Weekly Menu Plan

Many Menus4Moms members have been asking for a bulk cooking plan to fill their freezers. Although I am working on the revisions for a plan of my own, in the meantime I am pleased to bring you Kim Tilley's detailed bulk cooking plans. For years Kim was the driving force behind Frugal Moms, and her representative has given Menus 4 Moms permission to republish her many bulk cooking plans.

I will be publishing one each month over the next several months. This month the featured plan is The Hamburger Plan. Check it out to find out how you can stock your freezer full of dishes made with ground beef.

Please post on the message board if you have questions or comments about these recipes.

Monday - Recipes

Grilled Chicken
Quick Stovetop Vegetables
Macaroni and Cheese

Tuesday - Recipes

Lemon Pepper Grilled Fish
Seasoned Green Beans
Corn

Wednesday - Recipes

Roast Beef with Vegetables
Salad
Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes"

Thursday - Recipes

Chicken Cheese Quesadillas
Refried Beans
Mexican Salad

Friday - Recipes

Taco Pizza
Mexican Salad

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for October 16-20, 2006 - PDF

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

Printer-friendly version

Before using Menus4Moms for the first time, please browse the Menu Plan Basics (links are to the left).

Our Sponsor

Your Special 4 Seasons Introductory Offer

Get 12 Bottles of Premium Wine for only $4.99 per Bottle
(normal retail average of $16/bottle)

Order Today for FREE SHIPPING!

With your first order you will receive our Vintner's Reserve Tabletop Wine Opener... a $139.95 value -- Absolutely Free!

• The preferred opener for professionals and beginners alike
• Will pull a cork in 3 seconds flat
• No more mangled or broken corks
• No more straining and tugging on unopened bottles
• Works on all sizes and types of wine bottles

Every wine in our "4 Seasons" selections has been carefully chosen for its quality and value by a team of experienced buyers. Our team travels to the actual wineries around the world, seeking out wines with unique character and depth of flavor.

The full retail value of the wine and the Vintner's Reserve Opener is well over $300! Everything is yours for just $59.88.

If you love wine, you'll love this offer - order now!

Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed!

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

Tonight we are going to replenish our freezer supply of cooked chicken by grilling chicken for dinner and freezing the leftovers. If you have a large family or growing boys, you may want to double this recipe in order to have some leftover.
If you would like to stock your freezer, you can make 2 macaroni and cheese dishes and freeze one. Be sure to add the extra ingredients to your grocery list.

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. If you do not have a grill, you can bake the chicken in the oven.

Reserve 1-1/2 cups for Chicken Cheese Quesadillas on Thursday. Any extra can be chopped or shredded and frozen for future use.

Quick Stovetop Vegetables

1 can cut corn, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes and green chiles (you may want to just use diced tomatoes for kids)
1 can black beans
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen okra (not breaded)
Adobo or garlic salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese and heat in a saucepan until bubbly. Serve topped with shredded cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper
2-1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
2 cups (8 oz) shredded American or Cheddar cheese, divided
8 oz Mueller's Elbows (about 2 cups), cooked 5 minutes and drained

In medium saucepan combine corn starch, salt, dry mustard and pepper; stir in milk. Add margarine. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1-3/4 cups (425 ml) cheese until melted. Add elbows. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake uncovered in 375 degree oven 25 minutes or until lightly browned. This can be prepared ahead of time and kept refrigerated until you are ready to bake. Add 5-7 minutes to the cooking time if cold.

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday: none

Lemon Pepper Grilled Fish

2 lbs. bass, crappie, croaker, whiting (sea mullet), or flounder (or other flaky white fish)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
generous sprinkling of lemon pepper seasoning (1 Tbsp)
generous sprinkling of adobo seasoning or garlic salt (1 Tbsp)

Place fish in a shallow dish for marinating. Combine all other ingredients and pour over fish. Marinate 20 minutes. Grill over medium heat until flesh is white and flaky.

Seasoned Green Beans

1 lb. fresh green beans, slightly steamed
2 T. butter
1/2 package Good Seasonings Italian dressing mix

Melt butter in large fry pan. Add green beans. Sprinkle with the 1/2 package of seasoning mix and stir well while sauteing.

Corn

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

Today we are using the slow cooker. If you start cooking your roast around 10 a.m., by dinnertime you will have a delicious meal. If you work outside the home, you may want to invest in a programmable slow cooker that will automatically switch to "keep warm" mode when cook time is up.

Roast Beef with Vegetables

3-4 lb. roast, cut of your choice
3 carrots, sliced
1 lb. small red potatoes, quartered
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 2" pieces
1 onion, chopped into wedges
pepper
Adobo seasoning

Trim fat from roast. Sprinkle with Adobo seasoning and pepper. Place meat in slow cooker. If your slow cooker has the ability to cook on the stovetop in the slow cooker pan, you can sear the meat on each side before putting it in the slow cooker. Put slow cooker on low and add vegetables. Cook 8 hours.

Cauliflower Smashed Potatoes

Recipe is here. Grocery list uses fresh cauliflower.

Salad

Dinner Rolls

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday: none

Chicken Cheese Quesadillas

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken (from Monday)
8 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups Mexican blend cheese
1 can chopped green chiles (opt.)
olive oil spray
salsa
sour cream

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray one side of 4 tortillas with olive oil spray. Lay the tortillas oiled side down on a cookie sheet (you may need to use two sheets or do two batches). Spread chicken and cheese evenly over tortillas. For extra flavor and heat, add a can of chopped green chiles for those who like spicy food. Top with the remaining 4 tortillas and spray the tops with olive oil spray.

Bake until tortillas are crisp and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and slice into triangles with a pizza cutter. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Refried Beans

4 cups prepared dried black beans, thawed (from freezer)
cumin
Adobo or garlic salt
olive oil
1 can red enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mash 4 cups of beans, adding enough liquid to make beans mushy and soft. Heat 4 T. olive oil in a fry pan and add mashed beans and spices to taste. Add enchilada sauce. Stir until hot and bubbly. Reserve 2 cups beans for tomorrow's pizza and serve the rest with shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Mexican Salad

variety of lettuces, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 can black olives, drained
1 tomato, diced
1 bottle ranch salad dressing

Combine all fresh ingredients. Reserve half of salad for tomorrow night, combining with salad dressing just before serving each night.

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

I recommend periodically making a double (or triple) pizza dough recipe in your bread machine or large mixer and freezing the extra dough for an easy lunch or dinner another day. The Urban Homemaker has a double pizza dough recipe that is very good. It has variations for garlic, herbed, or seeded dough.
If you are using a bread machine to make dough, time it so that it is ready just before you want to cook the pizza. If you are using a frozen pizza dough, be sure to allow enough time for it to thaw. I like to thaw it for several hours in the refrigerator.

Taco Pizza

Your favorite pizza dough recipe (see notes above)
2 cups refried beans (form last night)
2 cups cooked ground beef (from freezer)
2 cups Mexican blend cheese
salsa
chopped lettuce

Make pizza dough according to recipe and roll out on a pizza stone or pan. Spread with refried beans. Layer remaining ingredients except salsa and lettuce. Cook at 400° until brown and bubbly. Serve with salsa and lettuce.

Leftover Mexican Salad

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

Back to Menus 4 Moms archive

Back to Kitchen Helps