If you are like me and you love your food as well getting the most value out of it, finding different ways to rustle up some tasty treats for the whole family whilst watching the pennies is quite a skill.
From eating seasonally and buying local, to serving appropriately sized portions to avoid unnecessary food waste, there are lots of ways in which we can all easily provide nutritious meals which are not only good for our pocket, they are good for our health and our planet too.
There are also leftovers of course, a firm favourite for thrifty cooks who love to enjoy their best dishes a second time round. The good news here is leftovers are coming back in fashion too – hurrah!
With ‘issues’ surrounding supermarket ready-meals and the ever-rising expense of food, many people are beginning to appreciate the real value of a second meal freshly made from the leftovers of a home-cooked dish.
And what is one of our favourite leftover dishes? Curry, of course.
Now, I’m a curry lover myself, but I must admit I do get stuck in a bit of a rut when it comes to making one. But not any more!
The Hairy Bikers’ Great Curries by Si King and Dave Myers
I’ve recently been sent the latest book from the fabulous Hairy Biker’s collection, ‘Great Curries’ and I love it. To create this book, Si King and Dave Myers have travelled around the world collecting along their way some of the all-time best curry recipes.
As well as some fabulous dishes, my favourite so far Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry, this comprehensive curry cook book effortlessly explains the basics of a curry including the essential herbs, spices and other ingredients, as well as a whole chapter on curry and a beer – what more could you need!
The Hairy Bikers’ Great Curries by Si King and Dave Myers, published by Weidenfield & Nicolson £20 (eBook £10.99).
Freeze by Justine Pattison
The next book I want to tell you about is ‘Freeze’ by Justine Pattison, a gorgeous book that aims to encourage us all to revolutionize the way we use our freezer and ‘make life just that bit easier’.
Now as a freezer-fan myself I thought I’d be pretty clued up on all of the things you can do with a freezer, but it’s fair to say Justine’s book has opened my eyes.
Beautifully illustrated, this book has everything from ‘Quick fix’ meals, family meals, entertaining and cakes and cookies and it will certainly inspire you to get freezing.
Some of my favourite recipes include ‘Super-quick and saucy toffee pudding’ – IT’S DELICIOUS and ‘Roasted tomato soup’ – super simple and fantastic for an effortless, but nutritious lunch.
As well as these mouth-watering dishes ‘Freeze’ also has great advice on getting the most out of your freezer. From space-saving ‘flat freezing’, tips on freezer maintenance, tools and of course an ‘at a glance’ guide on how to freeze everything from artichokes to yoghurts. The only admission, Justine’s not mentioned my very handy and freezer-friendly Count On It® labels.
Freeze by Justine Pattison, published by Weidenfield & Nicolson £18.99 (eBook £9.99)
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I love to freeze pasta dishes
I also freeze batches of food for my baby son to save time 
Me too Nat. Batch freezing my baby son’s meals was one of the reasons I invented Count On It labels so I could keep track on how long they’d been stored.
I like to freeze curry or chilli as when we make them, we make several meals worth. Its then easy to defrost them and heat them up when we want an easy dinner
If you love curries, you’ll also love the Hairy Bikers Great Curries cookbook too - it’s fabulous and a must for curry-lovers!
I love to freeze curries when I make a batch so that we’re never caught short during the week for a tasty treat at teatime. Plenty of naan bread too for a full on curry fest
I love to batch cook and freeze meals on the weekend so that we have meals ready through the week when we are working.
I freeze fish pie and lasagne. Boring stuff. I need freeze in my life !
Fish pie, boring, I don’t agree? If it’s nutritious, saves you money and is a family favourite - it’s a win-win-win in my book
i love to freeze pretty much pasta as there is always so much of it. its always handy to make a bit extra and save for little one x
Chilli Con Carne
Home made soups - I always make a huge pan and freeze what I don’t use! It defrost really easy and is great for these unexpected cold spells!
