You taught me about batch cooking in the days of your brilliant blog. I still do it every weekend. I do a big batch of one meal - a curry, chilli, stroganoff, cottage pie or pasta sauce - for four nights for my partner and I. We pop in the freezer and have it over two weeks. We eat the same meal twice in a week which we don't mind. It means there is always four nights of "ready" meals each week. As an often exhausted full-time worker, batch cooking saves time and money. No more takeaways and there are less dishes to do. Thank you Jane.
Thanks for this, and also the honesty. I have a slight variation on batch cooking, as my long-term cancer patient husband goes *off* foods quickly, so back-to-back leftovers don't work for him. What I do instead is batch cook ingredients: roast a chicken, shred it, and freeze in meal-size portions, freeze rice/potato dishes, make mini (uncooked) meatloaves, buffalo chicken burger patties, egg rolls/Asian dumplings...basically stuff that's either already cooked and can be used or stuff that's time consuming to prep but fast to cook like the Asian dumplings. I also make and freeze: pesto, spaghetti bol, taco meat, rice bowls...anyway, you get the idea. You can actually batch cook the time-consuming stuff and pick and choose as needed. That helps me get around the "I don't want leftovers" quandary I face daily. :)
Everything looked so scrumptious. The pie was gorgeous. You definitely don't need to pay for a gym membership when you chuck and stack firewood. That's a money savings right there. Loved the batch cooking , hope to see more in the future sometime. Blessings to all, stay safe and keep warm ❤
After watching this video I really thought about how I cook. If I follow a recipe I always do enough for 4 one for today one for tomorrow and 2 for the freezer. Once a month I have a week of eating out of the freezer and I use any money saved on my shopping that week to top up the freezer and panty with any bargains I come across.
Your food looks amazing. You seem to have made so much out of your ingredients. Not only is it frugal, but I also think it's very family friendly, so perfect for families on a budget.
I cook about 2-3 times a week. A roasted chicken, stews or pot roasts, pork tenderloin or Salmon. My adult son doesn't mind leftovers which I can add more veggies to. I've done batch baking.
I do batch cook (sorry, late to the party here) for all the reasons mentioned but, here's my big one. I detest washing dishes! LOL And I use the same number of pots and pans for cooking a big batch as I do for cooking a single serving. (Not counting the freezer containers). And I can do all the chopping, stirring etc all at once. Yep, lazy wins out every time. Love this channel and you are so fun to watch and soothing to listen to. Thank you for all you do!
Your videos are so lovely and I love watching you in the kitchen cooking. I am not making much use of my freezer but I started doing a 'Sunday food prep', I batch cook for a few days and prep my veggies for the week ahead, it saves me tons of time. My next step is to take stock of my pantry and the foods that are there, I tend to forget that I have them. Thank you for the inspiration.
I absolutely "batch cook" mainly because I live alone and if I didn't batch cook and freeze the leftovers, a lot of my food would spoil before I ate it. I also "batch prep". For example, a lot of fresh produce I normally end up chopping and cooking at some point, so for a lot of that, if I'm noticing the produce is starting to look like it's time to use and I just don't think I'll get to it, I chop everything up and throw it in the freezer. Many of my friends act astonished that I genuinely cook every meal for myself (no "eating out" unless I'm on holiday) and I guess my dirty little secret is that I may not actually "cook" each meal every day; sometimes I'm just heating up something I made the day (or weeks) before. LOVED watching this batch cooking video of yours, and would be only too happy to see more in the future. I find these types of videos are always inspiring.
Yum 😋 Looks wonderful. We love batch cooking! Not only does it save our budget, but it also helps me health wise. I forget y’all don’t have large freezer/fridge appliances. I am very thankful for a large freezer. We do not bottle/can foods so I freeze anything and everything. I would love to learn to properly bottle foods. That is one thing I was never taught growing up. Thank you for sharing your lives with us. God bless.
I do alot of batch cooking...sort of. I'm a retired single on a tight budget so regular recipes usually create an appropriate excess to freeze. Batch and pantry cooking really keep my food costs down. This month is a pantry/ clean out the frig challenge. So far this week I have made bolognese sauce, broccoli soup, cauliflower soup, mini quiches, turkey soup. Remembering I needed to use up the odds and ends leftover from the holidays. This week will be the banana muffins, cranberry and orange muffins, mincemeat tea bread and some baked apples and applesauce. A portion will go into my freezer and a portion will be given to others to enjoy.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Your suggestion to have a treat ready to go is especially essential to making sure we don't feel we are depriving ourselves. Something nice to have ( that is already prepared in the freezer or cupboard) with our afternoon tea/coffee or when someone drops by can be not only a money saver but can help us to be more hospitable.
Greets from the Pacific Northwest where we are experiencing flooding. Right now my roadways are closed because of the flooding. I'm on high ground though and it's great time to watch your fun videos on batch cooking. Thanks for sharing your thoughts cooking with focus on meals for the future.
Rewatching this video as I am going to batch cook this weekend. I will be working most of next week so need home made ready made ready meals to pull out each night for my dinner each evening. I will make 3 meals which will do me 6 evening and 6 for the freezer for another week.
Hello again from Ontario Canada! I make it all up as I go along too...LOL...I use whatever beans I have on hand no matter what any recipe says. Take care.
I do batch cook or meal prep every Sunday. I do make 1 freeze 1. I also do stretch it further. So this week I have 750g of lean steak mince which I will stretch to 1.5 kg by adding a mixture of 750g of grated carrot, parsnip and red lentils. I cook it in my instant pot as basic mince then split it into 3 amounts. 1 will be turned into cottage pie, 1 will be turned into taco meat and 1 will become ragu. Thank you for your advice about looking on eBay - I now have a 3in1 waterproof coat and a pair of waterproof walking boots. Both arrived with tags attached and cost me £50 RRP £210!! X
Oh, Jane, thank you for your "some days I just don't want to cook". I, too, get those days. That's when I rely on the frozen leftovers I have in the freezer. Keeps us out of the restaurants.
