• You can tailor the meals to your family's tastes and diets. "Making your own meals is healthier than fast food and pre-packaged frozen foods," said Stanger.

• Portion control. You can package the meals for your family's size and avoid waste.

• Family involvement. If you're not there, a spouse or child can pop the frozen meal in the microwave or oven.

• Handy emergency meals. "When someone in the neighborhood is having a baby or sick, you can go to your freezer and pull something out," Stanger said.

That's why Stanger first got started doing freezer meals.

"Before my first baby was born, I wanted to stock up in my pantry," she said. "But I stopped for awhile because some of the food didn't freeze very well. The sauces separated, and vegetables were soggy."

A few years later, she decided to try it again, but in two-hour blocks of time.

"I often do these at night after the kids are asleep, because usually I have two kids hanging onto my leg when I'm trying to cook," she said.

Before you go to the expense of tripling your favorite recipe for future use, Stanger advises testing its freezability. The next time you cook it, freeze a leftover serving overnight. Then thaw and reheat it later to see how it tastes.

Generally, water-based veggies and fruits, such as lettuce, celery or peaches, get soggy, although Stanger still freezes fruit for cobblers, jelly and smoothies. Cream cheese dries out unless mixed with other ingredients. Mayonnaise, custards and frostings will separate.

Other tips:

• Fully cooked noodles and fried foods become soggy when defrosted. So only cook noodles about 60 percent. Fried foods should be cooked to a light golden brown, and when it's time to serve them, bake at 425 degrees until the outside is browned and crisp.

• Mashed potatoes freeze well, but raw potatoes will turn black.

• Raw meat freezes well if it's in a sauce or marinade. "When mixed with a marinade or placed in a casserole-type dish, meats will cook up with more flavor and are usually more tender."

• Stanger recommends packaging foods in zip-top plastic bags, and double-bagging soups or sauces to prevent leaks.

Lay the bags flat in the freezer, so they can be stacked like bricks. Even without a separate freezer, quite a few dinners can be stacked in a refrigerator's freezer section, she noted.

• Lasagna or other casseroles can be made in aluminum foil pans.