Meal prepping is one of the best ways I’ve found to make feeding a large family a little easier. With nine of us in the family, getting several dinners prepared at once means there’s much less cooking to think about during a busy week.
For this weekly meal prep, I prepared six different family meals, including curries, chicken tikka masala, lasagne and marinated chicken. I also made one large batch of curry base which I then divided between several meals — a simple trick that saves so much time.
Here’s what I prepared.
What I Made
For this week’s meal prep I made:
- Lamb mince & kidney bean curry
- Beef curry
- Lamb & potato pilau
- Chicken tikka masala
- Marinated chicken drumsticks
- Homemade lasagne
Most of the meals were prepared for the freezer so I could simply take one out when we needed it.
Start With a Big Batch of Curry Base
One of my favourite shortcuts when making several curries is to prepare the onions and tomatoes together rather than starting every curry from scratch.
For this batch I used approximately:
- 12 tomatoes
- Several onions
- Garlic & ginger paste
- My usual curry spices
- Sunflower oil
I chopped all the onions in my mini food processor before cooking them in a large pan with some oil until softened and lightly browned.
Next, I chopped the tomatoes and added them to the onions. I cooked everything together for around 15–20 minutes, adding a little water if the mixture started sticking to the pan.
Once the tomatoes were soft, I added the garlic and ginger paste along with the spices.
I then divided this curry base between three different meals.
It’s such a simple way of bulk cooking because you’ve already done the most time-consuming part of several curries in one go.
1. Lamb Mince & Kidney Bean Curry
The first meal was a simple lamb mince and kidney bean curry.
I browned the lamb mince first and allowed the excess liquid to cook away.
I then added one portion of my prepared curry base followed by rinsed, tinned kidney beans and a little water.
Once everything came to the boil, I turned down the heat and allowed it to simmer for around 25 minutes.
This is a really easy family meal and would be lovely served with rice, naan or chapatis.
2. Beef Curry
The second portion of curry base became a beef curry.
I added cubes of beef to the curry mixture and cooked them for a few minutes before adding some water.
Once it came to the boil, I reduced the heat and cooked the curry gently for around 45–50 minutes, until the beef was tender.
I then transferred it into a container ready for another day.
3. Lamb & Potato Pilau
For the third portion of curry base, I made a lamb and potato pilau.
I added pieces of lamb followed by chopped potatoes and some Greek yoghurt. Because I was adding rice later, I also added a little extra salt and some whole spices.
I covered everything with water, brought it to the boil and then allowed the lamb and potatoes to cook for around 30 minutes.
I had already soaked my basmati rice for at least 30 minutes. Once the lamb was ready, I drained the rice and added it to the pan with enough water to cook.
Once boiling, I covered the pan and cooked the rice on a low heat for around 10 minutes.
One little tip I always use with pilau is to leave the lid on for another 10 minutes or so after turning off the heat. Don’t be tempted to immediately take the lid off! I find the rice finishes cooking beautifully in the remaining steam.
4. Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
Next up was a quick chicken tikka masala.
I cut chicken breast into small pieces and cooked it in a little sunflower oil until the chicken had turned white.
I then added some of the cooked onions I’d reserved earlier, followed by:
- Garlic & ginger paste
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Spices
- Passata
- A little water
- Double cream
Once everything was combined, I had a lovely creamy chicken tikka masala sauce ready for another family dinner.
This is one of the quicker meals in the batch and is perfect with plain basmati rice.
5. Marinated Chicken Drumsticks
Not everything in a weekly meal prep has to be completely cooked.
Marinating meat in advance means you’ve already done most of the work when it comes to dinner.
I made several slits in around 16 skin-on chicken drumsticks so that the marinade could really get into the chicken.
For the marinade I used a mixture of Greek yoghurt, spices, salt, lemon juice and a little sunflower oil.
I coated all the drumsticks thoroughly before transferring them to freezer bags.
On the day we want them, they can simply be defrosted and cooked.
6. Homemade Lasagne
Finally, I made a big family lasagne.
For the meat sauce, I browned some lamb mince before adding lots of baby button mushrooms.
I seasoned it simply with:
- Salt
- Coarse black pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Garam masala
I then added a 500g carton of passata along with some of the cooked onions I’d saved earlier.
Easy Béchamel Sauce
For the white sauce I used:
- 50g butter
- 50g plain flour
- 500ml milk
- Grated cheese
Melt the butter over a low heat before mixing in the flour to form a paste.
Gradually add the milk and bring the mixture to the boil, whisking regularly to prevent lumps.
As it comes to the boil it should begin to thicken. Turn off the heat and stir in a generous handful of grated cheese.
Then it’s simply a matter of assembling the lasagne.
I layered the meat sauce, white sauce and dry lasagne sheets, repeating the layers before finishing with plenty of white sauce and grated cheese.
I’ve frozen lasagne prepared this way many times and the dry lasagne sheets have always cooked perfectly well.
Why I Batch Cook for a Large Family
Cooking six different dinners might sound like a lot of work, but I actually find it much easier than starting from scratch every evening.
The biggest time saver is combining similar jobs.
Instead of chopping onions for one curry today, another curry tomorrow and another one later in the week, I chop them all at once. The same goes for making the curry base and preparing meat.
It means one bigger cooking session, but far less work for the rest of the week.
And when you’ve got a busy household to run, opening the freezer and seeing dinner already waiting for you is always a good feeling!
A Few Bulk Meal Prep Tips
If you’re thinking about trying something similar, I’d suggest keeping it simple. You don’t need to prepare seven completely different elaborate dinners.
Make a large base that can be turned into several dishes, prepare freezer-friendly meals such as curries and lasagne, marinate meat ahead of time, and make meals that can be served with easy sides such as rice, naan, chapatis, salad or vegetables.
Even preparing three or four dinners at once can make the rest of your week much easier.
I hope this week’s meal prep gives you a few ideas for feeding your own family and making busy weekday dinners that little bit simpler.