Hello Jane and Michael, I love batch cooking. I work full time and take care of my elderly father and don't have a lot time, so batch cooking really saves me time and money. I have been doing it for quite a while. Love to see the things you cook. Gives me ideas. I often batch cook and freeze cottage pie, meatloaf, soups and stews, muffins and bread. Great video! Thanks!
Hi! I batch cook, like you it saves me so much time and money. My favourite is a spicy sausage stew with butter beans which I have either on its own or with a crusty roll or a pitta bread.
I love your apron. Did you make it yourself? I saw your videos about quilting, and it got me motivatet about finishing up my own quilt. And yesterday I startet a new quilting project. Thank you, you are so inspiering!
Loved this video! I also have days that I don't want to cook. Also for me with my arthritis in my knees and hips, standing for long periods of time is very painful. So I think I will try batch cooking fewer recipes at a time, than you did in the video. I going to try to batch cook once every two weeks, in order to limit the amount of time that I have to stand at one time. I bought myself a stand up freezer and freezing batch cooked recipes will be great. Your batched meals looked delicious, wish I had smell a vision. Thanks again for wonderful frugal ideas! 😋😍
We have batch cooked for quite a number of years now - it’s saves so much time and money and ensures that we are regularly eating healthy portion controlled meals xx
YES to batch cooking. Things will last a lot longer in a deep freezer which does not oscillate between being off and on, compared to a refrigerator freeze which does oscillate. I learned that the hard way! As I only have a fridge freezer, I just remember many things will only last about 90 days in good condition (they deteriorate slowly after that point). I strive to rotate and eat up items within that time frame. Batch cooking works for me on so many levels, not just the financial - I love to batch cook in the morning, early in the month.
I also batch cook now there’s just the two of us I do batches of 8 portions, 2 to eat that day and 6 for the freezer. We like bolognese, chilli, curry, cottage pie, corned beef hash(stew), lasagne, you soon get a good stock of homemade ready meals and just cook the side to go with it on the day of defrost. We also like quick meals too chips n egg, sausage n chips, pasty n baked beans, omlette n salad. Thanks for a great video …….. let the ads roll and give it a like Dolly and Mary need their treats ……. Love Wendy ♥️💋
I really enjoyed watching this. The meals you cooked look delicious especially the apple pie,that's the kind of food you want to be eating on a wet winters day. I did laugh when you showed us what your kitchen looked like after hours ot batch cooking. When I do any cooking my husband always says to me do you have to use every pot,pan and utensil in the kitchen,I'm glad I'm not the only one. Does Michael ever do any of the cooking? Hope Have a lovely weekend .
Hello Jane & Mike, What a fabulous life you have in France 🇫🇷 Just found your channel this week & have watched lots of videos & subscribed & watched the ads 😄 & 👍 some to rewatch for inspiration.What a great team you make & looking forward to watching future videos, as I embark on A No Spend Year. Thank you for all the effort & time you put into the content. Keep Cosy Lisa x
I used to batch cook and im going to start it up again. I hate having to cook when we get home from work and thus we eat out way too much. Loved the rain!!
Hi Jane, I do batch cook. Same as you. A dinner meal, lunch and occasionally some goes into the freezer. I batch cook with beans mostly. Different meals. I ask about the pasta. I haven’t had good results freezing the lentil gluten free pasta. I make a lot of muffins for my grandson & then freeze some. Thank you for your sharing and video!
While batch cooking is not always an option I could choose, I have been doing meal prepping, e.g. I would steam garbanzo or red beans in big containers and freeze in meal size portions. During those days when I revolt, I would simply pick up a boiled garbanzo box and in 10 minutes make a delicious ‘chhole’ or red beans and make ‘rajma’ , both of which can be taken with rice. The boys can’t live without meat, so I have started mixing minced meat or small pieces of chicken with both Chhole and rajma. Know this would be usually frowned upon by the traditional Indian community, but then I do me and I do what works :). Thank you for another lovely thought inspiring video.
Thank you, Jane. I really enjoy your cooking videos. I don't do lot of batch cooking but always make extras when I cook so we get at least 3 meals out of every preparation. My husband and I don't mind eating leftovers at all.
Yep, batch cooking is a great way to use up leftover items. My husband unexpectedly had surgery today, and I was grateful that he made it through. The other thing I am grateful for are the meals I had cooked ahead of time before his accident. One never knows how your routine schedule will change in a twinkling of an eye. Prepared meals will be a great help for the unexpected or overwhelming activities ahead.
I too do batch cooking. this month is going to be extra tight no spend and pantry challenge, as our water geyser/boiler has gone to the dumps and has to be replaced and also had other plumbing issues. luckily we have a rainy day fund for emergencies, but still is painful to dive into it. thank you for your ideas with good meals.
It takes just as much energy to cook/heat a full crock pot as a half full one. If you're using your oven or stove top, make it count! Definitely saves energy (electric and yours), time and stress by batch cooking. Grew up in large country family, we batch cooked every meal ...lol 😂🤠😂
Hello ! Did a lot of cooking over the holidays . Today last of my family left after Christmas holiday. Making very simple dishes like this for the next few days . My no spend starts next wee k. Thanks for inspiration !
I just loved this video! My freezer is the same size and I always thought it wasn't possible to store cooked food. There is so much space! Truly an inspiration. Thank you!
Thanks Jane :) All these meals look wonderful! We also batch cook and made quite a few things yesterday. My husband made beef stew and chicken fried rice and for myself I made some mashed potatoes and a big batch of mushroom gravy and some Mexican style refried pinto beans in the Instant pot and I also made a pasta sauce. We already had some brown rice and quinoa in the fridge and a lot of steamed vegetables and salad fixings. Now it's just reheats for a few days which I LOVE!!
