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Big Batch Cooking Savings

Submitted by: anonymous 01/18/2009 3:26 PM

Dishes like lasanga, pinto beans, soups, and chili can all be made in large batches cheaply. Freeze and store half for a later date. Maybe you don't feel like cooking after work one day and all you have to do is defrost what you made before!

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I also do this with homemade salsbury steaks. Season hamburger patties and brown on the outsides. Use your favorite jar or powdered beef gravy (made according to directions), mushrooms, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool completely before freezing.

Remember, anything that makes itself available to large batches, can be frozen, and you like it, make it a 2 for 1 deal!

Editor's Note: Do you have any big batch cooking tips of your own? What meals do you make that work well for freezing and re-heating? Share with us below!

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Comments:

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I have a rather large family and am always trying to keep our groceries as cheap as possible. Some things I prefer to cook right before the meal, but I can still do a little prep-work ahead of time to save time later.

One thing I do often is buy bulk hamburger. I also buy onions and green peppers which I clean, peel, and chop up in an electric mini chopper. I mix the hamburger, chopped onions & green peppers together and split it into portions for each meal. Some meals I add additional ingredients to so that they are basically ready to pull out of the freezer, thaw (or not), and cook. Here is a list of the meals I make with it:

Meatloaf:

Add some saltines, a couple of eggs (whisked), ketchup, mustard, and a dry meatloaf seasoning packet or two depending on size of meatloaf you make ... or any other ingredients you'd like.

I have used taco seasoning, green chiles, and even A1 steak sauce.

After I'm finished mixing I form my loaf and wrap it up with seran wrap and then slide it into a ziplock freezer bag.

Take it out to thaw a day or so before I want to bake it. Then bake it at 350 degrees for 30 min. - 1 hr. depending on size of loaf.

Salsbury Steaks:

I usually make small patties and freeze them to cook later. Then I add them to a couple of powdered gravy mixes in the crock pot to get an early start on dinner.

You can cook them ahead of time and store them with the gravy in the freezer as well.

Hamburger Patties:

I use waxed paper sheets folded in half to make them easier to separate later. I put the first 1-2 patties on the bottom half of the waxed paper, then fold it over and put the second layer of patties on top of that. I add additional folded waxed paper sheets on top of the last hamburger patty until I have the amount I want to package. I then wrap them in seran wrap and put them in a ziplock freezer bag. This method works well for the salsbury steaks too.

Spaghetti:

I usually portion out enough for a pan of spaghetti sauce, put it in seran wrap and a freezer bag.

I then just fry it in a pan, drain it, and add a can of Hunt's Spaghetti sauce (or whatever brand is cheaper and good). I add ketchup and to this until I have the consistency I want. I also add brown sugar to taste. My family likes a real meaty spaghetti sauce with a sweet tang to it.

As you have suggested, you can make extra of this and freeze it for later.

Sloppy Joe's:

I usually portion out enough for a pan of sloppy joes, put it in seran wrap and a freezer bag.

I then just fry it in a pan, drain it, and add ketchup to this until I have the consistency I want. I also add brown sugar to taste (keep in mind that as it simmers it will get sweeter), simmer for about 10 min. or so.

As you have suggested, you can make extra of this and freeze it for later.

Tatertot Casserole:

This is a wonderful make ahead casserole and I haven't found anyone who hasn't like it yet. It is also very versatile as far as the amount you want to make.

Fry & drain enough hamburger, onion, and green pepper mixture to fill cake pan or casserole dish 1/2 to 3/4 full (you need to leave room to add a layer of cheese and tatertots).

For a regular cake pan you will need 2 regular cans of cream of mushroom soup mixed with 1 can of milk. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over hamburger mixture in pan.

Add a layer of shredded cheese. You can use any kind of cheese or cheese mixture you want. I love to use colby - jack.

Add a layer of tater tots on top of the cheese.

Pour the remaining cream of mushroom / milk mixture over the top of the tater tots.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

Add another layer of cheese to the top and continue to bake until this is melted.

