How much and WHAT do you cook in advance?

[Mikala43]

Yeah, I do tamale pies, but your recipe does look really good - think I'll try that one next.

[Debsi]

Spaghetti sauce (meat and vegetarian), stews, beans, and all kinds of soups fill my deep freeze.

You can't make small portions of these so I make extra on purpose and fill my freezer with mostly 4 cup containers which will make 1-2 meals for us, depending on what is in the container and what I add to the meal.

DH doesn't like casseroles much, so I mostly keep to the braised items listed above. The freezer loves a braise.

The beans become tacos, burritos, and tostadas, the soups are usually served with a loaf of fresh bread, and we both love spaghetti and tortellini.

[Dogmama50]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

LOL. Yeah, but tamales ain't easy. My one friend who is Mexican refuses to do them herself, and she hand makes her own tortillas. Tamales are too much trouble in her opinion.

I've made tamales but they are a PITA so I just buy them from whatever nice Mexican lady is selling them. I do make tamale pie which is super easy. Just buy the masa mix and follow the directions, then put a layer in the bottom of a pan, add whatever meat/veggie/bean/cheese and then another layer or masa, cheese on top and bake. We eat some and cut the rest up and freeze it.

EDIT
Or I could have read the above posts and not have typed a secondary explanation

[Almrausch]

I usually cook every day or other day or just add something to a dish that is made already.

Unless I need to go on a trip and cook for someone else in my home I make a big pot of Chili,lentil/bean soups and cooked rotis/chapatis..I stack them with a piece of wax paper placed in between each roti. After that I wrap them in aluminum foil and then in freezer bags.That way family members can take rotis out of the freezer as needed while I am away.Pasta sauce is always made and frozen as well as a few creamy vegetable soups,bread,buns and cakes sliced and divided,wrapped and put in freezer bags.

[mommy2be1053]

My pattern since having kids seems to be cooking fresh made from scratch meals 3x and I usually always double or triple those recipes and freeze other half for our busy sport evenings.

food prep wise I always like to bake several pounds of bacon at a time and freeze them into portions, put my 2 dozen eggs in my IP to make hard boiled eggs for snacks, breakfast, etc shred 2 lb block of different cheeses into smaller containers. Make homemade marina sauce, and make several containers homemade stock for freezing. Make applesauce in season.

I also cook whole flank or some other similar cut at one time and divide the rest into 1/3 for other recipes or freeze for later. Whenever I cook whole roasted chickens, I tend to do 2 birds at a time too.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by mommy2be1053

My pattern since having kids seems to be cooking fresh made from scratch meals 3x and I usually always double or triple those recipes and freeze other half for our busy sport evenings.

food prep wise I always like to bake several pounds of bacon at a time and freeze them into portions, put my 2 dozen eggs in my IP to make hard boiled eggs for snacks, breakfast, etc shred 2 lb block of different cheeses into smaller containers. Make homemade marina sauce, and make several containers homemade stock for freezing. Make applesauce in season.

I also cook whole flank or some other similar cut at one time and divide the rest into 1/3 for other recipes or freeze for later. Whenever I cook whole roasted chickens, I tend to do 2 birds at a time too.

Yep, I've started baking bacon - did 4 pounds from Costco and froze half of it. I use it primarily in salads and breakfast burritos.

There were some great ideas for me in your post. Thanks!

[silibran]

I make broth from leftover chicken carcasses. I freeze it for future use. With the Instant Pot, I often make too much food for the two of us. I freeze leftovers for use at a later date. I don’t cook large batches simply to have at a later date, because I have limited freezer space.

[T. Damon]

Originally Posted by JrzDefector

If I could make tamales, I would. They are even better than breakfast burritos, and those make me SO happy.

I also am one to make fairly large portions when I cook and when I’m not taking over a dish to the neighbors have also learned to separate out some of the core fillings to mix and match with wraps (burritos and/or quesadillas), pasta/rice/potatoes either in the wrap or as a separate base dish and a protein of chicken, pork, egg or beef with different vegetables and sauce/cheese.

I’ve cooked professionally in several restaurants for years and so have an assembly line skill set along with timing that I can manage multiple pans on the stove and oven and then can assemble literally a dozen plus meals and a few different variations to freeze in no time.

The actual prep, cooking, assembly for a dozen meals and then the clean up afterwards is only nominally more than a dinner for two. I think you are just as smart and efficient as me. You know the ingredients that made up the meal and can make it fairly healthy for far cheaper than going out for a lunch or dinner when pressed for time.

Fortunately I live in an area where fantastic, cheap homemade tamales are available in local bakery’s, independent grocers and many street corners from hand carts that I could never reproduce as tasty as the experts. Similarly, we’ve got excellent street tacos; chicken, beef and pork from the local Mexican grocer tonight for nine bucks before the hockey game that I could never reproduce that cheaply or as tasty.

You learn to pick and choose what will work for those kinds of frozen meals and those that you can procure just as cheaply, fresh and better than you can produce from the local experts of your region.

Of course when I’ve got the time, which is frequent, I’m making the dinner from scratch.

[Mightyqueen801]

Not much. I live alone and as result have lost a lot of interest in cooking.

[Robinwomb]

There are several types of items I prepare in advance. I menu plan for the week and then prepare ahead on a Sunday:

food that takes a long time to cook that I plan to incorporate that week, such as wild rice, dried beans, homemade bread, homemade yogurt etc. This make it much faster to come together for dinners during the week.

I prepare a huge dish for five work day lunches and divide it into five days and add to containers. That is the one meal I eat the same thing each day. It's more convenient for my busy schedule, and making it ahead saves me time. I've never had an issue with anything I make for lunches keeping at least six days in the refrigerator in tight fitting containers. My lunches can be bean/vegetable soups, grain/bean/nut/fruit salads, vegetarian sandwiches, homemade hummus and raw veggies and crackers, soba noodles and steamed broccoli etc.