Deciding what to make for dinner can be stressful enough for one evening, let alone a whole week – but here to help is Suzanne Mulholland, better known to her countless online followers as The Batch Lady. With her latest cookbook, The Batch Lady Rapid Dinners, Suzanne has made her “grab and cook” method even easier.
In as little as 30 minutes, you can fill your fridge and freezer with a week’s worth of delicious prepared meals, many of them one-pot, that are ready to pop straight on the hob or into the oven, slow cooker or air fryer with minimal fuss. Plus, you’ll find plenty of freezing and freezing and defrosting tips, interactive lists to help you fill in your own meal plans, and even exercises to help you make meal planning less stressful.
From the book
The Batch Lady Rapid Dinners
100 prep-ahead meals that will make dinner a breeze.
Grab-and-cook recipes you can keep in the fridge or freezer.
With recipes suitable for the hob, oven, slow cooker and air fryer.
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From traybakes to fakeaways to crowd-pleasing desserts, we’ve selected two meal plans we can’t wait to try for the week ahead.
Meal plan 1
Mango Masala Chicken Breasts
Marinated in a delicious blend of spices, yoghurt, and mango chutney, these succulent chicken breasts are best served on a bed of rice alongside your veg of choice.
Campfire Stew
This smoky ham and bean stew is ideal for prepping, freezing, and popping in the slow cooker so it’s ready at the end of a long day.
Satay Sweet Potato and Chickpea Traybake
A colourful array of sweet potato, red peppers, broccoli and chickpeas, drizzled with a rich and nutty satay sauce, make this the perfect veg-packed dinner that you can have stored in the fridge or freezer ahead of time.
Creamy Haddock and Courgette Parcels
For when you want something light and special yet low-effort, these individual foil-wrapped parcels can be made with just six ingredients to create a dish of meaty haddock, a simple cream cheese sauce, and perfectly caramelised courgette slices.
Tortellini Bolognese Bake
This pasta bake with a twist features fresh egg tortellini, a rich and savoury tomato sauce, and a golden topping of oozy mozzarella, ricotta, and breadcrumbs.
Meal plan 2
Pork and Chorizo Burgers
Smoky, meaty, and bursting with flavour, these six-ingredient burger patties are great for a Friday night fakeaway.
Puttanesca Chickpea Stew
Inspired by the flavours of a classic Italian pasta dish, this easy-to-make stew is a great source of protein and fibre thanks to the addition of chickpeas.
Veggie Ragù
This veg-packed alternative to a meaty ragù sauce is a versatile staple worth having in your freezer for weeknight meals.
Curry Butter Chicken Kyiv
A fusion of crispy, buttery chicken Kyiv and the warming flavours of balti curry, this flavourful dish is ideal for when you want a quick air fryer dinner.
Herby Lamb Traybake
Homemade lamb meatballs on a bed of perfectly roasted veg, olives and bursting cherry tomatoes make this traybake a flavour-packed one-tin dinner.
Desserts
Mini Sticky Toffee Puddings
Looking for a comforting dessert to round off your Sunday roast? These individual sticky toffee loaves are simple to prepare and store in the freezer (or bake straight away).
Brownie Cookie Cups
The ideal treat for chocolate lovers, these fudgy chocolate chip brownie cupcakes include an oozy white chocolate centre.
All of these recipes, meal plans, tips and more can be found in The Batch Lady Rapid Dinners.