As you have suggested, you can make this ahead and break into portions to heat later in the microwave.

Posted by imistylady on January 21, 2009 12:50 AM

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One ham can be used to make several meals:

Baked Ham
Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
Cold Ham Sandwiches
Ham and Beans

One whole chicken can be boiled and used for:

Chicken and Noodles
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Chicken and Rice Dishes

Posted by imistylady on January 21, 2009 12:53 AM

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I buy hamburger in bulk and cook it with onions. Drain it well and cool. I rinse with cold water to remove fat, then freeze it up in whatever size containers you like. Easy to make any ground beef recipe in less time.

Posted by Teresa on January 21, 2009 12:08 PM

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Great tip. We waste so much money after a hectic day when we ask the question, What's for Dinner? More often than not we're forced to resort to expensive restaurant meals, take-out menus, and frozen dinners.

It helps tremendously and saves a great deal of money to be able to go the freezer and pull out a great homemade meal.

Two highly rated cookbooks that I've found to be great at providing recipes you can use to batch cook then freeze for later use are:

Fix, Freeze, Feast by Katie Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

and

Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia.

You can read consumer reviews of both books at Amazon.com

Posted by paylessforfood.com on January 23, 2009 11:13 AM

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whenever I luck out and find ground beef on sale, I buy as many pkgs as I can afford...one day, I was between errands, so I just ran in the house, plugged in my 6qt crock pot, and put the "hunks" of hamburger in "as is"--hours later, it was cooked through and easily crumbled, I drained it in a large colander over a big bowl, then when it cooled, I packed it for the freezer in zip bags. for me, the clean up was easier than the frying pan. One day, I came home with over 40#!! I had both crock pots going, and we ate hamburgers for supper, and I froze 6# still raw. we are set for several weeks (there are 10 of us here.)

Posted by Dana Burley on January 23, 2009 1:45 PM

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Everyone who is looking to save money on groceries needs to cut out most of the meat. There are tons of protein substitutes out there. Beans and legumes have tons of protein and a significantly healthier for us than meat. They are also considerably cheaper to purchase.

Meat is usually the biggest expenditure for a grocery budget, so keep it to a minimum. In my house, we rarely make all-meat dishes such as meatloaf or meatballs. In recipes we either half the meat or eliminate it completely by substituting vegetables, beans and/or legumes that are high in protein.

Posted by OMHR on January 23, 2009 1:52 PM

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I will have a bulk cooking day once every month or so. First I shop for what's on sale, and if it's hamburger or chicken, freeze them for the cooking day. I also shop flea markets and farmer's markets for green peppers, onions, garlic and other veggies. The greem peppers I clean and cut into strips then freeze. The hearts go to my parrot - if you don't have a parrot, leave them outside for the birds. The garlic I clean and freeze also.

Frozen green pepper strips can be cut with scissors for diced green peppers, or can be used in strips.

When I am ready for the Cooking Day I will take the chicken and hamburger out of the freezer the night before. I cook the cicken first for Chicken and Rice.

Cook the chicken in water. Remove, reserve water. Clean chicken from bones, return to water. Add chopped onions and green peppers, other veggies as desired (I use celery), bring to a boil. Add 1/2 to 1 c. rice for every cup of water from cooking. When the rice is cooked, transfer to containers and freeze in one-meal lots.

To Serve: Thaw, add extra flavor as desired - cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup work fine, maybe a little Worcester Sauce - heat and serve.

Next comes the Spaghetti Sauce. Brown the ground beef, onions, peppers and garlic, add spices, tomatoes or tomato sauce. You can use your usual recipe here, just make at least four times the usual amount so you have plenty to freeze.

Now make your favorite Chili, as above.

If you are careful and do it all the same day, you don't need to wash the pot between batches as each one is more spice than the previous one. If you prefer, you can rinse it out between batches, but not necessary.

