Thursday, May 17, 2012

Batch Cooking for Homeschool Moms

Most homeschool mamas will readily admit that, after a long day of homeschooling, preparing the evening meal is something less than enjoyable. Batch cooking is a wonderful way to save time and effort in the kitchen, and yes, even homeschool moms can find the time!

Here are a few tips for fitting in some quick batch cooking sessions:

1. Chicken

I often cook a large batch of boneless, skinless chicken breast for the freezer. If you use your slow cooker, you can start the chicken while your children are finishing breakfast, and it will be completely cooked by lunch time. Allow it to set until cool enough to handle, then chop or shred it while your children finish lunch or take a short break.


2. Ground beef

Cooking ground beef for the freezer is so simple and fast.You could also brown and freeze other ground meats, such as sausage or ground turkey. Again, this can easily be accomplished during your noon break from homeschooling. By the time your afternoon lessons are completed, the meat will be cool enough to be packaged and frozen.


3. Rice

Rice can be cooked in large batches and frozen for later use. If you have a rice cooker, the rice can be started before you leave the kitchen in the morning, and the cooker will shut off when the rice is fully cooked.


Other things that can be prepared during lunch break, or while you are waiting for a casserole to come out of the oven:
  • Cheese--shred or dice; freeze in desired quantities
  • Onions--dice; flash freeze on a cookie sheet, then transfer to freezer bag
  • Green peppers--dice; flash freeze, then store in freezer bag
  • Pizza sauce--mix all ingredients; ladle appropriate amounts into freezer containers
With a bit of creativity, even a busy homeschool mom can fit in a quick batch-cooking session or two. And when mealtime rolls around again, you'll reap the benefits of a well-stocked freezer!

10 comments:

  1. I'm actually going to try and do this this morning! Hoping to have the chicken ready before we have to leave for the final Homeschool Group Activity Day.

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    1. Hi Lisa,
      Hope you were able to get your chicken started before leaving this morning. I'd love to know how it turned out! :-)

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  2. I love simple ways to make meal prep quick (and healthful)!

    I'm your newest follower from A Season for All Things and a fellow homeschooler. I look forward to reading more of your posts. ~ Ellen

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    1. Thanks so much for following Cherish the Call, Ellen! It's nice to see another friend here. :-)

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  3. This is such a great idea! It's so simple, but something I often forget about doing. I hate it when it's 4:30 and I need to start dinner, but everything is raw and frozen in the freezer!

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    1. It's an awful feeling to be right down to the dinner hour, and realize there is nothing thawed ... again! (Ask me how I know!) Having some frozen "meal starters" is such a sanity saver.

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  4. Those are great ideas! I never knew you could freeze shredded cheese! Thanks!!

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    1. Tracy, shredded cheese freezes beautifully! I like to use my food processor to shred four pounds at a time. So handy to have in the freezer!

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  5. Great! Thank you! I do a lot of batch cooking for the freezer and it sometimes it seems like such a daunting task that I dread it! Thanks for the encouragement for how to fit it in our days.
    Stacey
    www.gettingthroughtheday.com

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  6. I'm glad it was helpful, Stacey!

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