I'm the Queen when it comes to cooking this way. The trick is to think about what you're going to do with it, and do the prep from the grocery store to the fridge/freezer.

For example, I often pound chicken breasts flat and freeze them, so when I forget to take something out, these will actually thaw out by the time I need them.

Whenever you throw something on the grill, throw something else on as well, and freeze it to use later. I almost always have cooked hot dogs, turkey burgers, chicken or beef in my freezer ready to put in some kind of casserole.

I preprep my veggies ahead for the whole week. Last week when I made a Broccoli & Beef stir fry, those were already cleaned and cut, which helped the process immensely. Cleaning vegetables is like mopping the floor to me, so dealing with them all at one time when my energy is high is a huge help for me.

For pizza: Sausage is pre-browned and frozen in packages for two pizzas (One sausage link will cover two for us.) Veggies are pre-cut, and my sauce is already made from the pizza I made last week. The one thing I could do that would help to cut down the time is to pre-cut my parchment pizza rounds.

Whenever I make a casserole, I make two. It doesn't take much longer to make an extra when you're making one anyway, and I ''bank'' the casserole in the freezer for those days I don't feel like cooking.

I'll take a bag of potatoes and make twice-baked potatoes from the whole thing. I add broccoli (and sometimes bacon) along with cooked onions, and stuff to make the potatoes creamy, sometimes with a little peppercorn dressing, topped with cheese. Those potatoes are a complete meal for us, and So Delicious!

When I make soup, I always freeze half for later. A quart jar is a perfect size to put the leftovers into.

I often make tomato/meat sauce for lasagna and freeze it for later. Sometimes I'll boil ground beef to cook it (if you're looking to get rid of the fat) and put it in the freezer, ready to use for a meat sauce. And often, it's the extra pan of lasagna that's frozen, which I need to cook. Once it's cooked, I'll freeze slices of it, so it only need to be nuked. Whichever way, it's always delicious.

When I make cookies, I roll them into balls and freeze them so I can make them when the urge strikes. There's nothing better than a warm cookie.

I always have a loaf of garlic bread, sliced and in foil, ready to go in the freezer.

One of my favorite appetizers is a Broccoli Ball made with stuffing mix and parmesan cheese. I always freeze a double batch, so I can take how however many I need and bake them. (I often pair these with barbequed meatballs which I prepare the same way.)

I try to freeze packages flat, so they thaw in less time. I'll go ahead and slice some things when I get them home from the store, before I prepackage them for the freezer.

Freezing things in ice cube trays, then repackaging them for meals really does help matters. Right now I have little blocks of chili sauce to pair with kosher beef hot dogs.

Forgive me, please; I think I got a little carried away!

About the only things I precook for freezing are things like homemade chicken/turkey/beef broth and some pasta sauces including meatballs. And some baked goods. Other than that I don't freeze cooked foods. I don't like leftovers and anything that has been cooked in advanced and frozen just tastes like leftovers to me.

Like Claire though I do freeze things like raw Italian sausage and chicken breasts in singles and doubles so that they thaw quickly.

Ann

I have one shelf in the freezer devoted to quick add in and cooked rice. When I cook rice be it brown, wild or rice pilaf I cook the whole package then freeze in I cup portions in small zip locks. I put the small zip locks rolled up together in a bigger zip lock and freeze. About 30 second in the microwave and the rice is defrosted enough to add to just about anything I have going. We like the Near East Pilaf and I buy the big 18 serving size at the restaurant supply for about $4.00.

I buy the big jar of Gilroy garlic at Costco and roast of sautthe whole thing and wrap about quarter of a cup in foil. Take all the foil packages and put zip lock bags. If I need just a little it breaks apart easily and the rest goes back in the freezer. I have done the same with sautéed mushrooms.

I always have small packages of sliced peppers, green, red, orange, frozen and ready to go. I make TriciaÂs muffins about once a week for DH to take in his lunch and I keep them in zip lock bags in the freezer. We live so far away from any real shopping that I try to stock up and keep things that I canÂt get here or most of the time itÂs just not available when I want it.

All the meat, chicken and port is cut and wrapped for 2 before it goes in the freezer. I also keep one cup portions of cut up chicken and pork and usually have enough meat scraps after I cut steaks up that itÂs enough for stew or something.

I usually have soup, stew, and chili frozen in 2 serving portions in the freezer just because itÂs only the 2 of us and you can only eat the same thing so many times when I make a big pot. It works out good when I do go to town and come home late. I usually have garlic bread wrapped and ready to go in there also.