You also use the same knife and cutting board to slice and dice the veggies, which, since they are all going in the same dish, it doesn't matter if the garlic contaminates the onion. Or if you prefer, you can chop all the celery first, then all the onions, then all the peppers, then all the garlic. Again, in this order, as each one is more flavorful than the last.

If you make the Spaghetti Sauce thick enough you can use it for Lasagna. Or you can make a batch of Lasagna Sauce after the Spaghetti Sauce but before the Chili. Again, working from least spicy to most.

I also make my own Ricotta Cheese for Lasagna.

Take one gallon of whole milk. Heat to blood heat (If you dip your little finger in, it feels wet, but neither hot nor cold.) Add 1 cup Lemon Juice (fresh or from a bottle.) Cover and let stand a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 12 hours. (Do this the night before.)

Strain the curds through cheesecloth. Keep the first whey that pours off. You can now put it in the refrigerator to continue straining. If it comes too dry, add back a very small amount of the whey. (This can be going on the next day, while you are at work.)

When you are ready to use it, mix the Ricotta with one or more eggs, so it will set in the Lasagna.

Build the Lasagna, cover with foil, and place into the refrigerator to meld the flavors. (You can do this as a part of your Cooking Day if you already have the Sauce ready. Or you can do it as soon as the Sauce is cooked and ready to go. It doesn't have to be cold.)

Bake the Lasagna, serve part of it, divide and freeze the rest. Once it is baked it will microwave.

Use the left-over whey to make Garlic Bread.

Since most of this is going on on top of the stove, you can also make bread, cookies and cakes on your Cooking Day. Store the cookies in an air-tight container.

If you want to freeze the bread, do it before you bake it. Make a batch of bread, let rise once. Punch down, place in baking pan. Cover and freeze immediately. When you are ready to use it, take out and let thaw and rise until double in size. Then bake as usual.

Posted by Anitra on January 23, 2009 2:03 PM

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We have breakfast-for-dinner about once a week. If I am making French Toast or pancakes, I always make a double batch and freeze what we don't use in individual servings. The kids can pull them out of the freezer and toss them in the microwave for breakfast or snacks.

Posted by Denise on January 23, 2009 2:47 PM

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I buy ground beef in bulk and make meatballs---which I place on cookie sheets and put in the freezer. When they are completely frozen, I place them in freezer bags and take out as many as I need when I am ready for them.

Posted by fran on January 23, 2009 3:14 PM

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I bought 10 lbs of Chicken breast on sale (99 cents a lb), froze two for future sue, roasted the other 9, shredded the meat, amde 20 chicken enchilladas (cooked 5 and froze the rest in foil containers 5 to a container). Make stock with the chicken bones, skin and spices to make 2 different batches of soup - chicken noodle and a southwest chicken tortilla. The chicken tortilla soup was hearty enough to be a meal with just a salad and bread. All this from $10 worth of chicken. My husband is a big meat eater and generally eats more than the recommended portion of meat and I still got a lot for my money.

Posted by Debbie on January 23, 2009 4:02 PM

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When I make a mealoaf for the freezer I slice it after it cools and then put the slices into individual freezer bags for sandwiches later. Since brown rice takes so long to cook I cook a large batch and after it cools put in freezer bags, it warms up wonderfully in the microwave. I also make soup for the freezer from whatever veggies are on sale (usually add a potato to make creamy) and then freeze in 2-3 serv containers for lunches. Bean & ham soup freezes especially well!

Posted by islegal on January 23, 2009 4:32 PM

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I buy about 12 whole chickens at a time. I place 6 chickens in the sink and line up bowls, one each for legs, thighs, wings and breast and backs. As I cut each chicken into peices I place them in the bowls, once done, I mix different marinades of different kinds and prefrences and place desired amount of chicken and marinade in freezer bags, date and label, then freeze until needed.

With the chicken breast, I normally debone them and place the bones in the crock pot and cover with water and a few carrots and onion, this I find gets plenty of meat off the carcus and there is enough for chicken soup, I just remove the bones and proceed to make soup. I bag chicken tenders and nuggets in family serving sizes and freeze strips with a bag full of Bell peppers and onions for Fajitas and place all in one bag.

