Oh wow, just noticed you are making all of these yourself? They all would benefit from a few things waiting until the heat and serve time...a half hour before party time. (keeps cooking during the party even on a simmer) Cheese, cream/milk, coconut milk, herbs, etc. Basically anything that is added last in the recipe that says "add last and bring to temp and serve". Canned corn is kinda dead tasting and usually full of sugar. Frozen, added morning-of, would be better. Puree half of it for creamed corn. Side bowls of fresh herbs, limes, cilantro, grated cheese, croutons, toasted slices of baguettes, tortilla chips...even if it is already in the soup, folks like to customize their bowl, :) (tortilla added to the soup gives a nice flavor and breaks down in the broth and really good, but adding half later is nice for the texture) Almost all soups freeze just fine as leftovers cooked all the way as a recipe even with a pasta or rice...but do taste like a leftover. Holding off an ingredient or two will give it some freshness, like the chopped kale or fresh chopped tomatoes. When i thaw leftover soups, i always dig in the fridge and look for something fresh to add, like a fresh frozen salsa, pesto, shelled edamame... You are on the right tract by holding off what makes sense. Keeping the list and menu planned and organized for what goes into where and when can be tricky. (imagine what a restaurant chef goes through all day, every day! yikes) -don't mean to be anti-canned goods, but most of those recipes passed around are coming from the big manufacturers of processed foods, so the same flavors can be made with much fresher ingredients without the chemicals and fake flavors.

Yes it does, and very well too. As a matter of fact, I always cook a huge pot, divide into serving portions and freeze them. Delicious and convenient. Been doing it for years.

Looney, you officially have one more freezer than I do, and I always thought I had too many, LOL. I don't make that much stuffing, but I do raise beef and pork and chicken and my husband hunted deer this year with a bow, so that takes much of my freezer room. My daughter is celiac and can't have gluten, so I make two kinds of stuffing, a cornbread based one for her and my Southern sweetheart of a husband, but I've never seen one with evaporated milk added. I might have to try that.... I do much of my cooking just a day or two ahead of time. Desserts get made the day before as they "hold" fine, although whipped cream has to be beaten just before serving, I cannot get it to stay without breaking if I do it ahead. I've added cornstarch, powdered sugar, cream of tartar. It still breaks after about an hour, every time. I sometimes make dinner rolls a month ahead and kept them frozen, then thaw and bake the day of the meal. If I make butterflake rolls I make them the night before, refrigerate the rolls and bake just before the meal. I make the Cranberry Jezebel the day before, and usually assemble the vegetable side dishes so they can be heated in the oven, including that sweet potato/marshmallow abomination that my girls love. My girls also want a fruit salad concoction that includes crushed pineapple, apricots, walnuts, cream cheese, orange jello and whipped cream. I make that the night before so it can thicken, if I have that, some years I just can't face it and just make a nice fruit mixture instead. The turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes and the gravy all get made the day of, as well as any fresh salad if I decide we're having that. Appetizers always include a cheeseball of some kind, I think this year it's going to be pimento cheese and that will be done the day before, I'm still working on another appetizer, maybe artichoke/spinach dip, everyone likes that. We also always have a relish tray with homemade pickles, a variety of olives and crackers, usually deviled eggs because I like them. The pickles are all home canned, so those go in the fridge a couple of days before to keep them cold and crunchy, especially Chase's dills which are a favorite of Bud's, but he wants them cold. Deviled eggs get made the same day or the texture suffers. I usually make my menu, then make a list of what I need to do and which day I need to do it, then I prioritize tasks. A couple of days before we'll add the leaves to the dining room table, bring in the extra chairs, make sure the tablecloth is clean, find the turkey platter, and pick up the turkey so it'll have time to brine. My girls usually come early and help me get all the last minute stuff done. Annie

This becomes a matter of definition and taste. It also depends on the amount of oil, how well emulsified it is, how lumpy it is, how starchy it is, etc. It will be "good" food when you go to use it, but the texture may change, and it won't have that fresh from the garden taste. You can blender it to re=emulsify if needed, or you can make it into a cooked soup, or use it as a soup base. I've had good luck freezing a batch that had a lot of oil and starch. It defrosted pretty much as it had been, but it wasn't in the freezer long enough to go really icy. Other times, I haven't even tried to have it be gazpacho again (for good reason), and just put the block into the bottom of a soup or chili pot.