How To Make Cheap, Healthy Meals With Your Family At Home

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- With the school year in full swing, parents often get in a rut at dinner time. It's hard to find the time to make meals that are nutritious with fresh ingredients.

But Kirsten Shabaz of Valley Natural Foods is showing us three recipes that require 10 ingredients or less and are simple to prepare.

The first is the French dip. It's not a typical meal for most household dinner menus, but it's a dish that's really easy to make. Shabaz said it comes down to choosing the right cut of beef for your sandwich, and she recommends a chuck roast with onions.

She also said to cook it in a crock pot on low for six to eight hours with with soy sauce, red wine vinegar and a little worcestershire sauce.

"For moms it's really easy because you can fix it and forget it," Shabaz said.

Once it's done, add a little cheese on top, melt it and give everyone their individual helping of au jous.

Next she made the chicken and sun-dried tomato panini. She said it's something you typically think about having at a restaurant, but something you can make at home too. You can make the sandwich, wrap it in foil and put it in your oven.

Shabaz said to use a ciabatta loaf of bread or a focaccia loaf, then use sun-dried tomatoes to flavor the bread. Add cheese and fresh spinach and put the sandwich in foil in the oven for about 35 minutes at 355 degrees.

Next is the spinach feta burger. A lot of kids don't like to eat spinach, but putting it in a burger is a way to hide it, she said. She said get two pounds of ground turkey and dump it into a seasoning with red pepper flakes, nut meg and some onions. Add feta cheese and some spinach, mix it together and either grill up the patties or pan fry them.

Your turkey burger will turn out healthier than a beef burger, and your kids will eat it because it tastes good.

If you're worried about not having enough time to make these meals, Shabaz recommends taking one weekend day a month to get the family together and make five meals. Put them in your freezer and taken them out throughout the month.

Here are the recipes

FRENCH DIP BEEF

Price Per Serving: $3.19 per sandwich
Serves 10-12

Ingredients

3 lb. beef chuck roast
2 Tbsp. Herbs de Provence
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ C. Tamari Soy Sauce
¼ C. Red Wine Vinegar
2 C. beef broth
Hamburger buns, toasted
Provolone cheese slices

Directions

1. Place the roast, herbs, bay leaves, pepper, salt, garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce, Tamari, red wine vinegar and beef broth into the crock pot.
2. Cook in crock pot on HIGH 4-6 hours and LOW 6-8 hours.
3. Shred meat; serve on hamburger buns topped with provolone cheese and with a bowl of the leftover liquid as Au Jus.

SPINACH FETA BURGERS

Price Per Serving: $1.71 per burger
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
2 lbs. ground turkey or buffalo
2 C. packed fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 C. minced onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2/3 C. crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium high heat or 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients and form into patties.
3. Place burgers on heated grill for 5-7 minutes each side or until meat is no longer pink, cooked through.

CHICKEN & SUN-DRIED TOMATO PANINI

Price Per Serving: $3.80 per sandwich

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. butter
1 small red onion, sliced
6 pretzel buns, sliced
½ C. sun dried tomato spread
12 slices provolone cheese
1 lb. oven roasted deli chicken slices
2 C. arugula or spinach

Directions

1. Melt butter in large skillet over medium high heat, add sliced red onion and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized, set aside.
2. Spread some sun dried tomatoes on the bottom of the bun.
3. Add a slice of provolone cheese, two or three slices of chicken deli meat and some arugula.
4. Top arugula with another piece of provolone cheese and spread some sun dried tomatoes on the top of the cheese.
5. Place top of bun on the sandwich and place into Panini press and cook until cheese is melted.
6. NOTE: Wrap each sandwich in foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until sandwich is hot and cheese is melted.