Of course chili is high on that list, and pasta sauce. I will fry up three - five pounds of ground meat with 4-6 chopped onions. From that I make tacos, pasta sauce, Summer Beef and Rice Casserole (Everyday Foods), vegetable beef soup. But I am going to give a couple of these and try. They look very yummy.

Pierogies! I make potato and apple ones from scratch and then freeze them for later. I also make homemade frozen veggie burgers so I can grab a couple if I'm headed to a cookout. Sometimes there's also some veggie chili made with barley to give it a "meaty" texture or a batch of lentil soup but those two items are quite the commodity and are eaten shortly after they're frozen.

I really have to comment on the use of veal. Is there not a more ethical choice? I know, as a vegan, I feel all choices are problematic, but veal is, in my opinion, particularly cruel. I don't wish to upset anyone, but I really needed to get that off my chest.

There is nothing terrible about veal. Veal = younger animal. It doesn't necessarily mean abused, crated, or otherwise mistreated, all of which are products I would avoid. Plenty of ethical producers of veal out there.

I make a lot of stuff for the freezer and have a reputation among my family and friends as the one who can always deliver a meal at the last minute to someone who needs one! I do lots of bolognese sauce as well as meatballs, marinara, sloppy joes, pulled pork, and chicken taco filling (used for tacos, nachos, enchiladas, etc). I put chicken breasts in marinade and freeze, grilling them when they are thawed (they marinate as you thaw, just don't let them go too long). I know some people don't like the texture of pasta or rice when it's been frozen but I don't mind it so I freeze pasta and rice casseroles too like mostaccioli, chicken and rice, macaroni and cheese, tetrazzini, etc. I shred baked potatoes (let them sit in the fridge till cool to firm up before shredding), then freeze spread out on a sheet before condensing it into a bag for quick hashbrowns. I buy the nice grassfed beef when it's on sale and shape it into hamburger patties ready to be grilled (if they're thin you can even cook them from frozen, though they cook more evenly if they're defrosted). I make lots of whole grain, protein packed muffins and freeze them, pulling out a few to use for breakfasts or midday snacks. And it's not something I cook, but I also buy my favorite baguettes and cut them into 2 or 3 pieces, wrap well in foil, and freeze. Then when I want a side of bread with dinner I just pull it out and stick it, frozen and wrapped in foil, into an oven. 20-30 min later it's hot and crusty. I do have a house with a deep freeze in the basement so I have the luxury of more space, but even when I had a tiny apartment freezer I usually had at least 2-4 meals in there ready to go.

Love this article. I always keep left over tomato sauce in tiny containers, cut parsley and good bread (a French thing). I make double recipe of chili, soups, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, beans, pastry dough, apple sauce or anything that is time consuming. I use Bonne Maman jam containers to store everything in small quantities.

I LOVE having food in the freezer for a rainy (or lazy, or busy) day. I love making food to freeze when I've got some spare kitchen time. Right now I've got Swiss chard pesto, chickpea cutlets, slow-roasted tomatoes, triple lentil chili, apple tomato soup, and homemade hot dog buns. In the fall and winter months particularly, I always have one or two chilis in there.

i always make large batches of soup and freeze extra servings for busy evenings. But my favorite thing to have in the freezer? Egg rolls (my mom's recipe). They crisp up perfectly in the oven, and add a little fun to a simple dinner of sauteed greens and rice, stir fry, what have you. Or they dress up an otherwise humdrum delivery order... :)

I love freezing empanadas / hand pies / anything contained by a crust in individual portions. It's so nice to be able to pull out one or two and throw them in the oven, and it's usually as much of a pain to make a bunch as it is to make one serving's worth.

Ricotta gnocchi freezes well, plus it feels fancier than pasta. I freeze them individually then store them in one-serving plastic bags. I also love making bite-sized spanikopitas. They're a good addition to a kitchen-sink salad and can be heated really quickly.

I've never had veal, and looked up some info about it when I glanced at Peawry's comment. So so sad, and totally unnecessary. :( We know that animals at least have some understanding of loss, I'm sure removing a calf from its mother isn't the greatest for the mothers well-being. Also, there's no check on whether farmers are using antibiotics solely for prevention of disease...

In other news....

bite-sized spanikopita sounds fantastic, it's on my list! I like to make a lot of lentil soup and freeze some, it freezes really well. I've got cauliflower fritters in the freezer, but haven't pulled any out yet. A hearty bolognese sauce is at the top of my list but Sundays are so lazy, walking from the living room to kitchen seems difficult.

If you don't prefer to cook with veal, please read the recipe. Ground chicken thighs are suggested as an substitute.

@Mirabella, there are good and bad ways to wean calves, obviously. But it's necessary at a certain point, because cows need time to recover from the toll that lactation takes on their bodies before they have another calf. The way my parents do it is to separate the calves and cows into separate but adjacent paddocks, so they can see and hear each other for a few days until they get over the separation. I've heard of some people even leaving a few cows or heifers without nursing calves in with the weaning calves as "babysitters", so they don't feel so cut off from the herd. Then, we let them back in with the rest of the herd, and they go back to grazing together. We don't typically sell calves until they're quite a bit older. Honestly, it's all a bit like weaning baby humans, ha. Animal husbandry doesn't always have to be cruel.

