Can you refreeze ricotta cheese? Storing: Leftovers with cooked meat or chicken can be stored in the freezer for 2 to 6 months. Egg-containing casseroles are best eaten within 2 to 3 months. For a more comprehensive list of cold food storage, check out this list put together by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. In some cases, your frozen food items can be used straight from the freezer. Those frozen bananas and berries can go straight into a smoothie or shake. In other cases, though, you’ll need to plan ahead and properly defrost and thaw food before working with it—especially when it comes to working with raw meat.

Assemble casseroles in freezer-safe and ovenproof dishes (glass and ceramic dishes tend to work best) and seal with several layers of plastic wrap and foil, or with an airtight lid to keep out as much air as possible. For the best defrosting results, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, then cook in the oven. Of course, if you forget to thaw and want to bake from frozen, make sure you freeze your casseroles in freezer-to-ovenproof baking dishes (such as foil, as most glass or ceramic dishes will crack). Don’t forget to remove any plastic wrap on your casseroles before baking (yes, I’ve done that!).

Pro Tip: Make smoothie packs by adding 2 cups of spinach and 2 cups of fruit to a freezer bag. Freeze and then when you’re ready to make a smoothie, toss the contents of the bag into the blender with 2 cups of liquid! Bam! Instant healthy smoothie! Yep! This is one a lot of people probably don’t know about. The biggest thing to keep in mind when freezing dairy is that it will change the texture of a lot of these things. This means they’re best to be used by cooking or mixed into something, rather than thawing and eating it as-is. Butter, Stick or Tub – This is a great one to stock up on when it’s on sale and then you always have a stock to pull from! This is one that actually thaws and remains the same texture. Read extra info on Can You Freeze Cabbage.

After freezing and thawing, some foods are exactly the same as they’d been fresh. For example, meats and fish return to their fresh state, as well as hard cheeses and sliced bread, according to East Lansing–based Felicia Wu, PhD, a professor in food safety, toxicology, and risk assessment at Michigan State University. But softer cheeses often change texture, she says, such as goat cheese, Brie, or Camembert. Many fruits and vegetables also tend to undergo a texture transformation that makes them great for smoothies, soups, and casseroles but not as ideal for eating fresh.