I find batch cooking so useful, especially soups, casseroles, curries, and traditional meals such as shepherd's pie. As you say Jane, it's great on the days you don't want to cook!
I love your enamel pans with the big lip all the way around. I've never seen any like them. Batch cooking is great. I work remotely full time and on Saturdays while making a breakfast fry with everything in it, using up veggies, I'm chopping two more dishes of approx 4 meals each, and maybe a soup, to cook throughout the day while doing housework. Feels like a cozy staycation.
All your meals looked lovely I did a lot of baking in December cheese scones corned beef pies apple crumbles Shepard's pies casseroles so that over Christmas I don't have to cook much I'm still using some now and we're into January and I don't have to spend much on food this month we've still got plent to use up I do this at the begining of December every year I bake some thing each day from 1st of December till the20 th of December cos I can't stand to long to bake it all in one day and I love it I also made tuna fish cake and corned beef patties xx
Hallo Jane, i have an alotment and preserve al lot in mij freezer ore pantry. I make pasta sauce, applesauce and jams for my pantry. My freezer always has muffins for a snack
I do batch cook. Probably should do it more often! I have 3 children and soup is something I batch cook weekly. I make a big pot on the weekend and we often have it for our lunches since we home educate. I also like to make pasta bakes or lasagna or potato casseroles, 2 at a time. One for supper, one for the freezer. You are motivating me to clean out the frig and freezer and put a few things together! ❤
One thing I have done for years is batch cook, who knew I was in training for a more frugal life back then. Its so rewarding and I find being in the kitchen like that therapeutic. Some great meals there..as for a takeaway I tend to make "fake aways " nowadays and they taste so much better and probably take less time than you think. I made a blackberry ( picked so many and froze end of the summer ) and apple crumble a few weeks ago and made extra crumble mix and put in the freezer for another day, like you said when you fancy something really yummy.
Another triumph Jane,loved watching this. I do batch cook occasionally and like you it is pasta dishes, cottages pies, soups,cakes and muffins. Often make pastry and freeze for pies etc.....
Love your vid as usual. So wanting a new lentil recipe and bam... tfs ;) Generally I make double triple even quadriple dishes several times a week. For example cook up a triple batch of spaghetti with that nights dinner. Pop them extras into portions and in the freezer they go. Saves me having to do it all at once in several different dishes... sometimes taking up a whole weekend. Usually not much cooking to do for the 3 and 4th week of the month. And frugal for the win. Love this. BTW also love your French decor. Namaste:)
Last evening I baked a half ham that was on sale for .99/lb. Let it cool and put into the fridge. Tonight I will carve it up for all kinds of things -- slices for sandwiches, ham steaks, cubes for stir frys, to add to breakfast casseroles, and always save the bone with a generous amount of meat left on for a great soup or beans. Into freezer bags and the freezer it will go. A ham is always a winner and goes a long way :)
Hams are so versatile. When I cut up my ham for the freezer I label some has "Ham Slices" and the tiny pieces I cut away from the bone I call "Bits & Pieces" for soups and stir fries. It's amazing how much flavor a few little pieces give to a soup. I added them to my Potato Soup I'm cooking today. 😋
When I cook a piece of gammon in the ninja I cook it on a bed of onion, carrots, leek and celery. When the gammon is cooked I add more stock and a couple of table spoons of instant spud.....whizz it with the basic, instant soup. does us two or more lunches with either toast or a wholemeal roll. I can also freeze it to use later. I only add pepper to the stock, gammon can be a bit salty.
How satisfying to see all your delicious looking meals packed into the freezer and already to go! Well done Jane, the kitchen chaos well worth it! I always have pasta sauces stashed away already for a quick meal on days that I feel I can’t be bothered too! X
I do batch cooking as well, it makes those days that you just don’t want to cook so much easier. I made 2 huge pans of lasagna (spinach & ricotta, meat sauce and cheese) plus 2 large meat loaves for my freezer over the weekend. Now when I don’t feel like cooking I can just pull something out to thaw and heat it up. I noticed in this video that the chairs in the kitchen are the same ones I have for my dining set. I bought them from Ikea several years ago and I love them.
Loved the video, very inspiring to do some batch cooking. Before I start to decorate a room I always plan & pre-cook the weeks meals , as can’t be bothered to cook after working on room all day, and it stops me nipping out to the chip shop 👍. Great idea to have a few meals to choose from. Thanks x
I got away from batch cooking the last couple months thanks for getting me motivated again! I try to cook everyday from scratch and I run a business so when I get home tired and sometimes don't feel like cooking! It is definitely great to have some things stored away ready to go!
Just what I needed to watch, Jane 💕 Having just reassessed our finances and got back on track after Christmas, it’s good to remind ourselves of all the little ways we can save money to make a big difference. We cook once and eat twice as often as we can 😉 Thank you for another great video - I love your kitchen 😍
I really like your small freezer. We could easily fit something like that into our storage area--I'll have to check out what's available--after no-spend January, of course!
I love sausages and pasta together with onions. Yum ! I enjoy cooking like this, with whatever is available. I did this last night with bits thrown into pasta and it was delicious. Everything you made looks delicious ! tfs 🥰❄☃☔🌞🏜✝💗
Everything looked so yummy! I pictured parmesan cheese on the sausage and pasta dish. Your property is beautiful. Your house looks so much bigger on the outside than what I heard on a previous video. Very nice.😊
I made Chili and rice yesterday. There was quite a bit of leftover Chili, so I will cook some potatoes and carrots, add it to the Chili, and have a different meal with same base. I always make a batch of rice and put it in fridge for the week.
