Chef Lynn Michelle, "The East Coast Chef"

Follow guidelines from Foodsafety.gov for storing food in the refrigerator and freezer.

Make spaghetti sauce with extra ground beef and freeze the sauce in portion control containers. Make Chicken Noodle Soup to freeze, adding noodles as served to prevent sogginess.

Label food before freezing using a wax crayon or waterproof marking pen, indicating item name, quantity, date, and special information.

Place extra meat, chicken, fish, seafood, bacon in portion-controlled freezer bags. Prepare burgers and package them ready to go in the freezer.

When freezing, use freezer-to-oven or freezer-to-microwave dishes and cover with plastic wrap or heavy-duty foil.

Do not use foil to wrap foods with acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes. Cover with plastic wrap before using foil.