Italian Beef (easy) $11 per family

Italian Beef
Serves 6-8
4 lb roast (rump or arm)
1/4 jar peperoncini with juice
1 small bell pepper (thinly sliced)
2 crushed bouillion cubes (beef)
1/4 onion thinly sliced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 onion powder
1/4 black pepper

Directions
Add all ingrediants to crockpot
I added some water (maybe 1/2 cup)
Cook for 6-7 hours or until beef pulls apart
shred beef
add some of the juice onto the beef
Serve with ciabatta or torta bread
We like it with provolone, peperoncinis, and garlic and herb mayo

Blueberry French Toast (Easy, 2 hour prep, $5-6 family)

Bri's extra large portions

8 loaves of French Bread (not crusty, soft rolls)
(I bought 3 of Sam's giant size 2 packs=6)
44 eggs
14 cups of milk
5 cups brown sugar
4 tablespoons vanilla extract
8 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 cups fresh frozen blueberries


Makes ~24 pieces per family


Get comfortable:) Slice bread. Truly takes time!

Grease Pans.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. (I did this step twice in a Kitchen Aid)

Because of the large quality and the smaller containers I found it best to dip each piece of bread and then place in the the pan. I stacked the pieces to fit as many as possible into the pan (around 14 pieces). After all pans were filled, I put the pieces in freezer bags. You can pour any remaining mixture evenly over all pans.
You could stack the slices in the pans and then pour the mixure if you were making a single batch.

Cover with blueberries and freeze.


To Prepare from frozen for individual family: defrost frozen pan, take slices out and place in a 9x13 greased pan and pour mixture over it. In small sauce-pan, heat 1/8 cup (2 T) of butter with 1/8 cup brown sugar over medium heat until bubbly. Drizzle over blue berries. Bake in 385 F oven for 30-35++ minutes until set. Dust with Powdered Sugar and Maple Syrup.

Chicken & Bacon Tortellini Alfredo - Easy, 1 hour prep, $9 family

Ingredients:

4 oz Cream Cheese
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 cups frozen peas

18 oz frozen tortellini

1/4 cup bacon bits
2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
Spices:
dashes of seasoned salt, cracked pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder
 

Freezer Club Note: I doubled the portions for Brooke's family and my own.

Directions:
Boil tortellini in large saucepan until pasta floats to the top. 
Mix cream cheese, milk, parmesan, and spices in large saucepan until well blended. Stir in tortellini, shredded chicken, bacon bits, and peas; cover.
Cook on medium-low heat 5 min., stirring occasionally. Serve and Enjoy!

From Freezer:Thaw chicken, peas, and bacon in refridgerator.
Allow alfredo sauce to thaw and then bring to a boil in small sauce pan over low heat while bringing tortellini to a boil until pasta floats.
Drain tortellini and mix together with alfredo sauce, chicken, bacon, and peas.
 

Chicken Curry with Cashews: Easy, $6.50

I may get voted off the island with this one, but I wanted to share it with you! This is one of my favorite Indian dishes. I didn't think I liked curry, but went out on a limb and enjoyed it, so give it a try...warning: it's spicy! 

Freezer Club instructions: reheat and serve over rice and garnish with cilantro; I serve with fresh fruit salad and broccoli.  I provided you with brown rice (not instant, so allow 45 min.)

Chicken Curry with Cashews

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

3 tbsp curry powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 (3.5-40lb) chicken, cut into 10 pieces (I use 1.5-2 lbs boneless chicken breast cubed)

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/4 C cilantro

3/4 C cashews

3/4 C plain whole-milk yogurt (I use fat free and sometimes fat-free plain Greek yogurt)

Heat butter in 5 to 6 quart wide heavy pot over moderately low hear until foam subsides, then cook onions, garlic and ginger, stirring, until softened (about 5 min). Add curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 2 min. Add chicken and cook, stirring to coat, 3 min.Add tomatoes, including juice, cilantro, and bring to a simmer. Then cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 min. (If making ahead see below)

Just before serving: pulse cashews in a food processor or blender until very finely ground, then add to curry along with yogurt. Simmer gently,  uncovered, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Note: Curry, without yogurt and cashews, can be made 5 days in ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat before stirring in yogurt and cashews. 

(For freezer club, I took a chance and added it anyway, yikes! Hope it works out!)

Makes 4-5 servings