@kaleokahu - thank you for such a thoughtful response. This is the information I need (never been in this position before) - hadn’t thought about portion size or texture / mouthfeel, much less perception of taste.
@GretchenS, great point about the amount of food we’ll be making. I’m planning on splitting things out, as most of what I think we’ll be cooking will work well here (except for the dishes with meat). Better to figure out what’s appealing, first, before stocking up.
@LindaWhit, I love the food ideas and thank you so very much for the storage container recommendation. I wasn’t sure what to look for and these seem perfect.
An odd question (maybe I should put this into the Cookware category?) but how to handle dishes with a tomato sauce? Do they stain containers / does the scent permeate the plastic?
@Ttrockwood, I love the recipe for the lentil, mushroom, and walnut balls! Those are now on the list.
@Robin, I’d been trying to figure out if a rice casserole would freeze and reheat well. I seem to recall making one that involved rice, steamed / poached and then shredded chicken, broccoli, and cream of mushroom soup - and maybe some curry powder? But I’m thinking that cheese sounds better 
@AudreyFromNE, I’m not really experienced with soup-making; are there any recipes you’d feel comfortable pointing me toward and I can riff off those? (I tend to end-up with watery broths.)
@meatn3, I’m really liking the idea of polenta (it would tie in well with the mother’s Mexican heritage, I think); maybe some sort of black beans and a mild chorizo, plus cheese, over polenta rounds?
@Justlauralibrarian (hi from another Laura - oddly enough, the friend I’m undertaking this project with is also a Laura!), the tortilla soup recipe is perfect, and I think enchiladas are going to be on the first round of cooking list. Thank you!
@Gourmanda - that’s a perfect link and I think we’re going to be using a couple of the ideas. We’ll bake before freezing, I think, so they can be pulled out and reheated.
