If you cook in bulk and stock up your freezer, you can easily enjoy home-cooked meals on busy nights. These recipes are some of our favourites
MAKE YOUR FREEZER WORK FOR YOU!
• We usually recommend that you keep food frozen for no longer than three months, however check individual recipes for specific advice.
• It’s a bit of a chore, but it’s worth labelling everything with what it is, the date and the number of portions it contains. Although you may think you’ll remember, a few months down the line you’ll be defrosting surprises!
• All foods need to be cooled completely before freezing, otherwise you run the risk of partially defrosting other food already in your freezer.
• Most dishes work best defrosted before reheating, but some can be successfully cooked from frozen – again, check specific recipes.
• Have a clear-out of your freezer every few months. It’s easy to forget what you’ve got – keeping it organised will make sure that you use up all the meals you have.
Chicken & bacon cacciatore
■ Serves 4-6 ■ Prep 30 mins
■ Cook 1 hr 15 mins
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large chicken, roughly 1.8kg-
2.2kg, jointed into 8 pieces, or
8 chicken thighs
6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
2 onions, sliced
2 rosemary sprigs
2 x 400g cans plum tomatoes
2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
500ml chicken stock
small bunch of parsley, chopped
(optional)
1Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Brown the chicken, a few pieces at a time, until the skin is golden on all sides. As each piece is done, lift out onto a plate. Turn the heat down and add the bacon. Cook gently so some of the fat melts into the pan and keep going until the bacon crisps. Lift out with a slotted spoon and put on the plate with the chicken pieces.
2Add the onions and rosemary to the casserole dish. Fry for 5-10 mins, until the onions have softened, then return the chicken and bacon to the dish, along with the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and stock, then season.
3Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 40-50 mins until the chicken is cooked through – check one of the thigh or leg joints as they will take longer to cook. Stir in the parsley, if using, season to taste and serve with mash, pasta or rice, if eating straight away. Otherwise, cool completely and chill for up to 24 hrs.
PER SERVING (6) 806 kcals, fat 54g, saturates 16g, carbs 51g, sugars 13g, fibre 3g, protein 67g, salt 2g
FROM FREEZER TO TABLE Freeze for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then leave at room