THe wings, I cut into thirds and place the tips into a freezer bag for later use for stock. i place the other two thirds of the wings into desired amounts and freeze.

With the remaining 6 chickens, I freeze two whole uncooked, and take the remaining 4 chickens, season and place in the Rotisserie oven then I cut the chicken in half once it is cooked, and place in freezer bags, cool, label, and freeze.

This helps us to portion control and not over load on meat, we eat less meat and more grains, veggies and fruits.
Plus, when you have a meal already cooked it is easier to eat dinner at home, rather than spend money on take out. You can make anything to free that you see in the freezer section of the grocer.

I also cook 20 plus pounds of Ground beef at a time to make various meals, along with Potatoes, I buy veggies from the Farmers Market and blanch and freeze them.

Freezing your own Breakfast burritos and biscuits with meat and cheese make wonderful fast alternatives when you are running late, heat for 30 seconds and grab a piece of fruit and eat on the way to school or work.

I normally cook for a good 3 days and get 2-3 months worth of meals, some I package like tv dinners for one, for days when your the only one eating or your only feeding one child.

This works for our family, when times get hecktic and I find limited time to cook, I don't worry about it, most meals now are done in 15 minutes or less now with good planning.

Posted by Crystal on January 23, 2009 5:59 PM

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When having a pasta or rice dish, I always cook at least twice as much as needed for the meal. I have leftovers that help with a 'quick fix' meal (which saves on water and electricity) or I can use it for soup or salad.

Posted by karkey73 on January 23, 2009 6:03 PM

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I almost always freeze half of whatever kind of bars I make right away. That way I won't eat most of the pan myself :) AND we have a treat another time. I also do this with cookie dough. I'll usually make a double batch, bake up 2 pans, & freeze the rest. We prefer freshly baked cookies over the baked and frozen ones, so I use my Pampered Chef medium sized scoop to make dough balls and put them directly into flat Tupperware freezer containers. Since frost gets into everything so fast, I always also slide this into a Ziplock bag. In fact, I double cover everything that I put into the freezer so nothing goes bad before we get it used up.

Posted by anonymous on January 23, 2009 6:13 PM

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I save the waxed bags from packaged goods such as cereal.... and place the things to frozen in them. The bags work great and they free.

Posted by Dorothy on January 23, 2009 7:31 PM

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I buy the an inexpensive box of waffle mix and spend a couple hours making the whole box of waffles. Then I throw them into freezer bags and pop into the freezer for a quick and easy breakfast. Much less expensive than the pre-packaged versions!

Posted by Dee on January 23, 2009 8:12 PM

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Thanks to the person who recommended cutting out meat. It really can simplify your life and cut your grocery bill. It's also better for the environment (fewer resources used). Also, shop locally or grow your own. Swap harvests with neighbors.

Thanks also to the suggestion of cooking in bulk once a month and shopping for it. I often see cheap produce and think, we'd never eat all of that.

Posted by yumyum on January 24, 2009 1:15 PM

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We buy apples by the bushel at a local produce market. It's about 1/4 the price of grocery store apples. I peel, slice circles and place them in the food dehydrator for a great snack later. The rest we cook down and add cinnamon and make chunky applesauce. It freezes well. We use it on pancakes and waffles. Also, when bananas are on sale, I stock up. I place the whole banana, unwrapped in the freezer. The peel turns black but the inside is fine. I use them in baking, puddings, fruit shakes, etc. When I chop onions and peppers, I bag them up in ziplock sandwich bags. Saves on prep time later for soups and stirfry.

