Hey Rockstars, got any good batch cooking tips? Not sure what that is exactly? A quick Google search will give us a definition. Batch cooking is simply the act of preparing and/or cooking larger portions of different foods, meant to be mixed and matched to create versatile meals throughout the week. Now that we’re all on the same page, I’ll go first.

I’m about to hit the road with my latest book Finding Deep and Wide, and my Spring speaking schedule will be coinciding with my beloved farmer heading back to the fields. For me, that means I need to have meals in the freezer. The manual labor involved in farming isn’t easy at any age, and it can certainly drain the energy from a “Pops”. That’s my darling man’s grandparent name, although this past weekend one of our grands decided he might change Phil’s name to Popcorn because he “loves his Pops and he loves popcorn!” This would be the same little boy who told me he was going to rename me Candy Keggie because “they both start with the k sounds and candy is sweet and so is Keggie!” Do these grands know how to melt us, or what?! But, back to batching…

There are as many reasons to love batch cooking as there are ways to do it. For instance, it’s a good way to cook for a sick friend or a family member while making your own dinner. And I know people who like to batch cook on the weekends ahead of a busy work week. My point? You don’t have to be hitting the road to incorporate this type of meal prep into your schedule. There are two forms of batch cooking that work for me.

Sometimes I’ll prepare a large amount of protein, like beef or chicken, and use it in different dishes. If it’s hamburger, I may begin by browning it with the trinity (onions, peppers, and celery). Once I’ve drained the grease off, I can start soup on one burner, while I put a casserole in the oven, and even prepare spaghetti sauce in a third pot. Getting the idea? Or, I’ll grab a few hot rotisserie chickens from the store and do the same. I’ll pull the meat off the bones and start a Mexican Tortilla Soup, roll up some enchiladas, and make chicken salad.

If I know I’m going to be gone far enough ahead, (like the scheduled book events), and I can already see it’s going to be next to impossible to find such a large block of time in the kitchen, I’ll start earlier. For several days, I’ll cook double the recipe of whatever I’m making for dinner and I’ll bag, label, and freeze a portion that’s just the right size for Phil to pull out and reheat. If I do this far enough ahead, by the time Phil reaches for them it’s been a few days since we enjoyed it and they don’t feel like leftovers!

Whichever way you go about it, batch cooking can help us all say “I love you” to our families. And that is a win on any day! Do you have any large-scale cooking tips for me? I’m all ears!