Weekly Menu Plan

Welcome to the menu for September 19-23! 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 features grilled chicken that will be used in several recipes, black bean soup, and pork chops. Enjoy!

If you have questions or suggestions for other moms using the menus, you now have a place to post! The Menus 4 Moms Yahoo group is to discuss the menus and recipes, ask for help, make suggestions, and meet other moms using the menus. If you want to keep up with updates & corrections to the menus but don't want the higher volume of mail, please join and set your preferences to Special Notices only. I will send out all corrections as Special Notices so you will only receive those.

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Enjoy the weekly menu!

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Menu for September 19-23, 2005

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Monday - Recipes

Grilled Chicken
Baked Rice
Chinese Cabbage Salad

Tuesday - Recipes

Black Bean Soup
Crusty Bread
Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas
Refried Beans
Broccoli Salad

Thursday - Recipes

Breaded Pork Chops
Peas and Carrots
Homemade Bread

Friday - Recipes

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti
Green Beans
Fried Okra

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for September 19-23, 2005 - PDF

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

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

Tonight we are grilling chicken. We will use the extra to make chicken enchiladas and a casserole later in the week, as well as freeze any extra. Make sure to start marinating your chicken early Monday at the latest, preferably on Sunday afternoon. The longer, the better!
The cabbage salad can be prepared early in the day, but do not combine the 3 separate parts (cabbage, crunchies, and dressing) until just before serving.

Grilled Chicken

4 lbs. chicken parts of your choice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic salt or Adobo
1/2 tsp. pepper

Place marinade with chicken in a zipper bag and marinate overnight. Grill chicken until it reaches 160° at the thickest part, or until white all the way through and juices run clear. Serve half of the chicken tonight and save the rest for tomorrow. If you do not have a grill, you can bake the chicken in the oven.

Reserve 2 cups chicken for Wednesday's enchiladas, and 2 cups for Friday's casserole. Any extra can be chopped or shredded and frozen for future use.

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.

Chinese Cabbage Salad

1 head napa cabbage
1 bunch minced green onions
1/3 cup butter
1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, broken
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Shred or chop the head of cabbage. Combine the green onions and cabbage in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Melt the butter in a pan. Mix the ramen noodles, sesame seeds and almonds into the pot with the melted butter. Spoon the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake the crunchies in a 350° F oven, turning often to make sure they do not burn. When they are browned remove them from the oven. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, let boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and let cool. Combine dressing, crunchies, and cabbage immediately before serving. Serve immediately.

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

Dried black beans are the base for our bean soup tonight, so start them early in the morning. They are much cheaper than canned and easy to make, and we will have enough to make refried beans tomorrow night and to freeze some.

Black Bean Soup

2 - 1 lb. bag black turtle beans
1 packet chili seasoning mix
1 onion, sauteed (from freezer)
1 green pepper, sauteed (from freezer)
sour cream (for garnish)
shredded cheddar cheese (for garnish)
salt and pepper

Rinse beans in a colander and check to be sure there are no stones or other debris. Place beans in a dutch oven and cover with water so that the water is twice as deep as the beans. Heat to boiling and boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat off and cover, let sit for 1 hour. Drain beans in colander and rinse pot. Place beans in slow cooker and cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours.

When beans are tender, use a slotted spoon to take out 4 cups of beans and then cover them with liquid from beans. Reserve for tomorrow's refried beans. Do the same for another portion of 4 cups to freeze in a dated freezer bag.

Add onions, peppers, and chili seasoning packet to remaining beans. Mash some of the beans to make the juices thicker. (I use a potato masher.) Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Crusty Bread

Fruit Salad

3 sliced and cored Granny Smith apples
1 bunch red grapes, pulled from the stems
chopped walnuts (use as many as you like, I use about 2/3 cup)
8 oz. vanilla yogurt
3 oz. cream cheese

Combine fruit and nuts and serve with vanilla yogurt mixed with cream cheese (use a mixer for a smooth blend).

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

Tonight's meal uses chicken from Monday and beans from Tuesday. If you did not make those meals you will need to purchase or make these items.

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (from freezer* or buy a hen and boil it)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
8 oz. sour cream
1 onions, sauteed (from freezer)
1 bell pepper, chopped & sauteed
cilantro
cumin
Adobo or garlic salt
6 whole wheat flour tortillas (if you can't find them, get regular ones)
2 cups Mexican blend cheese

Combine soup, 3/4 can chicken broth, and sour cream. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture. To the remaining mixture, add chicken, onion, pepper, and spices to taste. Add 1 cup of the cheese.

Place 2-3 T. of mixture onto each tortilla, roll up, and place the tortillas in a 9x12 pan. Add the remaining chicken broth to the reserved soup mixture and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas. Cook at 350° until bubbly.

Refried Beans

4 cups black beans with juice (from yesterday)
cumin
Adobo or garlic salt
olive oil
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mash 4 cups of beans, adding enough juice to make beans mushy and soft. Heat 2 T. olive oil in a fry pan and add mashed beans and spices to taste. Stir until hot and bubbly. Heat enchilada sauce in a sauce pan and serve beans topped with enchilada sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.

Broccoli Salad

3 cups fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
2 T. chopped onion
3/4 mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, cheese, and onion. Combine the mayo, sugar, and vinegar; pour over the broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Just before serving, stir in the bacon.

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

Use your breadmaker to plan fresh homemade bread that will be nice and hot at dinnertime. If you have a wheat grinder, make whole wheat bread. If you don't grind wheat, you can add some wheat germ, wheat bran, or cracked wheat to add nutrients to your bread.

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.

Peas and Carrots

Cook fresh or frozen peas and carrots on the stovetop with a Tbsp. of butter and a tsp. of sugar.

Homemade Bread

Use your favorite breadmaker recipe.

Cooked Apples

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until apples are tender. Serve hot or cold.

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

Tonight we are using chicken leftover from Monday's grilled chicken. If you didn't grill chicken and don't have any in your freezer, you will need to add it to your grocery list.
My kids don't like spicy foods, so I mixed everything but the green chiles for the casserole and put half the mix into half of the casserole dish. I added the green chiles to what was left, mixed, and added to the other half of the casserole dish. Dh and I had a spicier version of this delicious dish and the kids never even knew I added chiles because theirs was mild.
For my dd who hates strong cheese flavor, I left off the cheese on top of her portion.

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

1 package (8 oz) spaghetti, broken in half
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup milk
1 T diced pimientos (optional)
1 can green chiles (optional)
1 Tbsp. tarragon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chicken, 1 cup cheese, soup, milk, pimientos, green chiles, tarragon, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti, add to the chicken mixture and toss to coat.

Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Green Beans

1 lb. fresh green beans
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 packet Good Seasonings Italian dressing mix

Wash green beans and snap ends off. Steam or boil until tender-crisp. Drain. Melt butter in large fry pan. Add green beans. Sprinkle with the 1/2 package of seasoning mix and stir well while sauteing.

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.

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

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