That was great, you got a lot done and saved a lot of waste. I often do enough for a couple of meals to be packed up. So today I made veg lasagna we had it for lunch and there are two portions left for tomorrow. If I make curry and there is only a little too much that goes in a small pot for one of us to have with a jacket potato and so on. I will have to have a go at doing it on your scale, I enjoy cooking but with energy prices rising it does make sense to make the most of the oven while it is on. Have a lovely week.
Wow that was a lot of food but it all looked delicious and must be really satisfying when you finish - I have only batch cooked on a minor scale a few times but it did make so much difference, I'd love to get an instant pot type appliance at some point as it really does seem to make the whole process so much quicker and saves energy too.
I'm so glad I subscribed! Your videos pop right up and I don't have to go looking for them. Batch cooking is such a great feeling to know you have several meals ready to go. I have Potato Soup in the slow cooker right now and the house smells divine. I made Artisan Bread earlier this morning and that will be great with the soup as well as yummy french toast for breakfast. Thank you for these great tips, Michael and Jane!
Some great ideas for meals there thanks. My husband makes a large lasagne na d burgers from 2 packs of mince and these do us over a month having 1 of each per week. We started this in lockdown and continued it as it was so tasty having them home cooked. I’d love to batch cook something with chicken but don’t know what. Xx
Hello! Jane and Mike. I made chocolate/banana muffins with leftovers this week too! The recipe called for all whole wheat flour and they were very nice. I used a new recipe for potato pancakes using leftover mashed potatoes and added some grated cheese. My no spend January is going very well so far. Thank you for the encouragement and great ideas. ALSO…. That apple pie that you made looks just like what I would purchase in the bakery! Well done. I’m going to try making the Shepherds Pie with lentils next time too. 🤗
Always enjoy your videos Jane & Mike! You keep me on track👍 I batch cook too, chilli, bolognese, curry, dinners etc So handy when life is so busy 😆 Everything you made looks delicious 😋🏴
Thanks Jane. Just fished batch cooking Spaghetti Bolonaise sauce for the freezer. Could you please do a video on how your easy ( no yeast) Pastry. Or a link to the video if you've already done one. Stay safe and well. Regards Trudy.🌸 South Africa.
Batch cooking is the best. I don't know why anyone would not do it, at least to some extent. I started with Once a Month Cooking (the book) in the late 1990s in my 20s so that I could stop resorting to cold cereal for dinner. I now do meal prep or batch cooking. I would love to see more videos like this. I eat vegan, but you cook so that meat is not the main attraction, which is pleasing to me as well as frugal. It also gives me ideas of what I could make.
Thank you!
You taught me about batch cooking in the days of your brilliant blog. I still do it every weekend. I do a big batch of one meal - a curry, chilli, stroganoff, cottage pie or pasta sauce - for four nights for my partner and I. We pop in the freezer and have it over two weeks. We eat the same meal twice in a week which we don't mind. It means there is always four nights of "ready" meals each week. As an often exhausted full-time worker, batch cooking saves time and money. No more takeaways and there are less dishes to do. Thank you Jane.
Good for you - we all need to give ourselves a break now and then
Thanks for this, and also the honesty. I have a slight variation on batch cooking, as my long-term cancer patient husband goes *off* foods quickly, so back-to-back leftovers don't work for him. What I do instead is batch cook ingredients: roast a chicken, shred it, and freeze in meal-size portions, freeze rice/potato dishes, make mini (uncooked) meatloaves, buffalo chicken burger patties, egg rolls/Asian dumplings...basically stuff that's either already cooked and can be used or stuff that's time consuming to prep but fast to cook like the Asian dumplings. I also make and freeze: pesto, spaghetti bol, taco meat, rice bowls...anyway, you get the idea. You can actually batch cook the time-consuming stuff and pick and choose as needed. That helps me get around the "I don't want leftovers" quandary I face daily. :)
I’m sure it’s difficult, take care
That’s a good idea Cheer. If I buy a freezer I will do that
Everything looked so scrumptious. The pie was gorgeous. You definitely don't need to pay for a gym membership when you chuck and stack firewood. That's a money savings right there. Loved the batch cooking , hope to see more in the future sometime. Blessings to all, stay safe and keep warm ❤
More batch cooking to come
Great video!👍👍👍👍👍 Thanks for Sharing!!
After watching this video I really thought about how I cook. If I follow a recipe I always do enough for 4 one for today one for tomorrow and 2 for the freezer. Once a month I have a week of eating out of the freezer and I use any money saved on my shopping that week to top up the freezer and panty with any bargains I come across.
Love it Pat!
Love watching this!! Great video. And loves the shots of the beautiful trees and the rain. ❤
Glad you enjoyed it!
Your food looks amazing. You seem to have made so much out of your ingredients. Not only is it frugal, but I also think it's very family friendly, so perfect for families on a budget.
Thanks Corinne, we don’t always eat that frugally but I did want to use up what I had
I batch cook soups mostly. Very easy, quick, and such a help to have dinner in the freezer! Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Jane!
You’re welcome and thanks for watching
I cook about 2-3 times a week. A roasted chicken, stews or pot roasts, pork tenderloin or Salmon. My adult son doesn't mind leftovers which I can add more veggies to. I've done batch baking.
I do batch cook (sorry, late to the party here) for all the reasons mentioned but, here's my big one. I detest washing dishes! LOL And I use the same number of pots and pans for cooking a big batch as I do for cooking a single serving. (Not counting the freezer containers). And I can do all the chopping, stirring etc all at once. Yep, lazy wins out every time. Love this channel and you are so fun to watch and soothing to listen to. Thank you for all you do!
Thanks Sherry
Your videos are so lovely and I love watching you in the kitchen cooking. I am not making much use of my freezer but I started doing a 'Sunday food prep', I batch cook for a few days and prep my veggies for the week ahead, it saves me tons of time. My next step is to take stock of my pantry and the foods that are there, I tend to forget that I have them. Thank you for the inspiration.
