Busy weeknights have a way of sneaking up on you, and the moment you walk through the door at 6:30 p.m. with hungry kids in tow, you’ll wish past-you had been a little more prepared.

That’s exactly what freezer meals are for. Spend a couple of hours cooking on a Sunday afternoon, double the batch, and you’ve basically handed future-you a gift. The whole strategy works beautifully for suburban families who already spend time in the kitchen and just need a smarter way to stretch that effort across the week.

The secret? Cook once, eat twice. Or three times. Nobody’s judging.

If you’re new to the freezer meal routine, a few recipes make especially good starting points. Pulled barbecue chicken is one of the most flexible options out there. Princess Pinky Girl’s crockpot version lets you freeze the shredded chicken plain, so when you thaw it on a Tuesday night, you can toss it with whatever sauce your family is feeling, whether that’s classic barbecue for the kids or something spicier for the grown-ups. Her recipe includes specific freezing instructions so nothing gets dried out or icy.

Lasagna is practically the mascot of freezer cooking, and for good reason. Damn Delicious offers a roll-up version that packages individual portions for two, which is a smart format because you can pull out exactly what you need instead of thawing a 9x13 pan for a solo lunch. If your household runs bigger, just assemble a few larger trays and freeze them separately.

For mornings when the carpool clock is ticking and breakfast is an afterthought, freezer breakfast sandwiches from All The Healthy Things are worth every minute of Sunday prep. Parents who spend the whole morning making sure their kids are fed and packed and out the door often skip eating themselves. Having a grab-and-reheat sandwich waiting in the freezer changes that equation pretty fast.

Stuffed pepper casserole is another winner, and Princess Pinky Girl’s version only takes about 15 minutes of prep before it goes into the oven. You get all the flavor of the classic stuffed pepper dish without trying to wrestle whole peppers into a freezer container. Make one for tonight and one for later. That’s the whole move.

Want something a little more adventurous? Averie Cooks’ Thai chicken coconut curry is a one-skillet recipe that comes together in 30 minutes, which means it’s fast enough to make on a weeknight even when you’re not freezing it. But when you do double the batch and freeze half, you’ll have a restaurant-quality dinner ready to reheat on the nights when takeout delivery fees start to feel outrageous.

Budget Bytes brings a recipe that’s both affordable and genuinely meaningful. Recipe writer Olena Osipov shares her grandmother’s authentic Ukrainian cabbage roll recipe, and because cabbage is one of the most budget-friendly vegetables you can buy, making a big batch doesn’t cost much. It’s a wonderful way to try a new dish with your family, and the full collection of freezer meal ideas includes this one alongside a dozen others worth bookmarking.

For the sick days, there’s Chinese chicken and sweet corn egg drop soup from The Stush Kitchen. It’s a more loaded version of the classic takeout soup, and having it stashed in the back of the freezer means you don’t have to place an order or stand at the stove when you’re running a fever and your kids are demanding dinner.

A few practical tips before you start stocking up. Label everything with the date and reheating instructions, because mystery containers are no fun at midnight. Invest in a pack of disposable aluminum pans for casseroles, since they go straight from freezer to oven with no extra dishes. And when you find a recipe your family loves, make four portions instead of two. Freezer space is one of the most underused resources in the average suburban kitchen, and filling it with homemade meals is one of the most practical things you can do for your family’s weeknight sanity.

The USDA’s FoodKeeper app is a free tool that tells you exactly how long different foods keep safely in the freezer, which takes the guesswork out of whether that pulled chicken from three months ago is still good to eat.

Start with two or three of these recipes this weekend, double the batch, and see how much smoother your next two weeks look.