African Meatballs - Medium difficulty $8 (3 hours prep)

African Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 small can chopped black olives
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
Generous shakes of cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meatballs:
1 egg
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup fine bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for cooking

First - Make The Meatballs:
In a medium bowl, add the egg and tomato paste and stir until smooth. Add the ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and mix until well blended. Stir in the ground beef and bread crumbs, season with salt and pepper and combine gently after each addition. Rolling with your hands, make 16 meatballs.

In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat, and brown the meatballs until golden on all sides (the centers will continue to cook in the sauce). Add more oil, as needed. When golden brown, remove from pan, cover, and set aside.

Second - Make The Sauce:
In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon and olives and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the chicken broth, canned tomatoes, sugar and cinnamon, and simmer to blend flavors, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Third – Transfer:Transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let simmer for 20 minutes, serve over rice.

Freezer Club Notes: I made these in two batches of 3 meals each and did *not* cook the meatballs all the way through before freezing in the containers. The meatballs will continue cooking while simmering in the sauce. I froze the sauce in a Ziploc baggie to keep the meatballs from getting soggy. Thawing:Thaw meatballs in fridge (can thaw sauce in microwave on defrost). Simmer meatballs and sauce together over medium heat until heated throughout. Serve over rice.
*This recipe is adapted from Melissa D’Arabian from Food Network  J

Stuffed Manicotti (Medium; $9)

Freezer Club: Thaw completely in oven all day, set temp to 350 and bake about 40 min. or until bubbly. Serve with garlic toast and salad.

Ingredients:
14 uncooked manicotti shells
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, cooked and squeezed dry
1 lb lean beef
1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 medium onion
3/4 C milk
3/4 C Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
4 C. marinara sauce
2 C. shredded Mozzarella cheese (for top)

Instructions
In large skillet, brown ground beef, sausage, and onion, stirring to break up the meat. Set aside. In medium bowl, beat eggs; mix in milk, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Add cooked spinach and meat mixture. Stuff each UNCOOKED shells (so much easier!) with about 1/4 c meat mixture. Spread 1 C. marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9x13"dish. Place the filled manicotti shells in dish. Spoon remaining3 cups marinara sauce over filled manicotti. Sprinkle 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the sauce. Place baking dish in cold oven. Set temp to 350. Bake about 40 min. Serve immediately. (Freeze extra filling and use it later...there's a lot of left-over filling!)

Southwest Chicken and Bacon Wraps $9-10, medium (2-3 hour prep)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Southwest Chicken Marinade (see recipe below)
Southwest Ranch Sauce (see recipe below)
8 pieces bacon, baked or fried, crumbled
½ c cheddar cheese (I sub'd Mexican cheese blend)
½ c mozzarella cheese (I sub'd Mexican cheese blend)
shredded lettuce
tomatoes, diced
4-6 whole wheat tortillas (8 flour tortillas)

Instructions

Marinate chicken for 1 hour or longer in fridge. Grill over medium-high heat 6 to 7 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through (no longer pink inside). Let meat rest and then slice into long, thin pieces.

To assemble wrap: Add grilled chicken pieces, bacon pieces, some of each kind of cheese, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes to each tortilla. Roll up like a burrito. Dip in Southwest Ranch Sauce or add inside the wrap.

Freezer Tip: Obviously, you can’t freeze the lettuce or tomato, but I packaged the following items individually in freezer bags and froze them: uncooked marinated chicken, cooked bacon pieces, cheese, ranch salsa, and tortillas. After thawing everything, grill the chicken, cut it up, and cut up the veggies (if you want lettuce and tomatoes). Then assemble the wrap.



Southwest Chicken Marinade:

2/3 cup oil

1/3 cup vinegar

2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

4 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground


Southwest Ranch Sauce:

About 1/2 cup ranch dressing (I used plain Greek yogurt mixed with Ranch seasoning)

About 1/2 cup mild salsa (I used Pace)