Happy to help and thanks very much for watching and taking the time to comment
Batch cooking sounds great
I absolutely "batch cook" mainly because I live alone and if I didn't batch cook and freeze the leftovers, a lot of my food would spoil before I ate it. I also "batch prep". For example, a lot of fresh produce I normally end up chopping and cooking at some point, so for a lot of that, if I'm noticing the produce is starting to look like it's time to use and I just don't think I'll get to it, I chop everything up and throw it in the freezer. Many of my friends act astonished that I genuinely cook every meal for myself (no "eating out" unless I'm on holiday) and I guess my dirty little secret is that I may not actually "cook" each meal every day; sometimes I'm just heating up something I made the day (or weeks) before. LOVED watching this batch cooking video of yours, and would be only too happy to see more in the future. I find these types of videos are always inspiring.
Definitely more in the future.
I can easily imagine that you were a wonderful teacher.
That’s very kind Rebecca
Yum 😋 Looks wonderful.
We love batch cooking!
Not only does it save our budget, but it also helps me health wise.
I forget y’all don’t have large freezer/fridge appliances.
I am very thankful for a large freezer. We do not bottle/can foods so I freeze anything and everything. I would love to learn to properly bottle foods.
That is one thing I was never taught growing up.
Thank you for sharing your lives with us.
God bless.
I do alot of batch cooking...sort of. I'm a retired single on a tight budget so regular recipes usually create an appropriate excess to freeze. Batch and pantry cooking really keep my food costs down. This month is a pantry/ clean out the frig challenge. So far this week I have made bolognese sauce, broccoli soup, cauliflower soup, mini quiches, turkey soup. Remembering I needed to use up the odds and ends leftover from the holidays. This week will be the banana muffins, cranberry and orange muffins, mincemeat tea bread and some baked apples and applesauce. A portion will go into my freezer and a portion will be given to others to enjoy.
That’s a lot of good ideas, thanks for sharing
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Your suggestion to have a treat ready to go is especially essential to making sure we don't feel we are depriving ourselves. Something nice to have ( that is already prepared in the freezer or cupboard) with our afternoon tea/coffee or when someone drops by can be not only a money saver but can help us to be more hospitable.
Hi Jane and Michael, getting all those meals prepared must be a great feeling. You truly are a frugal queen. Lots of love and well wishes. 💕
Thanks Debbie, just using up what we had
Greets from the Pacific Northwest where we are experiencing flooding. Right now my roadways are closed because of the flooding. I'm on high ground though and it's great time to watch your fun videos on batch cooking. Thanks for sharing your thoughts cooking with focus on meals for the future.
Oh my goodness, glad to hear you are ok. Sending prayers and well wishes from South Africa. ⚘
Take care
@@debbiekoortzen1154 this is Marily . The flood waters are receding in my area. I'm warm a cozy tucked up in my warm house. ☺
Are you in Alaska,Canada, or nw lower 48 states?If you don't mind me asking?
Thats a Question for Marily?
Hi Jane and everyone chilly here too but not - 14 …wow ! well tucked up with the dogs infront of the fire …start of the weekend ..yeh
We’re tucked up by the fire too.
Rewatching this video as I am going to batch cook this weekend. I will be working most of next week so need home made ready made ready meals to pull out each night for my dinner each evening. I will make 3 meals which will do me 6 evening and 6 for the freezer for another week.
I do batch cook & it saves so much time
Hello again from Ontario Canada! I make it all up as I go along too...LOL...I use whatever beans I have on hand no matter what any recipe says. Take care.
Thanks Dave and Karen. I can never get all of the ingredients. I live in a very rural area with very few shops.
I batch cook on occasion. It really depends on my freezer space. Great video!
Thanks for watching
I do batch cook or meal prep every Sunday. I do make 1 freeze 1. I also do stretch it further. So this week I have 750g of lean steak mince which I will stretch to 1.5 kg by adding a mixture of 750g of grated carrot, parsnip and red lentils. I cook it in my instant pot as basic mince then split it into 3 amounts. 1 will be turned into cottage pie, 1 will be turned into taco meat and 1 will become ragu. Thank you for your advice about looking on eBay - I now have a 3in1 waterproof coat and a pair of waterproof walking boots. Both arrived with tags attached and cost me £50 RRP £210!! X
All good tasty food there
Yes I do batch cook. My down fall is labelling!!!!! Often its pot luck as to what we eat. As you say only human.
Mystery meals, what fun
Oh, Jane, thank you for your "some days I just don't want to cook". I, too, get those days. That's when I rely on the frozen leftovers I have in the freezer. Keeps us out of the restaurants.
Hi Sandra, happy to help.
Hello Jane and Michael, I love batch cooking. I work full time and take care of my elderly father and don't have a lot time, so batch cooking really saves me time and money. I have been doing it for quite a while. Love to see the things you cook. Gives me ideas. I often batch cook and freeze cottage pie, meatloaf, soups and stews, muffins and bread. Great video! Thanks!
I must make a big batch of beef stew
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Would love to see your recipe! I am planning on a lamb and lentil stew soon.
Another good one!
Thanks Yuko
Hi. Sorry I missed the live chat but I'm here now.....and I let two ads run !! 😀
You're the best!
Hi! I batch cook, like you it saves me so much time and money. My favourite is a spicy sausage stew with butter beans which I have either on its own or with a crusty roll or a pitta bread.
We love chicken and chorizo stew, it’s spicy
I love your apron. Did you make it yourself? I saw your videos about quilting, and it got me motivatet about finishing up my own quilt. And yesterday I startet a new quilting project. Thank you, you are so inspiering!
I must do an apron tutorial.