Posted by Peggy on January 24, 2009 7:13 PM

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Thanks for the great tips.
I make red beans and rice for my family often. I get the Polish sausage, slice it and sautee it with chopped onion and a little butter. Season with Cajun spice and a little celery seed. Drain some red kidney beans and throw them in the pan. In the meantime there is a pot of rice cooking to mix with it. To save on time later, I freeze half the meat mixture for later. Then all I have to do is cook the rice and there is a quick meal when I need it. If the sausage is on sale, I buy in bulk along with the cans of kidney beans and make batchs to freeze.

Posted by Jan on January 26, 2009 2:48 PM

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When making spaghetti, we make extra and cool. Then we add peppers, onion, pepperoni or salami, chick peas, parmesan cheese and ceasar or italian salad dressing and toss. You can
eat this hot or cold. You can also add cheese cubes or feta cheese.

Posted by anonymous on January 26, 2009 3:04 PM

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Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice! It is so helpful to those of use who didn't learn this "kitchen wisdom" at home!

Posted by anonymous on January 26, 2009 5:12 PM

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Thanks for the great tips! The grocery store near me always has great racks of marked down produce...peppers, oranges, apples, etc. It's a saves us some money. I buy whatever is still good (peppers, scallions, etc.) and wash chop and freeze for later use. A HUGE time saver! When we cook bacon, not often, I freeze the leftovers for use in recipes. I always have a ziploc bag of cooked pasta in the fridge...it keeps the kids from attempting to use the stove when they want more than just a snack after school. Just add some sauce or parmesan and pop it in the microwave, it really helps.

Posted by anonymous on January 27, 2009 11:21 PM

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Freezing, left over onion, garlic, peppers, green onions, bacon, -- all the little extras is a huge time saver for me. often we would use 1/2 an onion and it go to waste before I use it up.

I highly recommend the Tupperware 1/2 circle shapes containers for onion/ garlic they seem to keep oders down ( although they are initally pricey they was hand store well. Another trick I've learned is to prepare it how you plan to use it-- chopped stripped etc. or or some of each so it can just be thrown in. It saves on the little things. My fridge door holds all these left overs.

For those who are meat eater, love meat and will always eat meat. Buying in bulk and pre-paring portions ahead of time is a money saver- but also a time save and energy saver. Grill 10 lbs of chicken breasts and freeze in 1lb bags or even 3/4 bags- whatever fits your family without leftover or cooking 5 pounds of hamburger in the crock pot is one pot to wash and one meals worth of time. I don't plan for left overs-- I plan for the next meal with bulk cooking and freezing. I make just what is needed or use it next time.

Posted by anonymous on February 14, 2009 11:49 PM

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I've experimented with recipes and found one for a chocolate cake that tastes just 'like mother used to make.' It's easy and I find I can triple the ingredients and bake 3 big rectangular cakes or even more smaller ones at one time. Less fuel to bake, of course. Let them cool well. Cut and removed with a spatchella, move to a tray and quick freeze, then bag it all for the freezer. It's great thawed and treated to canned frosting, whipped topping, fruit topping or ice cream. This way, there's less fuel use, less dishwashing and a good output for my time and effort. When I make cookies from scratch, I may bake off some of the dough once it is mixed. I might also freeze smaller amounts in baggies to bake another time.

Posted by Nett Hounsell on March 13, 2009 2:17 PM

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I also cook ahead! Sometimes for a couple of weeks and sometimes for a month depending on my workload.

I mix 3 lbs lean ground beef and 3 lbs lean ground turkey together to start my meatloaf. When it's all mixed I use a mellow scoop to take out just enough to fill 2 of the mini muffin pans. I bake these in my table top oven (huge toaster oven) while I bake one pan that holds 8 individual loaves and 2 regular size loaf pans in the regular oven.

After flash freezing all of them, I put 3 mini meatballs to each sandwich bag and fold the top down and insert them into a plastic bag from cereal and then freeze them. They can be used for spaghetti or to make meatball sub sandwiches.

The individual small loaves are treated in the same manner and eaisly thaw as many as needed at one time. The 2 regular meat loafs are sliced when cool and packaged into meal size servings and also put into plastic cereal bags for freezing.

