Here’s a chapter of meals you can make far in advance and cook, for the most part, right out of the freezer. Yes, it takes some planning, maybe a little Saturday afternoon prep. But it’ll be worth it when you throw something frozen-and-soon-to-be-dinner onto a baking sheet, into a skillet, or even into a slow cooker—and your cooking is done.
What this wide range of dishes all have in common is that they can be made weeks, maybe even months, in advance. A number of these recipes use the freezer: freezer meat loaves, make-ahead freezer-to-oven packets, and even some braising sauces that need no cooking before going into the slow cooker (that you can freeze flat, then toss—with some protein—right into the cooker or the pot for a hearty supper without much fuss).
There are also a few recipes that might be outside the norm (or at least the everyday): like using that slow cooker to confit tuna or chicken, or making no-knead yeast bread dough to freeze months in advance.
You know that old saying: You’ve got to spend time to save time. We’ve always hated it, mostly because it’s such a joyless sentiment. It sounds like drudgery, the sort of thing said along with a wagging, bony finger and a tsk tsk.
Rather than spending time, how about investing it? Or better yet, because nobody knows how investments turn out these days, how about just enjoying it? Take a minute to savor your work. You’ve reached a stage in your life where you can in fact spend a few minutes for meals ahead. Step back and relish where you are. Pay attention to the moments you have.
Sure, making these recipes is a matter of carving out a little time to prepare them. You may even begrudge the time on Saturday afternoon. But try not to. Try to find the joy in the time you have, the moments you’ve got to do a small kitchen task. You certainly won’t begrudge that time spent when you walk in on Wednesday evening, dead tired, and pull something out of the freezer to toss in the oven.