Cook once, meals for a week

Author: Sarah Swain - Food writer, stylist and recipe creator

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Set aside three hours on a Sunday and do some pre-cooking for a week of easy dinners.

All it takes is one Sunday afternoon cooking session to have dinner sorted for the week ahead! With our three-part process, simply prepare five base mix recipes, store them in the fridge/freezer, and then it just takes some hands-on time to assemble your weeknight dinners.

Part 1: What to do on a Sunday

Before you start, make sure you have:

All ingredients from shopping list (see below)
Cookware: two medium-sized saucepans and a large casserole dish
Containers and freezer bags
Labels and marker pen

Step 1

Begin with the Rich chicken casserole mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below). Brown chicken and onions. Add the remaining ingredients and leave to simmer for 25 minutes.

While casserole mix is cooking:

Make up the Scone mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below).
Check on casserole and stir once scone dough is made.
Divide scone dough in half: store one half labelled ‘Chicken cobbler’ in fridge. Store remaining dough labelled ‘Pizza base’ in freezer.
Remove chicken from heat after 25 minutes and divide between two containers to cool completely. Refrigerate one half labelled ’Chicken cobbler’. Freeze the other half labelled ‘Chicken curry.’

Step 2

Prepare and cook the Tomato sauce mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below).

While tomato sauce is cooking:

Prepare the Tasty mince mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below) and put on to cook for 20 minutes.

While the mince is cooking:

Remove tomato sauce from heat after it has cooked for 20 minutes and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

While the tomato sauce is cooling:

Step 3

Prepare the Quiche-in-a-bag mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below). Label and freeze.
Check on the mince mix, and stir halfway through.
Purée tomato sauce and divide into four equal portions. Label three portions as ‘Tomato sauce’ and label one ‘Pizza’. Cool completely before freezing all portions.
Remove mince from heat and transfer into a large bowl to cool. Place one-half of mince mix in a bag labelled ‘Noodles’. Place half of the remaining mince mix in a bag labelled ‘Pizza’. Label the remaining quarter ‘Tasty mince mix’. Cool portions then freeze.

After this cooking session, you will have the following items:

For the fridge:

Rich chicken casserole mix (1)
Scone mix for cobbler (1)

For the freezer:

Rich chicken casserole mix (1)
Scone mix (1)
Tomato sauce mix (4)
Tasty mince mix (3) (Noodles [1/2], Pizza [1/4] and an extra [1/4])
Quiche-in-a-bag mix (1)

Top tips for successful freezing

Foods to be frozen should be as fresh as possible.
Cool foods completely before freezing. Freezing food when hot will increase the temperature of the freezer and could cause other foods to start defrosting.
Never refreeze anything that has already been frozen.
Make sure you wrap foods properly and put them in a sealed container or bag.
Freeze items in the quantities suggested so you have no wastage.
Label foods clearly with a marker pen. Date items if you are not going to eat during the planned week.
Defrost food thoroughly before cooking. Remove from the freezer the night before cooking the following day and store in the fridge.
Remove as much air as possible from items being packed in freezer bags.

Shopping list

Fresh vegetables

5 onions
1 red onion
4 carrots
3 cups button mushrooms
3 red capsicums
1 pack spinach
1 stalk celery
1 leek
1 head broccoli
5 spring onions
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
1 small cucumber
1 packet mixed salad leaves
1 head garlic

Frozen vegetables

2 cups peas
275g frozen spinach
1/2 cup corn kernels
2 x 500g frozen mixed vegetables

Meat and poultry

800g skinless lean chicken breasts
900g lean mince beef

Dairy

2 cups grated reduced- fat cheddar cheese
115g reduced-fat spread
780ml trim milk
4 eggs