Loved this video! I also have days that I don't want to cook. Also for me with my arthritis in my knees and hips, standing for long periods of time is very painful. So I think I will try batch cooking fewer recipes at a time, than you did in the video. I going to try to batch cook once every two weeks, in order to limit the amount of time that I have to stand at one time. I bought myself a stand up freezer and freezing batch cooked recipes will be great. Your batched meals looked delicious, wish I had smell a vision. Thanks again for wonderful frugal ideas! 😋😍
When I’m not feeling when, and I have horrible arthritis too, I cook a bit more and freeze one more meal for another day,
Good morning from chilly North Idaho, USA, Jane.
Good morning to you too
We have batch cooked for quite a number of years now - it’s saves so much time and money and ensures that we are regularly eating healthy portion controlled meals xx
I batch cook dinners. Example is if I'm making baked ziti I will make a large amount and freeze into small containers.
It does save time and money.
Inspiring..... I'm writing a shopping list now to then do some batch cooking !!!!
YES to batch cooking. Things will last a lot longer in a deep freezer which does not oscillate between being off and on, compared to a refrigerator freeze which does oscillate. I learned that the hard way! As I only have a fridge freezer, I just remember many things will only last about 90 days in good condition (they deteriorate slowly after that point). I strive to rotate and eat up items within that time frame. Batch cooking works for me on so many levels, not just the financial - I love to batch cook in the morning, early in the month.
I tend to cook and eat within a week
Love this channel
Thank you and welcome
You are such an inspiration and helps me stay on track. Thank you so much💜
Thanks Kathleen, how kind
This exactly the type of frugal channel I needed. Thank you!
You are most welcome
I also batch cook now there’s just the two of us I do batches of 8 portions, 2 to eat that day and 6 for the freezer. We like bolognese, chilli, curry, cottage pie, corned beef hash(stew), lasagne, you soon get a good stock of homemade ready meals and just cook the side to go with it on the day of defrost. We also like quick meals too chips n egg, sausage n chips, pasty n baked beans, omlette n salad. Thanks for a great video …….. let the ads roll and give it a like Dolly and Mary need their treats ……. Love Wendy ♥️💋
Thanks, the fluffies say thank you too.
thanks for uploading this video. yes i do batch cook. i have learned if from ypu by following you years ago .
Thanks very much for watching
I really enjoyed watching this. The meals you cooked look delicious especially the apple pie,that's the kind of food you want to be eating on a wet winters day. I did laugh when you showed us what your kitchen looked like after hours ot batch cooking. When I do any cooking my husband always says to me do you have to use every pot,pan and utensil in the kitchen,I'm glad I'm not the only one. Does Michael ever do any of the cooking? Hope Have a lovely weekend .
Michael doesn’t cook. I don’t mind. He is always so busy.
Hello Jane & Mike,
What a fabulous life you have in France 🇫🇷
Just found your channel this week & have watched lots of videos & subscribed & watched the ads 😄 & 👍 some to rewatch for inspiration.What a great team you make & looking forward to watching future videos, as I embark on A No Spend Year.
Thank you for all the effort & time you put into the content.
Keep Cosy Lisa x
Thanks Lisa and welcome to our frugal community
I used to batch cook and im going to start it up again. I hate having to cook when we get home from work and thus we eat out way too much. Loved the rain!!
We only eat out on our wedding anniversary, I always think of the money we’re saving when I cook , thanks for watching
Wonderful job. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Hi Jane, I do batch cook. Same as you. A dinner meal, lunch and occasionally some goes into the freezer. I batch cook with beans mostly. Different meals. I ask about the pasta. I haven’t had good results freezing the lentil gluten free pasta. I make a lot of muffins for my grandson & then freeze some. Thank you for your sharing and video!
I undercook the pasta and then gently warm through when defrosted
While batch cooking is not always an option I could choose, I have been doing meal prepping, e.g. I would steam garbanzo or red beans in big containers and freeze in meal size portions. During those days when I revolt, I would simply pick up a boiled garbanzo box and in 10 minutes make a delicious ‘chhole’ or red beans and make ‘rajma’ , both of which can be taken with rice. The boys can’t live without meat, so I have started mixing minced meat or small pieces of chicken with both Chhole and rajma. Know this would be usually frowned upon by the traditional Indian community, but then I do me and I do what works :). Thank you for another lovely thought inspiring video.
Good for you, you do you
Thank you, Jane. I really enjoy your cooking videos. I don't do lot of batch cooking but always make extras when I cook so we get at least 3 meals out of every preparation. My husband and I don't mind eating leftovers at all.
We’re not fussy eaters either.
Yet another terrific video. Thank you!
Thanks Yvonne
Fantastic , love your content , thanks so much for all your hard work :))
Yep, batch cooking is a great way to use up leftover items. My husband unexpectedly had surgery today, and I was grateful that he made it through. The other thing I am grateful for are the meals I had cooked ahead of time before his accident. One never knows how your routine schedule will change in a twinkling of an eye. Prepared meals will be a great help for the unexpected or overwhelming activities ahead.
I hope that he’s ok.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance He's home and now physical therapy begins.
I too do batch cooking. this month is going to be extra tight no spend and pantry challenge, as our water geyser/boiler has gone to the dumps and has to be replaced and also had other plumbing issues.
luckily we have a rainy day fund for emergencies, but still is painful to dive into it.
thank you for your ideas with good meals.
Sorry to hear about the water heater, keep batch cooking as it saves a heap of money
I must say I am starving looking at all your wonderful meals and will have to go cook something of my own.☺️
Happy cooking
I love watching your videos, have you got the recipe for the banana chocolate muffins please
Google nigella Lawson chocolate and banana muffins
@@FrugalQueeninFrance ok thank you
Great video! We don't eat potato, rice, pasta or pastry but I adjust your ideas and love to have a few freezer meals ready. Thanks Jane.
