RE: Make ahead freezer foods?
Some ones I cooked to freeze before DD was born, but they aren't terribly unique.
Meatballs (for sandwiches and with pasta)
Meatloaf (can freeze raw or precooked, some people like it one way vs. the other)
Weekly, I roast two chickens, debone, chop the chicken into chunks, and freeze in medium size pyrex containers. That is a great starter for chicken salad, used in a quesadilla, or just to have plain with some sides, or tossed in at the end of a stir fry, etc. I sometimes reheat this with some of the Trader Joe's simmer sauces (mojito, thai curry, etc.). Can add some to a crockpot w/ bbq sauce for bbq chicken sandwiches
Sloppy Joes, because my 3 year old is a big fan (I just use ketchup, mustard, lemon juice, and brown sugar for my sauce)
You can prebrown ground meat and freeze. Again a great starter for other stuff. Can be made into soft or regular tacos, quesadillas, thrown over some pasta, etc.
Those aren't terribly unique but I usually do freezer meals that way. They aren't totally complete, but it drastically cuts the work. You can also take them a step further and just freeze that way (add simmer sauce to the chicken and then freeze, or add bbq sauce to the chicken and then freeze).
I'm not sure on the guidelines for long term storage in a deep freeze, but I'm pretty sure at least 6 months is fine. I know some people will go out to a year as long as it is a deep freeze, although at that point you may get some sacrifice of flavor/quality.
Mama to DS-2004
DD-2006
and a new addition-ds born march 2010