Jars/canned products, seasonings, dry products

425 can tuna in spring water
2 x 670g jars passata
tomato paste (6 tablespoons)
lemongrass paste (1 tablespoon)
dried apricots (1/3 cup)
sun-dried tomato pesto (3 tablespoons)
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes with garlic and herbs
400g can chickpeas
1 pack long-grain rice
1/2 cup red lentils
200g rice vermicelli
balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1 1/2 cups red wine
400g self-raising flour
225g wholemeal flour

Pantry staples

Check your pantry to see what you already have in store.

olive oil
salt for seasoning
sugar
curry powder (1 tablespoon)
dried mixed herbs
Tuscan seasoning
cayenne pepper
Mexican seasoning or Cajun seasoning or chilli powder
chicken stock powder
balsamic vinegar
oil spray

Part 2: Base mix recipes

Here are the base mix recipes (see Part 3: Your week of dinners below for the daily recipes).

Rich chicken casserole mix

Serves 8 (makes 3 portions)
Cost per mix $29.00
Time to make 40 mins

800g lean chicken breast, cut in chunks
oil spray
2 onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto
2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs or dried thyme or dried oregano
670g jar passata
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 teaspoons chicken stock powder

Step 1 Cook chicken in a large non-stick pan with oil until evenly browned. Add onions and garlic paste. Cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.

Step 2 Add remaining ingredients with 3 cups water and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 25 minutes.

Step 3 Cool completely. Place half (1 portion) in fridge in a sealed container ready for Monday’s ‘Chicken cobbler’ meal. Place remaining half in a freezer-proof container/bag. Label this portion ‘Chicken curry’ and freeze for later in the week (Thursday).

Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free pesto and stock

Tasty mince mix

Serves 12 (makes 3 portions: 1 x 1/2 portion, 2 x 1/4 portions)
Cost per mix $23.00
Time to make 25 mins

900g lean beef mince
2 onions, finely chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 red capsicums, diced
4 teaspoons Mexican seasoning or chilli powder or Cajun seasoning
2 cup peas
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes with garlic and herbs
3 cups cooked rice

Step 1 Place all ingredients in a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until thick.

Step 2 Place half the mix in 1 bag for ‘Noodles’ (Tuesday), and divide the remaining half between 2 bags. Label 1 bag ‘Pizza’ (Friday) and the other ‘Tasty mince mix’ for future use. Freeze bags.

Tip: The spare mince mix: in the freezer is great to have as a standby for serving up over tacos with a little grated cheese for unexpected visitors.

Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free seasoning

Scone mix

Serves 8 (makes 2 portions)
Cost per mix $3.17
Time to make 20 mins

225g self-raising flour
225g wholemeal flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2–1 teaspoon cayenne pepper a
115g reduced-fat spread suitable for baking*
275ml trim milk
a little flour, to dust

Step 1 Mix flours in a bowl with salt and cayenne. Rub in spread to make fine breadcrumbs, lifting fingers a little to aerate the mix.

Step 2 Make a well in the middle of flour then pour in most of the milk, reserving a little (in case it is not needed). Use a knife to gently work mixture together until it forms soft, sticky dough.

Step 3 Transfer soft dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for3-4 minutes. Divide into 2 equal balls. Place half (1 portion) in a freezer bag labelled ‘Pizza base’ and freeze. Place the other half (portion) in a freezer bag labelled ‘Chicken cobbler’ (Monday) and chill in the fridge.

*See How to choose spreads for information on spreads suitable for baking.

Tomato sauce mix

Makes 4 portions
Cost per mix $6.90
Time to make 25 mins

1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
670g jar passata

Step 1 Place onion and celery in pan with oil and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add remaining ingredients with 2 cups hot water and bring to boil.

Step 2 Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Step 3 Cool slightly then process until smooth. Divide among 4 freezer containers, cool and freeze. Label 1 portion ‘Pizza’ (Friday) and label the other 3 portions as ‘Tomato sauce’ for future use.

Tip: This sauce is great over pasta, with rice and couscous and is a good standby for vegetarians.