I do exactly the same Tracy. My current favourite Broccoli and cheese - it’s just perfect for the weather we are having now!
beef lasagna mmm
I can’t stand to waste food as that is wasting money too. I like to make soup, curry, chilli, bolognese and stews etc in large batches in my slow cooker and then thaw and reheat when needed. We have to do it because we live in a small village in a remote area so would soon be without food in a long cold spell if the lorries couldn’t get through to deliver up here. I freeze sponge cakes and fairy cakes as well. meat stock in ice cube trays, just everything I possibly can,I love my freezers
I’m with you Louise - batch cooking and freezing makes so much sense. I hope you are well and have plenty of frozen food reserves during the freezing weather we are having at the moment
Soups!! and batches of chilli or bolognese
My chicken Korma as tastes so yummy
shepherds piex
Chilli con carni, as it also tends to make a little more spicy
I like to use my slow cooker and make a big batch of stew or hot pot and warming soups. Its great to grab one of these out of the freezer on a cold day, to warm me up. It almost feels like someone’s cooked for me!
I like to batch cook my diet friendly meals. Soup, chilli and cottage pies are my favourite.
soups are my favourite thing to freeze, I cook & freeze them in bulk ( in individual servings ) Brilliant back up for when I don’t feel like cooking
Lasagne
Soup. I make a huge batch at the weekend and have it for lunch all week.
I make up bulk soup on a Sunday for lunches through the week:
1. Carrot & coriander
2. Broccoli
Both dead cheap and easy to make
soups
Most things really. My wife makes me a lot of meals and freezes them for when i’m working shifts. My fave is her chicken curry.
Currys and Chilli dishes
Lasagne
corned beef hash
I make a big batch of Aloo Gobi and freeze it. I often take it to my work for lunch! I’ve also just found out you can freeze roast peppers, so I’ve started doing this too. It means they are on hand whenever I need to add them to a recipe. I’m always wary about what I can or can’t freeze.
Tomato sauce and beef ragu - they can be used for a huge amount of recipes!
chicken curry, lasagne, i always make bigger batches on the night that i cook them so they are easily cooked for a quick dinner
Homemade stews
Spag bol
Casseroles and pasta. I make a bit too much and then freeze the “leftovers”. Good luck to everyone x
vegetable stew
soup
My favourite dish to freeze is homemade chillI! It tastes even better the second time round
Apple sauce and crumble
Chilli Con Carne - I make a huge pot and freeze some for a later date - always tastes just as good!
shepherds pie
I love to freeze lasagna!
I love to freeze home made soups and home made bread
I bought a soup maker and there is always far too much so I freeze about half of it
I love to make soup and then freeze it, tastes just as good when you defrost it!
lamb curry
As there are only a couple of us in the household, I tend to make enough pasta dishes for 4 and freeze the leftovers to reheat another day.
I love making proper home-made soup from our veg bag ingredients, putting it into individual portions and then freezing them for lunches during the week :O)
My mind has gone blank now, which is strange. We freeze any leftovers in single portions, I just love to heat up a slice of pie for lunch. Yum! Chilli is handy to still in the freezer.
…………..my Lancashire Hotpot
Bolognaise - hubby doesn’t like it (I know how can you not?) so I make in bulk & have when he is out.
Curries
I freeze a tomato based spicy sauce and add it too pasta, curries or bolognaise.
I like to freeze Spag bol and chilli
I like to freeze shepherds pie I make a three and freeze two of them.
I make chicken and ham pies in a batch and freeze them
Individual portions of cottage (or shepherd’s) pie
Soup, especially my White Bean recipe.
I always make sure there is some healthy home cooked meals in the freezer so I’m not tempted to get a take away if I’m feeling lazy. I also batch cook my sons baby food
stew
Love to freeze individual portions of casserole, so useful for quick & easy meals
I seem to freeze a lot of rice dishes - not sure why.
I always have home made “ready” meals in the freezer as we do so much hiking, so need s quick solution when we get in. My favourite freezer dish though is my veggie chilli con carne. Perfect to whip out after walking………:)
I like to freeze pancakes, they are so versatile. Inter-layer with greaseproof paper so you can defrost exactly how many you need - one for a single dessert or 8 to stuff and bake for a main meal, for example
I do a big batch of fish & leek pies to freeze
Lasagne I make 2 one to eat and one to freeze
Soup - always got lots in the freezer in single portion sizes
I always have lots of mince left after making a shepherds pie , so i freeze it to eat at a later date.
any leftovers - I hate waste
spag biol
I am completely new to freezing but I would like to freeze my casseroles.
