What are the things you most commonly make and then freeze to use later? I was thinking that with the holidays coming up and being quite a bit busier than normal it might be nice to cook ahead and have some things ready to thaw and serve. What kinds of meals freeze well?

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Whenever I make meatloaf, I make two and freeze one. I also make a ton of taco meat at one time and put other portions into bags and freeze.

I could do more, but my kids won't do casseroles yet.

lasagna is a good one!!!

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I have zitis in the freezer that I made last weekend. Right now I am making chicken casseroles. Next weekend I will make up some tater tot hotdishes.

I don't do things like taco meat because to me, it only takes a couple of minutes to make anyway.

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All of what the others said and also browned ground beef w/spag sauce for quick spag and meat sauce. Sometimes I add green pepper, onion and zucc or carrots for the veg in it and just have to boil the spag. Also, soups!! I always save the juices from baking chicken to make ckn noodle soup and just recently made veg soup from leftover veggies from dinner and also stuffed pepper soup that we ate and I froze the leftovers.

Almost any casserole freezes well. We freeze a lot of pasta dishes- epecially ones that you can just thaw and bake, meatloaf, meatballs (either italian or regular), homemade chicken kiev, "chicken rolls" flatten chicken out, put a layer of sutffing on top, roll it up and freeze it. When it comes to preparing it- let it thaw and bake, soups freeze well, but if you freeze a cheese soup- it does get a bit of a "grainy texture" SOMETIMES We buy big packages of pork chops and split them into ziplock baggies and pour italian dressing in with them and put them in the freezer. Italian pork chops are very good! I make freezable mashed sweet potatoes, frozen mashed potatoes (make sure they're wrapped well) we make a lot of home made pasta and that freezes well. calzones freeze well. Just use a pizza crust, and on ONE SIDE layer with pizza sauce, cheese, what ever you wish and fold it over and seal it well. Bake and freeze- make smaller ones and they make a quick "microwave" meal.

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We tend to eat freshly cooked meals. I've had trouble with freezing completely prepared meals because (1) we don't typically eat casseroles, (2) defrosting and cooking tends to take too long, and (3) freezing food tends to be an expensive way to store food.

Instead, I try to keep several shelf-stable items on hand with which I can quickly make a meal. It helps now that I made a list, which is posted on the back of a cabinet door, with ideas of what to make. I do keep some supplies in the freezer but they don't make the whole meal. I find this to be a very flexible way to plan for impromptu meals. I can make as much or as little as I need and use up a variety of ingredients, depending on what I have on hand.

Yes, it is a problem when cooking, even quickly, means using pots and pans. That is an advantage of freezer meals.

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I freeze alot of soups.You can freeze them in individual bowl or in gallon zip lock bags.I like veggie soup,chili & taco soup.I freeze pasta when we have some left in individual serving size bowls for the kids when we have something they don't like.

Anything with pasta freezes great.Oh something else we do it waffles and pancakes in big batches to have for later.

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meatloaf, tomatoe sauce,chilli,goulash,beef stew stuff like that

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Meatballs, homemade mac-n-cheese, are my sure favorites. I made extra burritos this week and put them in the freezer - we'll see how they turn out.