While I enjoy cooking, I don’t like panicked cooking when my family is hungry and waiting and I have to produce a meal – and quickly.
I therefore strongly believe in cooking a double batch whenever I can.
It takes just a little bit longer than cooking a single batch of your meal – you already have the chopping board out for your vegetables so you might as well chop just a bit more onion or carrots. Instead of adding one can of tomatoes, add two, and so on. Double up on the meat portion.
The magic happens after the meal is cooked though. You have enough for tonight (or tomorrow, as I do it) and another meal for next week!
Which meals translate well to cooking a double batch?
- Baked pastas (surprisingly!) but the trick is to not leave it to thaw out on your counter the whole day unless you like soggy pasta. Defrost fast in the microwave and bake it in the oven.
- Curries
- Chilli con carne
- Bolognaise sauce
- Enchiladas
Do you cook double batches of meals? If you haven’t tried yet, this is your nudge to do so this month.
PS My mother-in-law has taken this up a notch. She lives alone and cooks 4-portion meals during one week a month. The next three weeks of the month she just pulls out what she feels like eating to defrost it. So clever!
I do not like cooking at all. We have perfected premade meals for our household. We spend a long day cooking and freezing for two months at a time. We do pies, lasagnas, quiches, stews, curries, roasted chicken, pizza, bao buns, stir fry packs of veggies already julienned and ready to go. We defrost in the fridge and just heat up portion sizes in the microwave.