Dinner on ice

• Line pizza pans and baking dishes with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, Stanger advised. Place the food in the foil-lined pan, freeze it for an hour, then take it out and wrap in more layers of plastic, label and freeze. To cook, place the frozen, foil-wrapped meal back in the pan.

• Let cooked items completely cool before freezing them. "My big tragedy was making spaghetti sauce for a family reunion," she said. "I double-bagged it, but because of the heat, the seal wasn't good so the bags burst."

• Sprinkle apples with sugar and cinnamon and freeze to use later in pies.

• Be sure to label each package with the item, date and cooking directions. "After about a year of denial, I started labeling everything because it all turns the same color in the freezer," she said.

• For safe defrosting, plan on 24 hours in the refrigerator. If defrosting in the microwave, use the food right away, because warm food is a breeding ground for bacteria. Don't thaw at room temperature; the danger of bacterial growth and food spoilage is greater, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

• Most of the time, Stanger cooks her meals from the frozen state "because I don't have time to worry about defrosting." When cooking frozen lasagna and so on, double the regular cooking time. She also heats baked calzones in the microwave as one would the commercial Hot Pockets pastries.

• Discard any of the food if it has been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours.

• Use the meals within three months. After that, the color, flavor and texture may deteriorate.

PIZZA DOUGH

3 tablespoons yeast
3 cups hot water (95-100 degrees)
3 tablespoons oil
9 cups flour
3 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoon garlic salt

In a Bosch bread mixer, or large bowl, mix yeast, water and oil. Wait 5 minutes for the yeast to activate (turn frothy on top). In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, oregano and garlic salt. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together and add small amounts of water if dough feels dry. Mix or knead for 8-10 minutes. Dough should be elastic.

You can to freeze dough at this point. Just break into 3 pieces and place in a larger freezer ziptop bag. Label "Pizza dough" and freeze for up to 6 months. To use, defrost in the microwave on high 20 seconds. Then roll out for pizza, stromboli or calzones. Yields 3 pizzas or 2 strombolis. — Jenny Stanger

PIZZA

1 recipe Pizza Dough
Cheese and other toppings as desired
Pizza Sauce (see recipe below)