We have had a very busy couple of terms at school, with my youngest child doing an activity every afternoon. He has ballet, piano, cubs, singing lessons, Glee club, drama, band practice and goodness knows what else. I can hardly keep up. It has created a lot of tension in our family as the year has played out. Part of that is the eternal question...what's for dinner? Feeling tense after running in the door this is the last thing I want to be asked. So, to alleviate that stress, I spent several hours cooking and made dinner for a fortnight!
Here's what I did. The recipes may not suit your family, but you can easily adjust them. As you read through the process, you'll see that by making some basic bases, it is easy to adjust them for different effect.
If you follow this, here's what you will be freezing:
2 x Sausage Casserole
1 x Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
1 x Vege and Bacon Gratin
1 x Macaroni Cheese
1 x Potato Gratin
1 x Meatballs
1 x Chicken in Italian Tomato Sauce
1 x Chicken in Cream Sauce with Asparagus
1 x Pork Pie with Apples
The idea is that you can pull one of these out of the freezer in the morning, and heat it up when you get home, or you could add Wedges/Potato Mash/Veges/Salad etc and possibly eke it out over two nights.
My man is a hefty meat eater, so these recipes are mostly meat orientated, you can easily change that if you want. Most of the veges (asparagus, spinach etc) are from our garden, but are easily bought. We have mushrooms in our garden at the moment, and I added some of them to both the Pork Pie and the Meatballs. I have left them out of the recipe, but feel free to add them if you wish. I just thought they are an expensive addition if you have to buy them.
We also have a lot of dairy in our house, because of our cow. So we have access to infinite amounts of milk, cream, etc. Our chickens provide the eggs.
I haven't costed this out, but pretty cheap I think, even if you have to buy everything.
METHOD
Buy or scrounge 10 large tinfoil containers, place 8 of them out on your kitchen bench. I did it in two rows, so that I could see easily. Put out two large bowls, one for the meatballs, one for the spanakopita
INGREDIENTS Purchase/pick/swap/scrounge the following:
10 x large Onions
100g butter for the onions
4 x cans Tomatoes chopped with Basil
1 can Black Olives
1 x 500g Pasta of your choice
2 x Oxo Meat cubes
2 x potatoes
4 x carrots
4 x leeks
2 x apples
2kg potatoes
1 bunch Asparagus
Several large bunches of Spinach
4T butter for white sauce
1c Flour
2litres Milk
4 slices of Bread
Chicken thighs - enough to feed your family twice, in our case this was 10 chicken thighs
1kg Bacon Ends (I got these from Rangiora Fruit and Veg shop for $5)
3c Grated Cheese
5 Eggs
1kg Mince
1kg diced pork
2kg Sausages
1 can pineapple pieces - if liked
5 sheets frozen Flaky Pastry
Bunch Sage
Bunch Thyme
3 x 300ml cream
1 tub Sour Cream - to finish the Chicken in Asparagus when cooked
1 250g carton of cottage cheese
1t nutmeg
2 cloves garlic
TO MAKE UP
Defrost Flaky Pastry sheets.
Chop all the onions - I did this in the food processor, Saute them in a large pan on the stove, in butter till soft. I like to use butter, firstly because I make it free from our cow, and secondly I prefer the flavour, but you could use oil if you want here.
In another large pot bring salted water to the boil. When boiling cook the 500g Pasta and drain.
Divide the onions evenly between 8 of the containers and the two large bowls.
Into the first two containers put the number of chicken thighs you need for your family. You now have the basis for the two Chicken dishes.
Finish first chicken dish: Pour over 2 cans of canned tomatoes/basil. Throw olives over.
Put cooked pasta into another container.
Chop sausages into pieces and place into two other containers. Dissolve oxo cubes in water, add 2T flour, and mix in (this will thicken it on cooking), and pour over the sausages. Add fresh thyme. Peel and chop 2 potatoes into cubes, sprinkle over.
Grate the carrots. Divide - some onto sausages, some into one bowl for meatballs, one into a new container (for Vege Gratin)
Peel and slice leeks, place in Vege Gratin dish.
Cut Asparagus and divide between Vege Gratin and remaining Chicken dish
Wilt Spinach in the pot you boiled the macaroni in (no need to wash!). Divide between Vege Gratin and Spanakopita bowl.
In the same pot make a cheese sauce, with 4T butter, 1/2c flour and about 2 litres milk. Add salt and Pepper generously. Pour half of this over the Vege Gratin . Add 1c grated cheese and then pour the remainder the Macaroni Cheese.
Into the Spanakopita bowl break 4 eggs, add 1 carton cottage cheese.
Grate all the cheese and add some to the Spanakopita bowl. Sprinkle the remainder over the Vege Gratin.
On the stove fry all the bacon bits, till browned. Add some to the Pork Pie container, some to the Vege Gratin and some to the Sausage Casseroles and a little to the Macaroni Cheese.
Finish Macaroni Cheese.
Peel and thinly slice the 2kg of Potatoes. Put them into your large pot, cover with 1 x 300ml cream, and enough milk to just cover the slices. Add 2 cloves of garlic, crushed. Add salt and pepper. Simmer till thick.
Finish Sausage Casseroles - once bacon is in, they are done
Finish Vege Gratin shred four slices of bread, sprinkle two over the Gratin. Add the other two to the meatballs bowl.
Finish Chicken with Asparagus pour over 1/2c cream. (When defrosted and cooked, stir in 1 tub sour cream)
Finish Spanakopita stir all ingredients together, add salt and pepper, add 1t nutmeg. Put into one of the spare containers. When cool - top with 2 sheets of flaky pastry. Stick pastry with a fork to let air in when cooking.
Add 1 egg to the meatball bowl, using y our hands mix well. Roll into balls, put onto a lined oven tray and bake at 180C for about 20 mins till browned. Put into the other spare container.
Finish Meatballs pour over 2 cans tomatoes in basil
Slice pork, add to the last container (this should have onions in already). Add 2 chopped apples and can of pineapple pieces. Add chopped sage.
Finish Pork Pie - Dissolve 1 oxo cube in 1 cup water, stir in 2T flour (to thicken when cooking). Pour over. Top with 2 sheets flaky pastry. Use the last sheet of pastry to cut leaves and flowers. Decorate Pork Pie and Spanakopita. Stick with a fork to let out air when cooking.
Mix one egg with 1/2c cream. Brush the top of both the Pork Pie and the Spanakopita.
Your potatoes will now be mostly cooked, and the cream/milk thick. Pour into the last remaining container.
Finish Potato Gratin
Sprinkle all with salt and pepper as necessary.
Cover the tops with tinfoil, label and date. Let cool, then freeze.
