as good as those items you would buy in the frozen food section at your grocery store. When I was working 60+ hours a week this is how my teenagers survived.
 
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