Chicken Pot-pie (Medium) $7 per family

1. Take 1 whole chicken breast and cut into chunks
2. Saute it in a pan with 2 Tbs of butter and garlic, salt, and pepper to taste
3. Peel and slice 1 large or 2 medium potatoes and boil until fully cooked. Combine with : 1 cup of each: frozen peas, carrots, and corn
4. take 3 Tbs of butter and melt it in a large sauce pan
5. add 3 Tbs of flour and whisk it until it is bubbly and turns a light brown color
6. add 1 cup of half and half and 3/4 cup of chicken broth
7. let it come to a boil until it gets thick
8. add salt and pepper to taste
9. add the chicken and veggies to the sauce mixture
10. Use the Pillsbury pie crust- take out and let it come to room temperature
11. place crust at bottom of a round casserole dish and pour the sauce mixture into it.
12. Place the remainder crust over the top of pie. Fold the excess crust under and crimp it around the dish. Cut a few slits in the top of pie

Freezer Club directions: Thaw. Brush the top of pie and crust with half and half. I usually put foil around the crust edges or they get too brown. then remove the foil toward the end so it can get crunchy. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so...

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (moderate) $13 per family

1-1.5 quarts chicken stock (boxed liquid, not cubes or granules)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 large chicken breasts boiled and shredded
1 Tbls. butter
1 onion - chopped
1 clove garlic - minced
3-5 mushrooms - thinly sliced
1 carrot - peeled and chopped
2-3 hand-fulls fresh spinach
1-2 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
1 24 oz. bag Reams Noodles
salt and pepper to taste


Boil chicken until fork tender and shreds easily.  Shred chicken and set aside. 
In a large soup pot, saute onion and garlic in butter until translucent.  Add chicken stock and cream of mushroom soup.  
Add mushrooms, carrots and spinach.  Simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes.  Add parmesan cheese and cook another 10 minutes, stirring frequently so cheese doesn't clump.  Add Reams Noodles and cook until tender (approximately 20 minutes.)

*I would only add half the bag of noodles to start.  They double in size so the entire bag may be too much.
*Water or chicken stock can be added (and may need to be) when adding the noodles to this recipe.
*Also, you may notice that the bags are not as full as normal but that is to account for the noodles being left out. 


Freezer Club Prep:  If making this meal for freezer club, leave out Reams Noodles (give a bag of frozen noodles to each person)
To prepare from frozen: Thaw and heat on stovetop.  Add half the bag of Reams noodles and simmer on medium - medium high heat for 20 minutes.  Add water or chicken stock to the soup if necessary.  If more noodles are desired, add and cook an additional 20 minutes. 

Sweet Lasagna ($9-10, medium)

Sauce Ingredients:

5 1/2 lbs. ground beef
salt & pepper to taste
8 TB minced garlic
4 TB Italian seasoning
6 lg. cans tomato sauce
4 lg. cans Italian stewed tomatoes
2/3 cup ketchup
2 1/2 cups brown sugar

Directions:

Brown meat. Add seasonings. Add cans of tomato sauce & stewed tomatoes, ketchup & brown sugar.
Simmer 45 minutes.

Lasagna Ingredients

2 pkg. lasagna noodles (I used no-cook)
8 cups (64 oz) ricotta cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups colby-jack cheese, shredded
4 cups (32 oz) cottage cheese (small curd)

Lasagna directions:

Layer meat sauce, noodles, cheese, spooning in ricotta in small amounts through each layer...same for cottage cheese.
Continue process until casserole is filled to the top. Bake @ 375 for 25-30 min. (bubbling & cheese is melted).

Freezer club baking:
Thaw and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes (bubbling & cheese is melted).
Note: Lasagna may also be baked frozen. Plan to double the baking times.

Cheesy Hot Sandwich Loaf ($12, medium)

$12/family; Medium difficulty; prep time: ~ 1 hour

Freezer club instructions: Your loaf is already baked, so defrost in fridge overnight/during the day. You can eat it cold, or reheated in microwave or oven. My favorite is the oven for toasty goodness! Serve with fruit or soup and salad.

Ingredients:
1 - 16 oz Pillsbury hot roll mix
4 oz. thinly sliced, fully cooked ham, cut into strips
4 oz thinly sliced pepperoni, cut into strips (I use Turkey pepperoni)
1 C. ricotta cheese
1 C. shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese
1 C. shredded fontina cheese
1/3 C. thinly sliced green onion
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
Prepare hot roll mix through the kneading step, according to basic recipe on package. Cover and let rest 5 min.

For filling in a large bowl, stir together the ham, pepperoni, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, fontina cheeses, green onion and pepper. Set aside.

Grease large baking sheet. Set aside. On a large floured surface, roll dough into a 12 x 9 rectangle. Spread filling lengthwise down the center of the rectangle in a 4-inch wide strip. Fold long side of dough over filling. Moisten edges with water. Pinch to seal. Place loaf seam side down on prepared baking sheet. With knife cut 1 1/2 inch slits in top for steam to escape. Cover and let rise 10  min.

Brush top with milk. If desired sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 min or until golden. Let stand for 5 min. Slice into serving size pieces. For left-overs, I like to reheat in the oven to get it toasted!