Life can be very hectic between work, the kids, appointments and all sorts of other things that fill our days. I can not tell you how much a little planning ahead can take away some of the stress that we all go through. It can be very difficult to find enough time to do everything, including getting dinner on the table at a half decent hour.

Most days I am so busy cleaning, doing laundry and taking care of my two beautiful daughters, that i don't always have time to cook up a nice meal. That was until I talked to the most wonderful person I know, my mother.

She is definitely a life saver in more ways than one, she taught me that there are plenty of tasty meals that I can make ahead of time and freeze for another day. I was not too sure if that sounded like a good idea or not, mostly because I was not sure how well the food would taste once it had been frozen and heated again.

Turns out that she was right as usual and now i find that I have plenty of time for other more important things in life, like playing with my daughters. So for all of you out there wondering what kinds of food you can freeze for another day, read on.

Lasagna is one of my favorites, both the meat and the seafood versions keep equally well. Once you have made it and frozen it you can use it another day, simply preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and you are set.

Another food that I have found freezes well, believe it or not, is soup. Any home made soup will keep once you have frozen it. Just remember that you have to let it cool down to room temperature before you do freeze it, to heat it simply let it simmer between the low and medium heat settings on your stove.

Cabbage rolls are simple to make and can also be frozen, heating of these can even be accomplished in a microwave oven if you are really feeling strapped for time. Just remember to test a roll in the center to make sure that they are heated all the way through.

Shepard's pie is great for freezing, I however do not recommend that you warm this dish in your microwave. I personally just do not think that it tastes the same once you have taken it out of the freezer to re-heat it.

Another meal that you can at least partially prepare is spaghetti sauce, while I do not recommend that you freeze the spaghetti noodles, the sauce keeps very well in the freezer. Most spaghetti noodles only take about ten to fifteen minutes to cook, this can be done in about the same time that it would take to heat up the frozen sauce.

Stews are another great dish that is not only easy to prepare but to freeze as well. The only thing that you need to remember is that like the soups that you can freeze, you need to make sure that you let the stew cool down to room temperature before freezing them. Also like the soups it is important to simmer the stew over a fairly low temperatures to prevent them from burning.

Casserole recipes are very easy to prepare and they can be prepared and frozen for another day, or even another week. Make sure that you preheat your oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit and heat the casserole for about thirty minutes. Take out the casserole to check the temperature, if it is still not heated through place it back in for an additional thirty minutes.

So if you find yourself pressed for time and you know that you will not have enough time to make the meal that you want, grab one out of your freezer. Heat one of those bad boys up and you are free to go about with the rest of your daily tasks.

Learn more about this author, Christina Rivas.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about How make-ahead meals cut the stress out of dinnertime?
We want to hear your view. Write now!