Do-ahead dinners

Deanna Buxton of Pleasant Grove cooks all day, then eats all month.

In one day (actually about six hours), she makes 30 of her family's favorite dinners and stashes them in the freezer for the days she doesn't have time to cook. A few years ago she put more than 150 of her "freezer-worthy" recipes into a self-published cookbook called "Dinner is Ready," which features tips and tricks for making do-it-yourself frozen meals.

She has sold more than 9,000 books and is a popular speaker on the cooking-class circuit.

Last month Buxton spoke at McKay-Dee Hospital Center's monthly Lite Lunch & Learn program, and about 270 people filled the conference room to overflowing.

"Cooking this way has absolutely changed my life," she said. "What a relief it is for people at the end of a busy day, to be able to put dinner on the table and spend very little time in the kitchen to get it there."

There are plenty of fast-food dinner options, and the grocery store offers quick meal kits and frozen entrees. But, she said, they're often more expensive and less healthful. If you make it yourself, you know it's something your family will enjoy.

You also avoid wasted leftovers because you can tailor the portion sizes to fit your family size — whether in single servings or a container for nine or 10. You can take advantage of sales and buy ingredients in bulk. And you always have a meal on hand to take to a sick friend.

About six years ago, all four of Buxton's children were involved in baseball. She had no time to cook dinner because she was in the stands cheering every night. So, one day she made and froze 30 different recipes "because I had one month of baseball days ahead of me," she said. "By the time I was through, I was sure I would never do it again."

But the convenience of those frozen assets gave her the incentive to figure out shortcuts that could cut the prep time. For instance, instead of doing 30 different recipes, she does a double batch of 15 recipes.

"It takes virtually no more effort to make two pans of lasagna than it does to make one," she said. "Yes, you may be eating the same thing twice in a month, but you would be surprised how often we really do make the same favorites."

Some people can't tackle 15 recipes in one day. But if they even make double batches of five different recipes, they'll have 10 days' worth of dinners.

"Any time you get a meal in the freezer, you've got one day of freedom in your future," Buxton said.