Freeze It Week, Day 5: Entertaining

Posted by Caroline Wright

You (and your freezer) made it through the week without breaking a sweat, but now you might be stressing about company coming over on Saturday night.

Don't worry -- we've come up with some great ideas over the years at Everyday Food to help you with freezer-ready entertaining menus.

I love the really great Lasagna Primavera we recently ran in the magazine, with Mocha Semifreddo for dessert. Both are very straightforward recipes with very yummy results, and would be fitting for any cozy party. The lasagna recipe is especially impressive because it's composed mainly of freezer and pantry vegetable staples, making it easy to dive into the recipe when you have a free moment (and freeze it for when you don't). The semifreddo, with its rich texture and grown-up flavor, will surprise all of your guests.

For other company-worthy freezer suggestions, the Spinach Pie recipe I mentioned on Tuesday is gorgeous, easy, and celebratory. Or, for a rustic evening in, give our Sausage and Bean Casserole a try.

With the planning out of the way, all you'll need to do is toss together a side salad and mix a few drinks! Your guests will have no idea how you managed to stay so composed. It's our little secret...

Thanks for spending this week with me and responding to my Freeze-It posts. With all of our busy schedules, it's so refreshing to hear all of your great strategies to cope with the ever-present challenge of getting good food to the dinner table. I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon!

EARLIER "Freeze It Week" POSTS
Day 1: Back to School!
Day 2: Five Favorite One-Dish Dinners
Day 3: 7 Easy Shortcuts
Day 4: Single Servings

Comments

[Jessica]

Thanks for sharing all of the great freezer ideas this week. I must admit, I don't use my freezer nearly as much as I should to help with meal planning and dinners on the go, but your tips will certainly help me get off to the right start!

[Caroline Wright]

That is so great to hear, Jessica. I'll definitely be in touch with other helpful tips soon, since, as you can tell, I'm a huge fan of the freezer! Thanks for reading and being in touch!

[Melinda]

Our church group made this lasagna recipe for several families with new little ones (because new parents always need food!) and they loved it. The only problem: we quadrupled the recipe! We were cutting and prepping for HOURs it seemed. I think now that the experience is a couple of months past, I may try it at home again.

Caroline, do you have any ideas for freezer meals without dairy? I'm loving everything you're posting, but since my daughter can't eat dairy because of her food allergy, I'm finding lots of great "date night" options for mom and dad, but not many school night options for the kiddos. Obviously, meals that just have cheese on top can work for us, but this lasagna wouldn't. Just curious--I'm loving that EF is labeling for special diets now, so THANK YOU for that!

[Caroline Wright]

I think you'll be happy if you try this lasagna recipe again for a smaller crowd-- quadrupling the recipe, my goodness! No wonder you were exhausted!

There are plenty of things you can make for your family that are dairy-free. All of the soup recipes we've done in Freeze-It (search freezer soup on our site, and narrow to Everyday Food-- you'll find plenty of options). Also, think along the lines of ingredients: taco filling, meatballs, etc, and then you can customize the preparations as dairy-free or not.

I will definitely keep you and your family in mind for my future Freeze-It posts (there are more swimming around in my brain). I hope you'll be in touch!

[Melinda]

Caroline--thanks for thinking of me! You reminded me that I need to make the EDF meatballs that have rosemary and panko...those are favorites here! As always, I leave here inspired. Our group is making EDF red and black bean pies with polenta for our next bulk cooking endeavor...those freeze well, too! (So, can you tell which recipes I contribute to this gathering?!)

[Blythe]

I just wanted to say thank you for the great series. I've never really tried freezing meals ahead of time and was inspired to try it now that weekdays are getting busier again. On Labor Day I labored in the kitchen and made 7 of the recipes you've featured plus 3, 1 pound balls of pizza dough. My freezer is very full and I'm really excited to come home tonight after work and just hit preheat on the oven.

[Caroline Wright]

Blythe, you brought a huge smile to my face. Thank you for giving my tips a try-- I know they will make a difference in your schedule. I am really happy to know that we helped make your days a little less stressful and a little bit tastier. Let me know how it works out!

[Blythe]

Hi Caroline, the vegetable enchiladas were delicious last night and it was such a revelation - no prep work and minimal clean-up. I posted about it on my blog. I think I may have to get a chest freezer! Thanks again.

[Melinda]

Blythe, what recipe do you use for your pizza dough? I tried to find frozen dough at the store with no luck. Thanks!

[Blythe]

Hi Melinda, I use a Fine Cooking recipe for the pizza dough (from June?). It's not available online but I typed it out for my blog: http://empanadaintifada.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/recession-recipes-part-1-dough-for-less-dough/#more-74