This is likely to be a daft question

[Saltire]

If I make a shepherds/cottage pie for the freezer, can I
A- freeze it in the dish I will cook it in, and if I use a square casserole dish do I need to cover it?
B- Can I put the mash on top before freezing or do i need to wait till later?
C - Do I cook straight from freezer or defrost first?

I have cooked things like spag bol sauce and soup and frozen them before, but never something like a shepherds pie.

Not daft questions. You'll get 101 different answers anyway!

I
Cover with a plastic bag
Sometimes put mag on, sometimes not
Always defrost first - often in microwave if I've forgotten to get out if freezer.

I also sometime just bung the mince part in a Tupperware as I don't have too many spare casserole dishes.

I tend to freeze it in the dish I'll cook it in then put inside a large sealable freezer bag.

You can freeze with the mash on. Obviously that makes life easier later but, IMHO, it tastes much nicer if the mash is made fresh and added later just before cooking.

Always defrost before cooking.

I find frozen mash on top goes v watery and not v nice so I freeze the mince in a foil tray then take out in the morning.

Tip into a Pyrex dish and add fresh mash before putting in oven

Thanks everyone.

So what about Lasagne, how easy is it to freeze?

Lasagne freezes no problem but, like all pasta, it soaks up every bit of liquid in the sauce and you can defrost to find soggy pasta and everything else dry. Also, because it's such a dense lump, it's best to defrost slowly before reheating. I either freeze individual portions of lasagne (can be nuked from frozen) or batches of bolognese and then do a quick assemble later in the day.