Karen Wright: Delights of batch cooking to help save time and money
People often tell me that they don't have time to cook, that they rely on ready meals as they are convenient. I decided last week that I would challenge myself and that concept by shopping and batch cooking for the freezer.
I wanted to see how many portions I could make, see how long it took me and importantly how much each portion cost.
There was a practical reason behind this project too as I am still waiting to see if I need an operation and I thought it wise to get some meals in the freezer to carry us through if that proves to be necessary.
Firstly I made a shopping list, which is of paramount importance when cooking to a budget. I didn't specifically have a menu in mind as I like to play the ‘Ready Steady Cook’ game sometimes, but it is probably a good idea to have meals in mind if you are not used to cooking in bulk.
I bought root vegetables, onions, peas, leeks, peppers, tuna, anchovies, pasta, cheese, pork shoulder steaks, chicken thighs, chicken breast, beef mince, passata, cannellini beans, haricot beans, mushrooms, a few dried herbs and a pot of mustard. The cost of these ingredients was just over £32, but as I was using things in my fridge too, I rounded it up to £40 so that I could calculate the cost per portion.
Once back home with my shopping, I set to work and I also made a note of the time. I made such a variety of dishes which included chicken Provençal; chicken casserole with mushrooms leeks and tarragon; pork shoulder casserole with apple and white beans; Mexican-style cottage pie; chilli con carne; Chinese chicken curry; savoury mince; and tuna and anchovy pasta bake. I also had a handful of bits and bobs left to use up, so I managed to cook up a meal to eat that night too.
I portioned the food up and labelled the containers before counting them and freezing. In total I froze twenty portions of food, it was easy to do the maths and calculated that each meal cost two pounds. The time it took me to conjure up all this food was less than three hours which proves my point, it is possible to eat well on a budget and enjoy scrumptious meals even when time is tight.