Excellent ideas, thank you. Love you videos Jane and Michael. ❤️
It takes just as much energy to cook/heat a full crock pot as a half full one. If you're using your oven or stove top, make it count! Definitely saves energy (electric and yours), time and stress by batch cooking. Grew up in large country family, we batch cooked every meal ...lol 😂🤠😂
Thanks for sharing. If I have to wash up, I might as well do a big load in one go! Same with cooking.
Hello ! Did a lot of cooking over the holidays . Today last of my family left after Christmas holiday. Making very simple dishes like this for the next few days . My no spend starts next wee k. Thanks for inspiration !
Thanks for watching and commenting
I just loved this video! My freezer is the same size and I always thought it wasn't possible to store cooked food. There is so much space! Truly an inspiration. Thank you!
Food jenga
Thanks Jane :) All these meals look wonderful! We also batch cook and made quite a few things yesterday. My husband made beef stew and chicken fried rice and for myself I made some mashed potatoes and a big batch of mushroom gravy and some Mexican style refried pinto beans in the Instant pot and I also made a pasta sauce. We already had some brown rice and quinoa in the fridge and a lot of steamed vegetables and salad fixings. Now it's just reheats for a few days which I LOVE!!
I love rice and beans in the instant pot
I find batch cooking so useful, especially soups, casseroles, curries, and traditional meals such as shepherd's pie. As you say Jane, it's great on the days you don't want to cook!
Yep, no one wants to cook every day.
I love your enamel pans with the big lip all the way around. I've never seen any like them. Batch cooking is great. I work remotely full time and on Saturdays while making a breakfast fry with everything in it, using up veggies, I'm chopping two more dishes of approx 4 meals each, and maybe a soup, to cook throughout the day while doing housework. Feels like a cozy staycation.
Hi Zee, thanks for sharing.
All your meals looked lovely I did a lot of baking in December cheese scones corned beef pies apple crumbles Shepard's pies casseroles so that over Christmas I don't have to cook much I'm still using some now and we're into January and I don't have to spend much on food this month we've still got plent to use up I do this at the begining of December every year I bake some thing each day from 1st of December till the20 th of December cos I can't stand to long to bake it all in one day and I love it I also made tuna fish cake and corned beef patties xx
That reminds me, I must make some salmon fish cakes
Brilliant work Jane, and as always it looks absolutely delicious.
Thanks Simon, I do my best
Hallo Jane, i have an alotment and preserve al lot in mij freezer ore pantry. I make pasta sauce, applesauce and jams for my pantry. My freezer always has muffins for a snack
You’re doing great, thanks for sharing
I do batch cook. Probably should do it more often! I have 3 children and soup is something I batch cook weekly. I make a big pot on the weekend and we often have it for our lunches since we home educate. I also like to make pasta bakes or lasagna or potato casseroles, 2 at a time. One for supper, one for the freezer. You are motivating me to clean out the frig and freezer and put a few things together! ❤
You’re doing a great job
Yess just made shepherds pie …. And a pasta bake too …..great minds think alike. Haha 😂
Tasty and simple
One thing I have done for years is batch cook, who knew I was in training for a more frugal life back then. Its so rewarding and I find being in the kitchen like that therapeutic. Some great meals there..as for a takeaway I tend to make "fake aways " nowadays and they taste so much better and probably take less time than you think.
I made a blackberry ( picked so many and froze end of the summer ) and apple crumble a few weeks ago and made extra crumble mix and put in the freezer for another day, like you said when you fancy something really yummy.
Like I said, it’s important to have something nice too
Another triumph Jane,loved watching this. I do batch cook occasionally and like you it is pasta dishes, cottages pies, soups,cakes and muffins. Often make pastry and freeze for pies etc.....
Wonderful!
I've just started batch cooking, I am used to cooking for 8 now it's 2, so when I over cook I just freeze the extra. And it does come in handy.
It certainly does come in handy
Love your vid as usual. So wanting a new lentil recipe and bam... tfs ;) Generally I make double triple even quadriple dishes several times a week. For example cook up a triple batch of spaghetti with that nights dinner. Pop them extras into portions and in the freezer they go. Saves me having to do it all at once in several different dishes... sometimes taking up a whole weekend. Usually not much cooking to do for the 3 and 4th week of the month. And frugal for the win. Love this. BTW also love your French decor. Namaste:)
Namaste right back to you too Lady Luna
Last evening I baked a half ham that was on sale for .99/lb. Let it cool and put into the fridge. Tonight I will carve it up for all kinds of things -- slices for sandwiches, ham steaks, cubes for stir frys, to add to breakfast casseroles, and always save the bone with a generous amount of meat left on for a great soup or beans. Into freezer bags and the freezer it will go. A ham is always a winner and goes a long way :)
It certainly is
Hams are so versatile. When I cut up my ham for the freezer I label some has "Ham Slices" and the tiny pieces I cut away from the bone I call "Bits & Pieces" for soups and stir fries. It's amazing how much flavor a few little pieces give to a soup. I added them to my Potato Soup I'm cooking today. 😋
When I cook a piece of gammon in the ninja I cook it on a bed of onion, carrots, leek and celery. When the gammon is cooked I add more stock and a couple of table spoons of instant spud.....whizz it with the basic, instant soup. does us two or more lunches with either toast or a wholemeal roll. I can also freeze it to use later. I only add pepper to the stock, gammon can be a bit salty.
Jane, you are a joy to watch. Happy New Year!
How very kind, thank you
How satisfying to see all your delicious looking meals packed into the freezer and already to go! Well done Jane, the kitchen chaos well worth it! I always have pasta sauces stashed away already for a quick meal on days that I feel I can’t be bothered too! X
I always rotary and have a couple of meals, even if it’s just some cooked chicken picked off the bones.
I enjoyed this batch cooking video very much. Efficient preparation, attractive presentation, and convenient freezer storage -- good for you!
Hi Happy, I appreciate your support
I do batch cooking as well, it makes those days that you just don’t want to cook so much easier.
