Buy, save and freeze now, eat later

Smart cooks know there are times when cooking just can't happen. So they keep frozen
homemade meals on hand.

This not only saves time and your sanity, it also can save money. Making and freezing portions or whole meals ahead of time lets you better take advantage of sales, buy in bulk and double or triple recipes for timesaving meals in the future.

Meat, fish and poultry will keep for up to four months when tightly wrapped in plastic and foil.

Some dishes freeze better than others. Recipes that contain creamy sauces, mayonnaise or other fat-based ingredients aren't great candidates because they tend to separate and get watery when thawed.

Ground-meat dishes freeze with almost no change in flavor or consistency. Soups, stews and chili freeze well, though it's best to avoid those with potatoes, which can degrade in the freezer.

Casseroles hold up well in the freezer. Line dishes with heavy-duty foil before assembling, then once frozen you can lift everything out and use the dish for another project. Most casseroles can be pre-cooked, then go directly from the freezer to the oven.

But lasagna and other pasta dishes get watery when cooked ahead and then thawed, so it's best to freeze them uncooked.

This recipe for Sausage, Spinach and Cheese-stuffed Shells makes enough to fill two baking dishes, each with four servings. Assemble both, then cook one for now and freeze the other

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SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND CHEESE-STUFFED SHELLS
Yield: 8 servings

1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large egg
1 (16-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) box chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (32-ounce) jar pasta sauce (4 cups)

Procedure:

If serving immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring large stockpot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

Add oil to large skillet set over medium-high. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up with spoon, until no traces of pink remain, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cook another minute. Remove skillet from heat and set aside to cool.

In large bowl lightly beat egg. Add ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and reserved sausage mixture.

Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce over bottom of each of two 9-by-13-inch (or similar size) shallow baking dishes. Fill each reserved shell with some of the sausage and ricotta filling.

Arrange half the shells in each baking dish, then spread half the remaining pasta sauce over each dish of shells. Cover pans with foil and bake 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbling.

Uncover and sprinkle each dish with half the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake another 10 minutes.

Alternatively, one or both baking dishes can be frozen up to 4 months. The dishes should be covered tightly with foil and plastic wrap before freezing. When ready to serve, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap (leaving the foil) and bake directly from freezer 1 hour, or until hot and bubbling. Uncover and sprinkle each dish with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes.