Cook half the meatballs tonight; freeze the remainder raw. Thaw overnight in the fridge or pop frozen into the sauce!

Prep Time: 21 minutes, cook time: 25 minutes, servings: 4
Ingredients
1 slice of bread, torn into very small pieces
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound ground lean beef or dark meat turkey
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 pound pasta
Directions
1. Place bread, milk, egg, onion, parsley, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl, and let sit 10 minutes or until the milk is soaked into the bread. Stir gently. Add ground meat and mix well with clean hands, but do not squeeze.
2. Form 40 one-inch meatballs. Place half in a medium-large saucepan with the tomato sauce. Cover and simmer on low heat 25 minutes, shaking gently every 7 minutes to rotate the meatballs. Do not stir or you'll end up with meat sauce. Place the other 20 meatballs in a freezer-safe container, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Transfer to freezer. When meatballs are frozen solid, about 11/2 hours, cover container or transfer them to a plastic freezer bag for easier storage.
3. As the meatballs cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Drain. Serve meatball sauce over pasta, with Parmesan on the side.
4. To thaw frozen meatballs, remove from container and place on a large plate lined with paper towels. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight. If you forget to thaw them ahead of time, add frozen meatballs to the tomato sauce and increase cook time to 40 minutes. 

Prep Time: 21 minutes, cook time: 25 minutes, servings: 4

Ingredients

1 slice of bread, torn into very small pieces

1/3 cup low-fat milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 pound ground lean beef or dark meat turkey

2 cups tomato sauce

1/2 pound pasta

Directions

1. Place bread, milk, egg, onion, parsley, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl, and let sit 10 minutes or until the milk is soaked into the bread. Stir gently. Add ground meat and mix well with clean hands, but do not squeeze.

2. Form 40 one-inch meatballs. Place half in a medium-large saucepan with the tomato sauce. Cover and simmer on low heat 25 minutes, shaking gently every 7 minutes to rotate the meatballs. Do not stir or you'll end up with meat sauce. Place the other 20 meatballs in a freezer-safe container, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Transfer to freezer. When meatballs are frozen solid, about 11/2 hours, cover container or transfer them to a plastic freezer bag for easier storage.

3. As the meatballs cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Drain. Serve meatball sauce over pasta, with Parmesan on the side.

4. To thaw frozen meatballs, remove from container and place on a large plate lined with paper towels. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight. If you forget to thaw them ahead of time, add frozen meatballs to the tomato sauce and increase cook time to 40 minutes. 

Susie Theodorou, author of Can I Freeze It?, thinks a freezer should be a working mom's 
pantry stocked with easy-dinner essentials: peas, corn, spinach, dumplings, ravioli, fresh pasta and chicken or vegetable stock. 

Excerpted from Can I Freeze It? by Susie Theodorou, published by William Morrow. Copyright