I buy turkey breasts when they are on sale since they ae mostly meat. After baking I slice them into serving sizes and use the same manner above and freeze them. I do chicken much the same way whether it's baked or on the rotessarie.

The carcus is always boiled with onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery to make stock for soup. That freezes for later uses also.

My favorite cook and freeze ahead is greens. Most all of the green family freezes well. Also, I never learned to cook for one person so I still cook big batches. I use plastic bowls to put a serving size portion in these and seal them for later meals. That way I can select the type of greens for the day.

My favorite way of cooking any and all greens is to clean them thoroughly and pull into smaller pieces to be placed into a cast iron dutch oven on the stove top. I pour 2 to 3 cups of chicken broth over them and cook until done. I do NOT use any seasonings as the chicken stock gives plenty of flavor.

The main thing I do is to portion everything into serving sizes so that I can plan my meals each day. Then just by pulling servings of each food from the freezer, I can put together a complete meal.

On the day I bake, I bake cornbread in mini muffin pans as well as regular size muffin pans. I freeze them the same way I do the meat balls and just heat them in the Microwave.

I do the same thing with my favorite bread muffins too. I'm staying out of the stores as much as I can and I find that I'm spending less and tossing out less. My next goal is to change my chest freezer for a small upright one so I don't loose things in the bottom of the freezer.

One last thing to pass along is that I purchase fish in large packages that have each fillet sealed individually. That way there is no waste. I only buy wild caught fish. Farm raised fish has been treated with all types of pesticides and I don't want that in my food.

Posted by Alice on March 13, 2009 9:19 PM

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Yes to everything I've read so far! Cooking in bulk saves so much time and money. You don't even have to do huge batches if you don't have time. Just double whatever you make when you do have time to cook. I keep masking tape in my kitchen cabinet to put a description and date on leftovers.

A couple of ideas:

I save leftover bits of gravy, broth, water from cooked veggies, etc... and put it in a container in the freezer. Later I can combine this with some dried beans and leftover meat, rice, or pasta for a soup made of things that you might usually throw away. Toss in a few fresh herbs from the garden or store, and it will taste like gourmet!

Low-cost, nutritious taco or burrito filling:

This can be made several ways, but I start with a cup of cracked (bulghur) wheat from the health food store (about 1.00/lb) and two cups of water. Season with your choice of prepared taco mix, tomato boullion, tomato paste, or your own blend of chili powder, cumin, pepper flakes, etc...

This is good by itself, or you can stretch it by mixing in cooked pintos, red beans, black beans, or hamburger. I mix in uncooked French lentils, which will cook in about the same amount of time as the cracked wheat, 10-15 min. You'll need to add extra water and seasoning to taste.

When you get ready to do the tacos or burritos, you can mix in salsa or picante and top with cheese. I've read that grains, legumes, and dairy together = a complete protein. I've made yummy burritos by combining the grain/bean mix with cooked rice. You can wrap a whole pack of tortillas, freeze, and then top with cheese and sour cream when you thaw them out.

This is really a very simple process--it just takes a while to explain. Cheap and good! Also much lower fat/higher fiber than eating all meat.

Oh yeah, you can also use this stuff to make loaded nachos.

Posted by skwmitchell on March 13, 2009 9:40 PM

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Be a scavenger: leftovers from family get-togethers

My dad's side of the family doesn't really eat leftovers--don't know why, because they are very frugal about other things. We've starting bringing home all the stuff they'd just throw away and sticking it in the freezer. We usually get several meals out of it.

Remember to be careful about sanitation and keeping food at proper temperatures, though. Your savings will be cancelled out by any doctor or ER visit co-pays! Thanks to my high school home ec teachers for that unit on food safety :)

Posted by skwmitchell on March 13, 2009 9:52 PM

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ATTN: Nett Hounsell!!!! What is your easy to make like mom's cake recipe???? Would love to try it. Thanks.

Posted by ktkat on May 12, 2009 11:47 AM

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