Batch cooking is something we have done for a while now but something we intend to do a lot more of moving forward as I believe it will save us energy costs. Using the oven is expensive with the current energy costs here in the UK and so whenever I know I need to use it I try and plan to make a variety of things and maximize the production, using every spare space in the oven whilst it is hot.
I do this not just with the oven but also with the slow cooker and anything I'm cooking on the hob too. As you can see here i used the hob and oven to make a batch of apple and blackberry pies. The apples and blackberries were cooked down on the stove before being transferred into the dishes, i then added pre-rolled pastry to the tops and baked them until golden. We won't use all three pies in one week but we will keep one out and freeze the other two. That way we can simply take one out to defrost when we want it, eat it cold or heat it for a 30-40 seconds in the microwave to warm it up. Each one of these pies serves 4 of us.
I've been using our casserole dishes for this sort of thing but recently came across foil style trays which i may consider investing in so that i can batch cook more at any given time. At the moment I'm limited to how many i can make at a time based on how many dishes i have available, the foil trays would mean i could cook and freeze many more. My only reservation is whether they are reusable or if they have to be disposed of after each use, which in the long run would be a waste of money i think, I'd be better of buying more dishes if that was the case. I might buy one pack and experiment, see how many uses i can get from each one.
If you already use the tin foil trays, like these, and have any feedback on how well they last i'd love to hear from you.
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