Coming home to a refrigerator stocked with meals ready to heat and eat meals is everyone's dream, but in reality make-ahead recipes often fall short: soggy breaded chicken, gluey mashed potatoes, and dry, dense casseroles are more the norm.

The test cooks and editors of Cook's Illustrated have devoted an entire double issue to dozens of make-ahead recipes that will uncover the secrets behind truly great make-ahead cooking. From oven-ready Baked Manicotti with Sausage and Stuffed Turkey Cutlets with Rice Stuffing and Gravy to White Chicken Chili and Apple Turnoverse, the test kitchen shows you step by-step-how to prepare make-ahead recipes so that they always taste fresh and flavorful.

The 64-page double issue recipes include:

Baked Stuffed Mushrooms with Blue Cheese and Scallions, Caesar Salad, Slow-Cooker Black Bean Chili, Beef Burgundy, Cuban Sandwiches, Chicken Tagine with Olives and Lemon, Salmon and Leek Pot Pie, Vegetable Lasagna, Blueberry Muffins, Overnight Yeasted Waffles, Double-Corn Cornbread, Classic Scalloped Potatoes, Couscous with Lemon and Herbs, and dozens more.

Supermarket ingredient taste tests include our top tested brands for part-skim ricotta cheese, no-boil noodles, boxed stuffing mixes, goat cheese, puff pastry, maple syrup, and many more.

Money-saving equipment ratings on the tools you use everyday, including potato mashers, box graters, garlic presses, waffle irons and more.

Clever Kitchen Quick Tips and techniques including, easier mushroom cleaning, no-mess tacos, stuffing pork chops, slicing brisket, preparing broccoli, shaping biscuits and many more.