Do You Even Batch Cook?

[SimplyTsundere]

I don't. I don't lift as much as I'd like either. And that's why I'm here!

 

Do you have any yummy, easy batch cooking recipes to share? I'd love to know what they are so I can start incorporating them into my arsenal! Or do you have any tips and tricks to get the best out of your batch?

[StillWaters]

The only thing I batch cook is meat and fish. I simply buy whatever value-pack sized amount of meat happens to be on sale that week (this week happend to be chicken thighs), toss it into a pan, season with onion and garlic powder and an off-the-shelf seasoning that is made for that type of meat, and bake for an hour. Done. I then have luch and diner for the week, all I have to do is steam some frozen vegetables in the microwave for 15 min, and even that is done in batches.

[SimplyTsundere]

I wish when I was reheating my food I could use an oven but it'd like be a microwave. And microwaved chicken is sad.

[JulesPaxton]

Kind of. Does 4 servings count as a "batch"? 

 

I usually cook for 2 people x 2 meals, which results in making a full-sized meal for 4..or 4 meals for 1. My favorites are a beef stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onion (reheats beautifully and flavor gets better with age!) and a Thai green chicken curry (same as before, and last time included broccoli, snow peas, carrots). Both are easy to load with veggies (even ones I'd not normally eat on their own...like carrots) and meat alike!

 

Also somewhat non-paleo, green chile chicken enchiladas. (Non-paleo due to the corn tortillas.) If you want to skip the tortillas, you could include the shredded chicken, green chiles, and verde enchilada sauce, top with onions, and eat as a dish on its own. I would suggest a side of veggies with this, although my fav is black beans (again, non-Paleo).

 

When microwaving is the only option, I avoid re-heating fish, which is a shame...I love it, but I hate microwaved fish. Ick. 

[SimplyTsundere]

Oooooooooooh stirfry and those enchiladas are great ideas...and two of my favorite dishes!

[JulesPaxton]

And my fav thing about enchiladas: you can WALK AWAY while they cook. Yes. And they reheat beautifully.

 

I have these with 1-2 corn tortillas and a sprinkling of cheese because i'm naughty. It beats a fast-food takeout meal though. Cheaper, too.

 

One more I've been wanting to try: Paleo egg muffins. They're just beaten eggs, poured in a muffin tin, with ingredients like spinach, ham, mushroom sprinkled in. It seems this would be a good breakfast/snack food and very quick to make.

[JulesPaxton]

On veggies: my fav dish is French cut green beans mixed with 1/2 - 1/3 of diced, cooked onion and a strip of bacon (cut into little tiny bits). Throw in red (cayenne) pepper, white pepper, black pepper, and salt. Yum. Great Southern green beans.

 

Boyfriend's fav is zucchini spears cooked in the oven, tossed with a little olive oil and salted/peppered!

 

Both last awhile during the week and are quick (<15-20 mins).

[Disil]

I don't know if you can view this video from your location, but it's one of my favourite recipes in general and easily should make for 3 big servings, maybe 4, can be frozen as well (although better simply reheated a day later).

 

 

Using 400g of sausages with 222cal and 19.3g protein per 100g, I end up with a big pot of 2019 calories and 96g of protein.

[SimplyTsundere]

I don't know if you can view this video from your location, but it's one of my favourite recipes in general and easily should make for 3 big servings, maybe 4, can be frozen as well (although better simply reheated a day later).

 

 

Using 400g of sausages with 222cal and 19.3g protein per 100g, I end up with a big pot of 2019 calories and 96g of protein.

 

That looks...delicious.

[Disil]

It tastes absolutely amazing too. Out of the 20-30 new recipes I tried since March easily my favourite. It's relatively simple, not expensive, decently quickly to make and you can even vary the taste a good bit, depending on what kind of sausage you use (I started out using merguez, then tried wild boar sausages and they're my go-to now). Here's how mine looked when served:

[Balthazar]

I had a huge problem with reheating chicken too, but shredded chicken works a treat.

 

I get 9 chicken breasts, cross score them with a knife and rub in a combo of salt, pepper, cinnamon, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper.

 

Chuck them whole in to a slow cooker with some Worcestershire sauce and half a bottle of bbq sauce and then leave it on low cook for ten hours.

 

when I come back the chicken falls apart to a fork.

 

Then I use it throughout the week, thanks to the moisture retained in the chicken it heats up fine. Yesterday I had some with a salad and today I put some in a tortilla with some pre cooked smoked bacon I had and some cheese and microwaved it. It was gorgeous.

 

No restaurant even comes close

[Balthazar]

AND it gives you that vital protein hit you need

[SimplyTsundere]

I suprisingly didn't think about doing slow cooker chicken thanks for the idea Daniel!

[A banana]

No, I like to eat everything fresh.

[SimplyTsundere]

I'd totally prefer to eat everything fresh but not possibly with my chaotic work life.

[Thereisonlyzuul]

Chili works really well for batch cooking if you aren't super strict paleo. We make both red chili and white chicken chili every few weeks and eat for a few days. Ground beef is a great freezer batch item. Cook a crap load. Bag it into single meal or recipe portions and freeze them. When you need a bag for dinner, just throw it in the meal and let it heat up. No need to thaw or spend extra time browning and draining it. Shredded pork works out really well this way too.

[jcsimmons]

the biggest thing i typically batch cook is my chilli. It costs about $40-50 to make. depending on the sizes i portion out (and how much i eat day one) can make about 5-7 meals. I have also just started using my slow cooker. i did a pork roast a few weeks ago that gave me several meals. this weekend im planning on getting stuff to make a few different soups and stews.

 

but typically i tend to cook meals day of. i buy meats in bulk and have frozen veggies for a variety of meals however i have a bad habit of being indicisive on what food i want to eat that day....

[Vintage]

I definitely batch cook - if I don't I end up eating junk, both because I end up short on time but also because I use batch cooking as a reason not to eat out/eat unplanned stuff (sure chick-fil-a sounds amazing right now, but I've already got food cooked that needs to be eaten or it'll be a waste of money).

 

 

Crockpot shredded chicken is definitely a go-to for me. It works with a jar of salsa dumped over it. I'll add in carrots and other veggies as well. Beans too if I need extra carbs. This works with pork as well. Chili is easy. Meatballs - I make huge batches and freeze them in bags. Roasting veggies is easy to do in large quantities (chop them, toss them in olive oil, spread them on a baking tray and stick them in the oven till they taste yummy). This week I made a pan that had a bunch of zucchini, cherry tomatoes, a red onion in wedges, carrots, mushrooms, and a whole head of peeled garlic cloves (left whole) with some balsamic vinegar and basil tossed on at the end. Also a tray of broccoli with diced up bacon. And one of crispy brussels sprouts with garlic salt.