Sante Fe Soup $9 per family easy

2lbs ground beef with onions (cooked and grease drained)
2 pks taco seasoning
2 pks ranch seasoning
2 cups water
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
2 cans shoepeg corn
2 cans tomatoes diced
1 cup diced celery

I  4x this recipe to make for 6 families.

Mix all ingredients and simmer for 2 hours
 can serve with scallions, sour cream, cheese and corn bread.

Freezer club: thaw then heat throughly. May need to add some water if too thick

Green Tacos ($13 Easy Prep)

Ingredients:

10 Tortillas (corn or flour)
Flank Steak -1lb per family
2 tsp sugar
salt
pepper

Cilantro Pesto:
3/4 cup fresh cilantro
4 green onions (white and green parts)
1 garlic clove
1/2 jalapeno
olive oil

Pickled Red Onions:
1 red onion
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Directions:

Liberally sprinkle flank steak with sugar salt and pepper on both sides.  Rub into meat.  Marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Thinly slice red onion.  Take vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the boiled vinegar over the sliced onions, cover and let marinate for at least 2 hours.  To be served with the tacos. 

Take the 3/4 cup cilantro, 4 green onions, 1/4 diced and seeded jalapeno and garlic and whizz in a food processor.  Drizzle in 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil until it reaches a pesto consistency.
Grill the marinated flank steak on medium until desired tenderness, let rest 5 minutes and slice meat thinly, against the grain, at an angle. 

Toss the sliced flank steak with the cilantro pesto.  Grill or heat the tortillas.  Place meat, then onions (I would highly recommend making guacamole) and guac on top.  You can add other toppings such as cheese, salsa, sour cream as well. 

To Make for Freezer Club:

I made this as a fresh meal but meat could be frozen.  Each family got a little over 1 lb of meat and 10 tortillas.  I prepared the onions (although this mixture probably will not freeze well).  I also made the peso, minus the olive oil.

***Instructions when preparing for your family:

Marinate the meat with sugar, salt and pepper as instructed above.  Place pesto in a bowl and whisk in ~1/8-1/4 cup of olive oil.  Pesto is now ready to be tossed with the cooked, cooled and sliced meat. 

Sausage Pesto Pizzazz - $8/family, 3 hrs prep, Medium

1 lb Ground Sausage (regular), cooked and seasoned with: kosher salt, ground black pepper, onion and garlic powder to taste.
½ jar Basil Pesto (or about ½ cup if making your own), divided
½ Red bell pepper
1 Roma tomato
½ small onion
2 TBS soft margarine or soft butter
1 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
Honey Kissed Dough (recipe follows)

Honey Kissed Dough:
3 cups Flour
1 pkg Yeast
1 ¼ cup Hot Water
1TBS Honey
1 Tsp Salt
1 ½ TBS Oil
Mix half of flour together with yeast and salt. Add water *with honey mixed in it*. Combine gently with fork. Add in remaining flour. Knead gently until all flour is combined then roll into large ball and coat with oil, squeezing the oil slightly into the ball. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

1)      Brown Sausage

2)      Make dough (for freezer club, a doubled dough recipe makes about 2 ½ dough balls, I made 5 batches and distributed the dough into 6 balls).         

3)      Roll dough ball onto floured surface to about ¼ inch thickness into a rectangular shape.  Spread with softened butter then spread about 2 TBS of pesto on top of butter.

4)      Mix remaining pesto together with browned, seasoned sausage and spread out over the buttered dough, leaving a ½ inch around the edges.

5)      Top sausage with red peppers, onions, tomatoes and shredded cheese.

6)      Fold shorter sides over sausage, then begin rolling the longer side like a jelly roll. Place seam side down on greased cookie sheet.

7)      Spread the top with butter or egg wash and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Freezer Club Prep: I used 2 onions, 2 red peppers, and a little more than 5 lbs of flour. When the meal was completely assembled, I placed the filled dough on foil that was sprayed with olive oil. I also sprayed the top of the dough with olive oil to prevent sticking.

Baking From Frozen: Either allow to thaw on the counter for several hours and then bake with directions above or to prepare straight from the freezer, bake at 400 for 30 minutes, unwrapping foil for the last 5 minutes. *Place in the oven immediately before pre-heated if baking from frozen*
**Side Note: This dough recipe is our family's pizza dough recipe. It makes 2 large pizzas – it is *so* good!!

Simple Cheesy Lasagna: Easy; $13

Freezer Club: Thaw and bake 350 (the black dishes will melt for the higher temp) for 45-60 min. If baking straight from the freezer, allow about 15-20 min. extra. Serve with a big salad, you'll need it to balance all of the cheese!


Ingredients:
2.5 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 (32 oz) jar marinara sauce (I like the kind with mushrooms)
1 lb mozzarella cheese (grated)
2 lbs Monterrey jack cheese (grated)
1 oz box ribbed lasagna noodles (I put them in uncooked)
1 2.25oz can ripe olives or more to taste

Instructions:
Brown beef and onion until done (about 10 min). drain. grease a 9x13 dish and layer: noodles, beef mixture and both kinds of cheese, then olives. Continue until it's all used. Place a layer of cheese on top. Mix spaghetti sauce and about a 1/2 jar of hot water. Pour over the top and bake. 400 degrees for 45-60 min.