I love to freeze lovely curries Yummy for my Tummy !!!
Lasagne freezes well.
Casseroles
Glad to see i’m not the only freezer queen out there! Some v. useful tips from all the comments above and totally agree about batch cooking- it’s easy, reduces waste and also handy if you’re on a diet as its more portion controlled. My favourite dish to freeze is veggie chilli with mixed beans and fresh quorn mince. So easy to take it out the freezer and pop it in the microwave but still tastes homemade. Also if you’re looking to save money, I try to pick up bargins in the reduced section of supermarkets (when foods near the sell by date). It can be ridiculously cheap and a lot of stuff you can freeze on the day and defrost when required.
i love to freeze Pizza as it is a way of art,
With many toppings on it,
Many with The colours of the rainbow,
But the best for me,
It’s got to be,
Pineapple with tuna on it.
Chilli, bolognese, curries and stews. I always cook far too much and freeze some of it.
Shepherds pie, i make huge batches with the intention of freezing it, but the boys rarely leave enough to save.
Pasta Bolognaise
lasagne
cheesy pasta and bacon bake
I freeze lots of mince-based dishes… chilli con carne / spag bol etc!
We freeze so much stuff for use later, but our favourite food to freeze is sausage casserole.
A beef stew. It always tastes better after its been frozen too
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Love to freeze soup to make sure my partner has lunches to take to work, his favourite is curried parsnip and apple nom nom
Chilli with chorizo is great when its been frozen, in fact it almost tastes better
We make a lot of soups and curries and usually double up on both for the freezer.
Beef stew
We are still eating produce from our garden that we froze last seaon.
Spaghetti bolognese or throw in some chiil powder and kidney beans and call it chilli!!
Shepherds pie
I love freezing homemade soups (especially parsnip!) so they can be defrosted quickly for lunch - mm!
I’ve just made spicy pork meatballs and the rich sauce is just as lovely after freezing.
We freeze most food, mostly spag bol and chiili’s.We tend to overcook, so great if we get unexpected vists from the grandchildren
I should freeze more i see from your article, at the moment, i freeze milk & bread, i make cakes in batches & freeze them until i need them & also vegetables when they are on offer. When my Dad was alive, i used to make up small bags of mixed veg for him to cook too.
curry…its always a life saver after a busy day!
Curry
Stew, as I always make a huge batch!
spagetti bolognaise
I loove to freeze lasagne in portions and sometimes do extra fish pie to freeze, too.
Lasagne too
I love to freeze home made pasta sauces which I make from fresh veggies and herbs I grow in the garden.These see me right through the winter
I’m always freezing homemade food in small batches for my baby daughter but always cook extra when making Spaghetti bolognaise or chilli con carne to pop a portion in the freezer for when the other half is away for work
chicken curry
chilli
bolognese as you can serve it with so many different things, handy after a hard day at work x
I make fish pie 2 for dinner and 2 for the freezer
My Easy Peasy chicken curry with spinach
soups and stews
i tend to cook meals and freeze, from fish pie, to turkey bolognse, turkey chilli. I dont buy ready meals any more after horse scandal and cook and freeze home made meals
Home made soup
I tend to batch cook on a weekend and freeze everything.
home made soup
Lasagne, great to defrost for a quick family meal
Got to be Shepherds Pie.
But oven cook from defrost & not microwave.
Sheherd’s pie or fish pie. Yum!
Lasagne
freezing individual cups of stewed fruit means that there is always a quick pudding to be had - just add a crumble topping or a piece of pastry!
Chunky veg soup. Quick and easy to heat up and can also be used as base for spag bog or a stew!
A lovely warming stew. Meat, veg, lentils, pearl barley etc
Love to freeze pasta
Lasagne
baby puree
soup xx
bolognaise
My kids are always eating pasta, so there’s plenty frozen varietys for them to choose from