Whenever I can make one dish and repurpose it as the basis for other meals, I'm in. Marinara sauce, pesto sauce and homemade pasta are all items that can usually be found in my freezer, just waiting to make mealtime a little less stressful and a lot tastier.

You're also likely to find a bag of homemade meatballs in my freezer. I simply double a meatball recipe and freeze them, uncooked on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a plastic bag for the remainder of their storage. They need only a quick thaw and they're ready to go.

Meatballs — whether Italian, Swedish or one of my favorites, turkey — offer potential on the dinner menu beyond topping spaghetti or mashed potatoes. I find myself pulling them out when I'm looking for a fun sandwich filling, or an addition to homemade mac-and-cheese, or even as a surprise ingredient in a green salad. One version that has come to the rescue for me lately is Turkey Meatballs with Lemongrass and Ginger.

This Asian spin on the traditional turkey meatball is so unexpected. Lemongrass, ginger and garlic provide a powerhouse of flavor packed into a little ball of meat. Lemongrass is a stalky plant used extensively in Southeast Asian cuisine. While five years ago you may have had to go to your local Asian market to find it, now lemongrass is sold in the produce section of most grocery stores.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to use these versatile little balls of meat:

• Lettuce wraps (as directed in today's recipe).

• Bánh mì filling. Bánh mì is a Vietnamese sandwich filled with meat and lots of crunchy vegetables. I take a baguette and spread it with light mayo with a little bit of Sriracha sauce mixed in. I use the vinegar-based sauce in the meatball recipe as a quick marinade for shredded carrots and thinly sliced cucumbers, then I pack those veggies, along with a few of the cooked turkey meatballs inside the baguette. If you like it hot, feel free to add slices of jalapeño as well.

• Stir-fried. I simply replace the meat in any of my stir-fry recipes with the cooked meatballs and serve them over brown rice. I usually cook the meatballs ahead, as instructed, and add them at the end of my stir-fry, after all the veggies have already been cooked.

Meredith Deeds of Edina is the author of "Everyday to Entertaining" and "The Big Book of Appetizers." Reach her at meredith@meredithdeeds.com. Follow her on Twitter @meredithdeeds.