I made 2 huge pans of lasagna (spinach & ricotta, meat sauce and cheese) plus 2 large meat loaves for my freezer over the weekend.
Now when I don’t feel like cooking I can just pull something out to thaw and heat it up.
I noticed in this video that the chairs in the kitchen are the same ones I have for my dining set. I bought them from Ikea several years ago and I love them.
Yes, they are ikea chairs. I love having meals in the freezer
Loved the video, very inspiring to do some batch cooking. Before I start to decorate a room I always plan & pre-cook the weeks meals , as can’t be bothered to cook after working on room all day, and it stops me nipping out to the chip shop 👍. Great idea to have a few meals to choose from. Thanks x
If I see them, I keep some oven chips in the freezer, great with a fried egg.
Hi Jayne can you tell me where you got your cuisine sign from I absolutely love it
Maisons du monde
I got away from batch cooking the last couple months thanks for getting me motivated again! I try to cook everyday from scratch and I run a business so when I get home tired and sometimes don't feel like cooking! It is definitely great to have some things stored away ready to go!
It used to be vital to me when I was working full time and commuting, now I just want to save some money.
Just what I needed to watch, Jane 💕 Having just reassessed our finances and got back on track after Christmas, it’s good to remind ourselves of all the little ways we can save money to make a big difference. We cook once and eat twice as often as we can 😉 Thank you for another great video - I love your kitchen 😍
Thanks so much for watching and commenting
I really like your small freezer. We could easily fit something like that into our storage area--I'll have to check out what's available--after no-spend January, of course!
Great idea!
I love sausages and pasta together with onions. Yum ! I enjoy cooking like this, with whatever is available. I did this last night with bits thrown into pasta and it was delicious. Everything you made looks delicious ! tfs 🥰❄☃☔🌞🏜✝💗
Thanks Mom
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Welcome ! Have a good week ! 🥰❄☃☔🌞🏜✝💗
Everything looked so yummy! I pictured parmesan cheese on the sausage and pasta dish.
Your property is beautiful.
Your house looks so much bigger on the outside than what I heard on a previous video. Very nice.😊
Thanks Esther
I made Chili and rice yesterday. There was quite a bit of leftover Chili, so I will cook some potatoes and carrots, add it to the Chili, and have a different meal with same base. I always make a batch of rice and put it in fridge for the week.
P.S. You're very close to 13 thousand subscribers! Yay!
Whoop!
I like the lentil shepherd's pie, looks especially delicious - oh and the choc banana muffins.
It is fabulous, you don’t miss the meat
@@FrugalQueeninFrance The green and brown lentils are really meaty, aren't they.
That was great, you got a lot done and saved a lot of waste. I often do enough for a couple of meals to be packed up. So today I made veg lasagna we had it for lunch and there are two portions left for tomorrow. If I make curry and there is only a little too much that goes in a small pot for one of us to have with a jacket potato and so on. I will have to have a go at doing it on your scale, I enjoy cooking but with energy prices rising it does make sense to make the most of the oven while it is on. Have a lovely week.
Thanks Dianne
Wow that was a lot of food but it all looked delicious and must be really satisfying when you finish - I have only batch cooked on a minor scale a few times but it did make so much difference, I'd love to get an instant pot type appliance at some point as it really does seem to make the whole process so much quicker and saves energy too.
Rice and beans in 6 minutes or rice in 4 minutes is so quick.
I'm so glad I subscribed! Your videos pop right up and I don't have to go looking for them. Batch cooking is such a great feeling to know you have several meals ready to go. I have Potato Soup in the slow cooker right now and the house smells divine. I made Artisan Bread earlier this morning and that will be great with the soup as well as yummy french toast for breakfast. Thank you for these great tips, Michael and Jane!
Thanks so much for subscribing and leaving a comment.
Very inspiring, it looks so delicious!
Thanks very much
They all looked delicious.Your kitchen looks beautiful by the way x
Thank you twice and thanks for watching.
Some great ideas for meals there thanks. My husband makes a large lasagne na d burgers from 2 packs of mince and these do us over a month having 1 of each per week. We started this in lockdown and continued it as it was so tasty having them home cooked. I’d love to batch cook something with chicken but don’t know what. Xx
Chicken and chorizo stew is a favorite for us.
Fab thanks for the idea xx
Hello! Jane and Mike. I made chocolate/banana muffins with leftovers this week too! The recipe called for all whole wheat flour and they were very nice. I used a new recipe for potato pancakes using leftover mashed potatoes and added some grated cheese. My no spend January is going very well so far. Thank you for the encouragement and great ideas. ALSO…. That apple pie that you made looks just like what I would purchase in the bakery! Well done. I’m going to try making the Shepherds Pie with lentils next time too. 🤗
Thanks Jeanette
All the meals looks delicious. I need to do this:)
Thanks Jo. I appreciate that you watch
😋
Always enjoy your videos Jane & Mike! You keep me on track👍 I batch cook too, chilli, bolognese, curry, dinners etc So handy when life is so busy 😆 Everything you made looks delicious 😋🏴
I must make a veggie curry
Thanks Jane. Just fished batch cooking Spaghetti Bolonaise sauce for the freezer. Could you please do a video on how your easy ( no yeast) Pastry. Or a link to the video if you've already done one. Stay safe and well. Regards Trudy.🌸 South Africa.
Search frugal queen Cornish pasties to watch me make pastry
Batch cooking is the best. I don't know why anyone would not do it, at least to some extent.
I started with Once a Month Cooking (the book) in the late 1990s in my 20s so that I could stop resorting to cold cereal for dinner. I now do meal prep or batch cooking.
I would love to see more videos like this. I eat vegan, but you cook so that meat is not the main attraction, which is pleasing to me as well as frugal. It also gives me ideas of what I could make.
It’s always easy to switch out meat for an alternative, we don’t eat meat every day.