Big fan of batch cooking here in particular:
-brown rice
-pasta sauce
-dhal
-eggplant curry
-vegetarian chilli
-turkey patties
-veg soup

I cook them in advance (often over a weekend) then store in containers or ziplock bags (which I wash and reuse). Saves a lot of time and the temptation of ordering delivery pizza!

@Peawry: No animals reach true adulthood before being slaughtered for meat. While veal may be more subject to certain living conditions than others, it's absolutely worth recognizing how young chickens, steer, and hogs are at slaughter.

I have been a vegetarian for 20 years (and that won't change), but have met farmers truly raising veal humanely; they pointed out the relative youth of all animals to me before turning into one's dinner, and I found it a very important point for those debating the relative pros and cons of one type of meat product over another.

It's all about education oneself completely about meat production, getting to know local, humane sources of meats and deciding from there what's best for you.

Hi, this is peawry again. I want to thank everyone for calm and reasoned discourse. Very much appreciated. I am still very saddened however, by the use of veal. I am also, I will point out, an EXTREMELY sensitive vegan. I think I should be a JAIN. Lol. Have a great day, evryone.

I'm lucky enough to have not only a good-sized freezer on my fridge, but also a stand-alone in the garage. I freeze individually portioned chicken breasts, pork loin chops, lamb chops and steaks when meat is on sale. I'll also freeze 2 – 2½ pound pork loin roasts for the slow cooker. Spaghetti sauce, beef stew and chicken broth are also in there, as are large packs of frozen veggies that I break down into "dinner for 2" sized packs in Zip-Loc vacuum bags. Some of the broth is in frozen in ice cube trays for the times when you just need a bit, and some is frozen in 1 and 2 cup containers.

One of our favorite things to grab out of the freezer is soboro. I found the recipe I use about 35 years ago in the New York Times. It originally called for ground veal. The first time I cook something I'll follow the recipe, but we found the veal rubbery and MUCH prefer ground turkey for this. The recipe was for 1 pound of meat, and this is one of those wondrous recipes where you can multiply everything evenly. Is a 5 pound pack of ground turkey on sale? Just multiply everything by 5. The flavor balance stays the same. Here's the recipe:

http://www.recipezazz.com/recipe/soboro#read%20more

The original recipe called for 1 Tbsp of fresh grated ginger juice (OH, yeah — I keep ginger in the freezer too) but we prefer more, up to 2 Tbsp. When reheating either nuke it, or heat slowly in a pan with a Tbsp or 2 of water.

I love this post. Cook once, eat twice (or even thrice!) is the motto around my house. Being mostly vegetarian is a big help, since my husband and i prepare lots of beany, stewy, pasta-y dishes that beg to be doubled and halved for freezing. Thanks for the great recipes!

It is really nice to see a discussion about a sensitive issue such as veal production handled in such a mature, respectful manner. Often people can get so mean when a topic they feel strongly about is brought up in this type of forum and it is really wonderful to see people acting like adults here.

WOW!All amazing links of recipes!I like eating and cooking meat,and the all the meat recipes sounds great!The veal meatballs in red wine sauce is my favorite!I definitely wanna try!

Andreanna - seconded :) Was getting ready to scroll past rude comments, and there were none :) Love it!

Made the Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon last night. Easy enough to make on a Monday and very very tasty. The sundried tomatoes add a nice rich flavor, but i added a bit of white truffle salt to give it even more depth. Definitely makes my "do again" recipe list.

These look great, and it occurs to me that I have never seen the Kitchn cover canning. Talk about a great way to a fast meal. I canned 60 pounds of tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato/onion puree over the weekend. This gives us a winter-long supply of instant home made tomato soup and pasta sauce, as well as an amazing tomato base for casseroles, lasagnas, and hearty soups & stews.

you need to read eating animals by jonathan safran foer

Yummmmmmmmmmy recipes! I like buying whole chickens on special, roasting and then shredding the chicken up, and freezing up portions - ie one big container for stir fries, one big one for pasta, and a couple of small ones for salads/sandwiches. Takes minutes to defrost, and if you only need to make rice and steam some veges for dinner, then it is dinner in 20mins tops (incorporating time to peel and wash veges and boil water).

This post is a great compilation of some wonderful recipes!
Others that have become my freezer staples...

1. French Ratatouille - http://www.thekitchn.com/one-pot-recipe-easy-french-ratatouille-recipes-from-the-kitchn-106669. I often make this for new Mom's since it contains everything for a balanced meal (veggies + protein), is delish and freezes well

2. Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos http://allrecipes.com/recipe/addictive-sweet-potato-burritos/ These are amazing, great flavor. I freeze them individually in foil. Just pop in oven at 350 for 20 min.

3, Homemade butternut squash ravioli - I wing this recipe. After I prepare the raviolis I lay them in a heavily floured cookie sheet and place overnight in the freezer. The next day I slide them in a zip lock bag.