Batch Cooking

Batch cooking, freezer cooking, once-a-however long-cooking (once a week, once a month, etc.), whatever you call it the basic idea is the same: you cook a whole lot of food at once and freeze it until use.

The benefits are great!

• Conserves electricity and heat, as you are cooking larger amounts at once (instead of cooking up one pound of ground beef, cook up 5 or 10 pounds at once and season it for your most common dishes or leave it plain, then freeze in one pound blocks). 
• Easier meals for the person cooking - no putting together whole meals in one evening or washing all of those dishes at once.
• Less food wasted because you prepare your meals or portions of meals while it is still fresh.

The easiest thing you can do is double or triple your meals when you cook them.  Or set aside a day a week or month and make a bunch of your family's freezer-friendly meals throughout the day and stock your freezer when your cooking extravaganza cools down.

A quick search on the internet will provide many links on information and recipes.  Some things don't freeze well, but most things do.  You can probably easily adapt your family's favorite meals for the freezer.

What can you freeze?  Take a look at the frozen food aisle for starters :-)

• Lasagna's
• Pizzas
• Mac and Cheese
• Casseroles
• Sides
• Soups
• Stews
• Broths
• Vegetables and fruit
• Sauce
• Pies, or separate dough and filling
• Bread and Bread dough
• Seasoned meats ready for popular meals

Some foods do not freeze well, including cabbage, celery, lettuce, parsley, radishes, cooked egg whites, cream or custard fillings, milk sauces, sour cream, cheese or crumb toppings, mayonnaise, salad dressing, gelatin, and fried foods.

Some tips:

• Keep an inventory list of what meals you have in your freezer, so they are all used up.
• To prevent freezer burn, package meals in freezer-safe containers and wrappings and bags made specifically for freezing. 
• Date and label all meals so you can easily find them and know when to eat them by.  Wouldn't be a bad idea to mark a "use by" date on your inventory list.
• Some things may separate once thawing, such as soups with cheese or if you freeze milk it may separate.  Generally a good shake or mix once thawed will combine everything again.
• Some vegetables will require blanching in preparation for the freezer, while others you can just cut up and cook.  Look for specific instructions for freezing vegetables so they don't spoil.
• Most vegetables once frozen will only taste good in cooked dishes.  Rarely can you freeze vegetables and enjoy them raw once they thaw.