Stocking the freezer but keeping things fresh

I've always like the idea of advance preparation, taking advantage of produce being in season or of grocery store sales, that sort of thing. However, mostly when I put things in the freezer (other than tomatoes and butternut squash) they stay there for ages and ages. I have a huge number of sauces and the like in there now, and I do sometimes get something out, but it doesn't cycle through like the vision in my head.

However, I am making progress. In the summer especially, I don't want to eat entirely out of the freezer - foods that can be frozen are generally on the heavier side and in the summer I want greens and summer squash and salad veg. So what I have come to is a half-freezer meal. Some component of it comes from the freezer, and the rest is fresh. Here are two examples.

1. Rice and beans-stuffed peppers: I have some rice and beans frozen in 1-cup quantities. That is perfect for stuffing two halves of a sweet pepper, along with some shredded cheese. Wrap in foil and bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes depending on how tender you want the pepper.

2. A vegetarian, summer-taste version of sloppy joes with mac & cheese: BBQ lentils with zuc & cheese. The lentils are out of the freezer, frozen in quantities just over 1/3 cup (oversized ice cube trays). The zuc & cheese is made fresh and is a much lighter take on mac & cheese. Recipes below; BBQ lentils are still a work in progress.

Zuc & Cheese

• 2 small zucchini, cut into half-moon slices (12-14 oz total slices)
• 2 tbsp butter
• nutritional yeast, optional
• 1/3 cup cheddar cheese powder
• 2 tbsp milk

Saute zucchini in butter with a couple of shakes of nutritional yeast. Add cheese powder and milk. Reduce heat and stir until a smooth cheese sauce forms (this takes some time, the cheese will be very clumpy to start). Makes 2 servings.

BBQ Lentils

As originally made; my notes on adjustments I'd make next time in parentheses. A little note of warning: I made this in my combination slow cooker/rice cooker a month and a half ago and it still smells somewhat of BBQ sauce.

• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used a smoky mesquite)
• 1 cup water
• 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
• ~1/2 cup minced celery (increase)
• ~3/4 cup minced onion (maybe increase)
• (add minced carrot next time)
• ~2 tbsp minced dried mushrooms, as fine as possible (maybe increase)
• dash umami sauce (would have been Worcestershire but I didn't have any)
• scant 1/8 tsp powdered mustard (if using a sweeter BBQ sauce would likely want to increase)

Cook half a day in slow cooker, then add

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 1 cup water

Cook on high for an hour (should have been 2) and then on low until you're ready to eat.

If I were doing this on a workday the instructions would be: start the slow cooker on high with the red lentils and full 2 cups water, hot from the tap, as soon as you get up; as late as possible before leaving add everything else and turn to low for the rest of the day. The goal is getting the red lentils to dissolve into part of the sauce.