Cooker: 1½ to 3 quart

Setting and cook time: Low for 6 to 8 hoursSlow Cooker Tip: Make-Ahead Meals

Using your freezer in conjunction with slow cooker cooking is a practical option. There is a whole school of thought that believes that if you make one meal, you should make enough at the same time to freeze a second meal. Make-ahead main dishes are not a new concept. With available freezer space, you can easily cook double the amount of a favorite dish and package the extras for a future meal. You will notice that many of the yields say “serves 2 with leftovers.” The recipes herein, especially the soups, chilies, and braises, are often designed for a second meal.

Stews and meat braises are easy to freeze and retain their just-cooked qualities. Pasta sauces and lasagna are very popular. To save time, make pasta sauces ahead and freeze them in appropriate portions. Then all you have to do is cook the pasta and reheat the sauce. For stews and casseroles, plan to reheat them in the oven or microwave rather than the slow cooker, since the food will not heat up as fast as it should in the cooker. The only foods that are really bad for freezing are raw potatoes, cooked soft vegetables like summer squash, cream sauces, and hard-cooked eggs or fish. I also avoid freezing veal, since it is so lean, and risotto (plain steamed rice can be frozen nicely, though) and polenta. I don’t freeze cooked poultry on the bone. I shred meats like chicken, turkey, and large cuts of meat in sauce so they are ready to serve when defrosted and take up less freezer space.

For freezer storage, collect plastic freezer containers in various sizes, to accommodate different amounts of food. You may also use heavy-duty zipper-top plastic freezer bags for food storage.