Weekly Menu for July 25-29, 2005

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Welcome to the menu for July 25-29! In order to make the best use of Menus 4 Moms, before beginning the Menu please read the Menus 4 Moms plan basics and the Busy Cooks Pyramid as Menus 4 Moms will be based on these items each week. If you have questions, please check the FAQ page.

The menu for this week has a southern flavor and includes loaded baked potatoes, pea soup, chicken and dumplings, a vegetable meal, and breaded pork chops.

Enjoy the weekly menu!

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Menu for July 25-29, 2005

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Monday - Recipes

Loaded Baked Potatoes
Salad
Apples, Bananas, and Strawberries

 

Tuesday - Recipes

Pea Soup
Garlic Bread
Sticky RIce with Mango

 

Wednesday - Recipes

Chicken and Dumplings
Green Beans
Fried Okra

 

Thursday - Recipes

Black-eyed peas
Succotash
Squash Casserole
Homemade Biscuits

 

Friday - Recipes

Breaded Pork Chops
Baked Rice
Broccoli Casserole
Jello Salad

 

 

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for July 25-29, 2005 - PDF

Shopping List Software format (download shopping list free Windows software)

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Tonight we are finishing up the 6 potatoes that we bought last week. We will also be using the chili that we saved from 10 days ago as a topping, so put both in the refrigerator to thaw ahead of time.

  Loaded Baked Potatoes

• 6 baking potatoes (from last week)
• 3 cups chili (from freezer, thawed)
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• bacon bits
• butter

Spray potatoes with olive oil spray. Coat with coarsely ground salt and pepper. Poke several times with a fork and cook in microwave until centers are hot and tender (start with 6 minutes and go from there). Cut open and mash insides (leave insides in potato). Top with preferred toppings from above or serve plain and let each person top their own from your "toppings bar".

  Salad

  Fruit

• Apples
• Bananas
• Strawberries

Wash apples and strawberries. Cut fruit and serve in bowl with your meal.

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Tonight we are going to try something out of the ordinary that is fabulous. We first had Sticky Rice with Mango at a Thai restaurant and my husband loved it. When I found this recipe from the A Taste of Thai website I tried it and it has become his favorite dessert.

Pea Soup

• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 12oz. package frozen peas (or one bag dried peas, cooked according to directions)
• 1 t. tarragon
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. flour
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup milk

Blend broth, peas, and spices in blender. In a large pan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a paste. Add blender contents and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add milk and lemon juice. Stir well and serve.

Adapted from Mom's Best Pea Soup by Jonni McCoy in Miserly Moms.

 

  Garlic Bread

• 1 loaf ciabatta* or Italian bread
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

Slice bread in half length-wise. Mix butter and garlic well. Spread each half with half of the garlic butter mixture and place halves together on baking sheet. Bake at 350° until bread is crusty and butter mixture is bubbly.

  Sticky Rice with Mango

Recipe is here. I usually use the mango that comes in a glass jar in the refrigerated produce section instead of fresh mango.

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. Tonight's recipe can be prepared with dried dumpling noodles or egg noodles, but I am including a recipe for homemade noodles as well. They are not hard to make and if you have a wheat grinder you can make them with fresh whole wheat.
   
2. If your freezer is running low on chicken, this would be a good time to boil some chicken (whole hen or your preference of parts) with onions and celery for seasoning, then you can use the broth from your chicken for the chicken and dumplings instead of using canned. Even if you roast or grill your chicken you can boil the bones after you pick the meat and it will make a good broth.
3. If you have never tried fried okra, tonight is your chance to be brave and adventurous. It is delicious and most kids love it.

  Chicken and Dumplings

• 2 cups shredded chicken (from freezer)
• 3 cans chicken broth* or 6 cups water with chicken soup base added
• Garlic salt or Adobo
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup

Noodles:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 rounded tsp of baking powder
• 2 eggs

Mix ingredients for noodles. You want workable dough so if they are too dry add a few drops of water, too wet a bit more flour. Roll and cut; a pizza cutter is the best way. If you get too much baking powder they will have a salty 1/2 cooked taste. Cook noodles in broth. Your cooking time will depend on how thick the noodles are; you will just have to taste it. ;-)

Add soup and seasonings to taste. Add chicken in when the noodles are almost cooked. You may sprinkle with parsley for some color if you would like.

