Besides soups listed above, I also freeze chili, bean soup, chicken or turkey noodle, Lasagna also works great. When making for dinner, prepare an extra one or two. After baking, cut into smaller, individual portion sizes and freeze. Quick easy meal. Just add salad and bread. Done Meat loaf : instead of making a large 2 lb loaf, prepare in smaller individual loaves. Being smaller, they're easier to thaw and cook faster too. Meat Balls: I prepare the balls. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Freeze. Once frozen, place individual balls in ziploc bags or containers according to portion size needed for your meals. By freezing first on cookie sheets the balls don't stick together. I realize a large cookie sheet takes up a lot of space in freezer, but only needs to freeze for a couple hours. Love the cookie dough suggestion listed above. Gonna try with my next batch. Any more ideas out there?

How about Southern Living Magazine's make-ahead & freeze chicken & rice casserole? It was published about two years ago. Chicken-and-Wild Rice Casserole 10-12 servings Prepare and freeze this one-dish wonder up to a month before 1 (2.25-oz.) package sliced almonds 2 (6.2-oz.) boxes fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix 1/4 cup butter 4 celery ribs, chopped 2 medium onions, chopped 5 cups chopped cooked chicken 2 (10 3/4-oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup 2 (8-oz.) cans chopped water chestnuts, drained 1 (8-oz.) container sour cream 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 4 cups (16 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided 2 cups soft, fresh breadcrumbs 1. Preheat oven to 350ð. Bake almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan 4 to 6 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. 2. Prepare rice mixes according to package directions. 3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add celery and onions. Sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken, next 6 ingredients, rice, and 3 cups cheese. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch baking dish or 2 (11- x 7-inch) baking dishes. Top with breadcrumbs. 4. Bake at 350ð for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese, and top with toasted almonds. Bake 5 minutes. To Make Ahead: Prepare as directed in Steps 2 and 3. Cover with aluminum foil, and freeze up to 1 month. Remove from freezer, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Toast almonds as directed in Step 1. Bake casserole, covered, at 350ð for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 55 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese and toasted almonds. Bake 5 more minutes.

I don't think regular mashed potatoes freeze well because sometimes they separate and taste grainy and runny. Your recipe seems to have a lot of fat in them from the cream so that might actually help to protect the potatoes from forming huge ice crystals which lead to separation. Don't bake them before hand but maybe put some extra butter in them and store in one or more ziploc bags, squeezing all the extra air out. The ziplocs will make it easier to defrost them in the microwave them up without overcooking. Just flip the bag over after every 1min on defrost and schmush them to stir.

I have a similar recipe and it's called "Freezer Mashed Potatoes" ironically enough. I'd skip the onion salt if you are going to freeze them because the flavors of onion (and garlic) intensify when frozen. You can always add those flavors when you re-heat the potatoes. I freeze all my mashed potatoes. When potatoes are buy-one-bag-get-one-free, I stock-up and make freezer mashed potatoes. I like to prepare dollops using a large ice cream scoop - quick freeze them on a cookie sheet - load them into a FoodSaver bag and vacuum-seal shut. The dollops are a single serving size, or I can take out enough to cover a Shepherd's Pie. I also portion some in plastic containers. When the potatoes are completely frozen, pop them out of the containers, stack the potato "bricks and vacuum-seal them in a FoodSaver bag. -Grainlady