Easy Freeze meals

Emma Parkin gives us some handy tips for meals you can freeze and enjoy when you don't have to cook.

There's nothing better than coming home to a tasty and instantly ready home made meal after a long day. Try and get into the habit of filling the freezer with lots of homemade meals. If you don't have a microwave, just remember to take it out of the freezer to defrost in the refrigerator during the day.

Allocate one day every fortnight to cooking up a few meals to freeze ahead. Stews, chilli con carnes, bolognaise sauces and curries freeze wonderfully. Buy a few plastic containers and make a couple of pots of your favourite dishes and you'll have a few handy meals tucked away in the freezer.

Labelling the containers with the contents and the date it was made helps a lot. Soup is another good cook-ahead meal. It's healthy, filling and delicious and it's easy to make. Just make sure you have some nice whole grain bread to eat it with it and you've got a nutritious meal

Winter Bake
Serves 4

675g potatoes, peeled and diced
350g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (use the orange-flesh variety)
2tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, finely chopped
1tbsp dried oregano or thyme
140g frozen spinach
115g frozen peas
55g butter
150ml milk, slightly warmed
2tbsp double cream (optional)
1tbsp Dijon mustard
85g cheddar cheese, grated extra cheese, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Cook the potatoes and sweet potatoes in plenty of boiling water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and fry the leek for 5 minutes until softened. Add the oregano or thyme and the spinach (if using) and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the peas and remove from the heat.
3. Add the butter, milk, cream (if using) and mustard to the potatoes. Mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. Butter an ovenproof dish and spoon half of the mash into the dish. Smooth with the back of a spoon and top with the leek mixture. Spoon the rest of the mash over the top of the leeks and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until the topping is golden.

Fat 28g, Carbs 16g, Energy 385kcal, Protein 19g Sodium, 0.2g Fibre 1g

Easy vegetable moussaka
Serves 4


3 medium-sized aubergines, thickly sliced
10 baby courgettes, sliced
1 butternut squash, peeled, cubed
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
2tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced into rings
2 green peppers, seeded and cut in strips
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tomatoes, peeled and diced
3tbsp tomato purée
5tsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Bechamel sauce
40g butter
3tbsp plain flour
400ml milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of nutmeg
1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
2 egg yolks, whisked
To serve
Green salad

1. Grease a 2.5 litre ovenproof dish and set aside. After about 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Blanch the aubergines, courgettes, butternut squash and potatoes separately by covering them with cold water and bringing the pan to boiling point. Then drain and rinse with cold water and leave to drain in a colander.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion and peppers and garlic. Then add the tomatoes, tomato purée and stir until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the parsley and the par-boiled vegetables. Season to taste. Spoon into the greased dish and set aside.
4. Then make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two over a low heat, stirring all the time until the mixture is smooth. Gradually add some of the milk, whisking it until smooth before adding more milk. Stir until the sauce thickens.
5. Stir in the cheese, season to taste and a pinch of nutmeg. Pour a little of the sauce onto the egg yolks. Mix the eggs into the sauce. Pour over the vegetables.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until nicely browned on top. Serve with a green salad.

Fat 26g, Carbs 25g, Energy 391kcal, Protein 16g, Sodium 0.3g, Fibre 3g

Italian chicken with peppers
Serves 4

84 chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2tsp olive oil
1 onion, halved and thickly sliced
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
175g courgettes, trimmed and sliced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
handful of basil leaves, shredded
1tsp soft brown sugar
To serve
Brown rice

1. Season the chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Heat about 1tsp of the oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken quickly on both sides. (Please note they will not be cooked through at this stage.) Lift them out of the pan and set them aside on a plate.
3. Add the rest of the oil to the pan, heat up and sauté the onion and peppers until softened. Add the garlic and courgettes, cover and cook over a moderate heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice.
4. Add the tomatoes, half the basil and the sugar. Bring the sauce to boiling point, return the chicken breasts to the pan and simmer, uncovered, for 15- 20 minutes over a low heat. Turn the chicken over halfway through the cooking time and add a little water if the sauce is becoming too thick.
5. Check the seasoning and sprinkle with the remaining basil. Serve with brown rice.

Fat 6g Carbs 4g Energy 237kcal Protein 43g Sodium .1g Fibre 1g