A stocked freezer is a busy cook’s best friend - frozen ingredients are the key to a quick and delicious meal.

Make your freezer work for you. If you buy groceries in bulk, discover how to break down your purchases into usable, smaller servings that you can freeze and incorporate into dishes for later. If you love to get your fruits, vegetables, meat, and more from a farmers’ market, but have a hard time eating everything before it spoils, learn how to freeze your produce yourself or prepare meals to freeze. And if you need more of a shortcut,buy frozen ingredients to use for recipes like these:

• Beef Pot Pie with Peas, Carrots, and Pearl Onions (from the freezer: piecrust, beef, vegetables)
• Corn Cakes with Pulled Pork and Cherry Salsa (from the freezer: pulled pork, cherries, make-ahead corn pancakes)
• Fisherman’s Stew (from the freezer: fish fillets, shrimp, scallops, vegetables, fish stock)
• Peach-Blueberry Cobbler (from the freezer: fruit, either bought or prepared from fresh)

This is freezer-to-table cooking at its best.