Claudia

I keep ZipLock baggies of sauteed mirepoix in the freezer for soup, casseroles, etc. It's a base for a lot of things I cook & being able to just grab a bag from the freezer saves a lot of time. Frankly, I can't tell the difference in a pot of soup over having prepared the mirepoix fresh. I toss it in to what I'm cooking frozen...it thaws in about 60 seconds in a hot pan. I also use it thawed in meatballs/meatloaf.

I roast garlic 2-3 heads at a time (I use a lot of garlic).

I cook off 2 lbs. of bacon, crumble & keep in the freezer in a Loc-n-Lock container. Very handy.

Also, I use only dried beans & often only want a small amount for just the two of us. So, I'll cook a pound until tender & freeze in 1 cup portions. Because it's so easy we eat more...good for us.

I'm all about easy!

/tricia

I freeze things in two portion sizes like chili, gumbo, meatballs, sauce, uncooked shrimp bought in large portions and divided, salmon, fish, (uncooked and divided), bread, onions, celery, basil, chopped and divided. Oh I also season and divided ground meat and turkey then freeze in individual portions. I'm sure there are more but just doing this makes most meals quick and easy. I usually don't freeze most foods but chili, meatballs and gumbo are better frozen and reheated...for us at least.

When I know that I'm not going to be home for a couple of days, away from DH, I always fix and freeze his favorite casseroles. I don't care for casseroles that have been frozen but he loves 'em.

I don't pre-prep very much but do a lot of single servings 'leftovers'. DH and I both take our lunches to work or I can pull out when I don't want to cook.
I freeze extra spaghetti sauce, soups and sometimes hamburger/bun combos.
I make homemade "McMuffins" and freeze.
We "grab and go" alot!
I do cook ahead for the week when I have more time on the weekends.
We finished up a turkey lasagne last night, will have a second round of beef enchiladas tonight and the rest will be lunch tomorrow. Tomorrow night I'll make pizza (partially baked crust already made) with the sauce left from the enchiladas, we have a dinner out on Wed. and Thursday is hamburgers (already cooked) using the rest of ground beef from the enchiladas. Friday is often "grazing" or we'll see what's left/needs used up!

I do keep chopped peppers and onions in the freezer, small containers of pumpkin puree, cooked squash, etc. I will sometimes prep veggies ahead, but I could get better at this one!

Deanna

I also don't do a lot of "pre-prep" but I have lots of leftovers in the freezer to thaw and have for quick lunches or suppers.

I do make cookie dough and freeze it, but not often because if I did, I'd eat too many cookies, it would be too easy. I can chicken and beef broth and soups so I can just open a can for lunch and heat it.

If I make scones or muffins I often freeze them individually so I can grab one for breakfast at work.

Annie

I really do like to cook ahead -- my problem is it gets lost in the freezer! My intentions are well-founded. Stuff just get buried. THAT'S where I need to get organized. I guess that's another thread!

I wish I had the time to shop each day and do a prep, but I don't and thankfully we are not too fussy about eating leftovers. And some things just taste bdetter after sitting overnight. Plus I hate to see food tossed in the trash.

After being here for a few years now, I do many of the above things. The top shelf of my freezer is reserved for prep'd meals or heat and serve items. Lasagna, pasta bakes, pork roasts packed with their gravy, roast chicken, all cut up, Italian beef, stews/goulash, soups are a few. Rouladen, stuffed pork chops or chicken breast set for cooking.

Chopped and frozen peppers, mushrooms and onions are wonderful if I am starting a pot of soup at 5 am. Bacon cut for lardons in potatoes are in zip bags.

Annie makes a good point about having home canned items on the shelf too. Several quarts of stew/goulash take up a lot of freezer space, so the cannign helps.

If someone has a tip for freezing mashed potatoes, please let me know. Mine are always "watery".

I don't do a LOT of prepping and freezing, but I do freeze leftover soups, tomato sauce, etc. I also stock up on bell peppers in the summer (when they're cheap) and slice and package them for use in stir fry etc. I love stir fry, but peppers are so darned expensive in the winter! I also buy a large chunk of ham, slice it and layer it with plastic wrap. This way the slices don't stick together in the freezer. The only other thing that comes to mind is that I separate meat purchases into single meal sizes and freeze them. I've slowly been learning to use my freezer more to make my life easier.

Bri