Thanks to Monica from TheHomeSchoolMom in the Kitchen Yahoo Group for the recipe for Homemade Noodles.

  Green Beans

You can make even canned green beans taste like fresh picked, country cooked beans. Put a large can of beans (approx. 32 oz. - I don't have one in front of me so I'm not sure of the exact size; it's the next one up from the 14 oz. can) in a saucepan with 2/3 of a stick of butter. Simmer on low for several hours before serving. Salt to taste.

  Fried Okra

• 1 bag frozen breaded okra (or two if your family likes it as much as ours)
• oil for pan frying

Heat oil in a deep (2-3") fry pan. Fry okra (do not crowd in pan) until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, salt and serve.

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Tonight's squash casserole is very filling, so we are serving it with other vegetables instead of a meat. This will make 2 squash casseroles so you can freeze one for later.
   
2. If your family does not believe that a meal is a meal unless meat is present, I would add pan-fried ham slices to the vegetables.

  Black-eyed Peas

I suggest 2 cans of the Glory brand; they are delicious and have a great Southern flavor without all the work. If you prefer to make your own, you can find dried black-eyed peas in the dried beans. Cook according to package directions.

  Succotash

Succotash is just a blend of lima beans and corn which can be found canned in with the other canned vegetables. 2 cans should suffice.

  Squash Casserole

• 3 lb. yellow summer squash
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions (from freezer, thawed)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 small jar diced pimiento
• 1 stick butter
• 18 oz. Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

Wash and slice all vegetables except onions. Put all in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, salt to taste, and cover with water. Boil until tender. Add onions, drain, mash together, and cool.

Mix soup, sour cream, and pimiento. Add to vegetables and mix well.

In a skillet, melt the butter and mix in the stuffing mix. Spray two 9x9 pans with cooking spray. Spread bottom of each pan with 1/4 of the stuffing mixture. Spread 1/2 of the vegetable mixture in each pan, then cover each with half of the remaining stuffing mixture. Freeze one pan and bake the other at 375° for 45 minutes.

  Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Combine flour and butter, cutting with a fork. Stir in buttermilk. Add more flour if too wet, more buttermilk if too dry. When dough is rolling consistency, knead a few times and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter or upside down glass. Bake on cookie sheet at 475° until brown. Serve with butter and jelly.

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Make your Jell-O salad early in the morning so it will be ready for dinner.

  Breaded Pork Chops

• 6 pork chops, trimmed of fat
• bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• oil for browning

Tenderize pork chops with a metal pounder. Beat eggs in a bowl. Put bread crumbs in a container large enough to fit one pork chop in it at a time. Dip each pork chop in the bread crumbs, then the egg, then back into the bread crumbs. Line a 9x13 pan with heavy duty foil and preheat oven to 350°.

Heat oil in a fry pan. Brown the breaded pork chops lightly on each side. Place chops in the foil lined pan and bake covered at 350° for 1 hour, turning halfway through.

  Baked Rice

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can of beef broth
• 1 can condensed french onion soup
• 2 cups instant rice
• 1 stick butter, melted

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

  Broccoli Casserole

• 1 16 oz. bag frozen chopped broccoli, cooked
• 1 T. dried minced onion
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. marjoram
• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. chicken bouillon
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in large sauce pan. Add flour and stir for one minute. Add milk slowly and beat with a whisk. Add chicken bouillon, spices, onion, and Parmesan cheese. Mix with cooked broccoli and put in a greased casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°.

  Jello Fruit Salad

• 1 small package orange gelatin
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• lettuce leaves

Mix gelatin in hot water until dissolved. Add all other ingredients, pour into a mold or 8x8 pan and chill until set. Serve on a lettuce leaf.

* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.