Printer-friendly Weekly Menu Plan

The Italian Bread can be served with olive oil seasoned with pesto, Italian seasoning, or any other seasoning blend you like for dipping.
Start your chicken marinating for tomorrow. The longer it marinates, the better it is.

Baked Ravioli

2 Tbsp. olive oil
28 oz can spaghetti sauce, any flavor
24 pieces frozen Four Cheese Ravioli
1 oz. grated Romano or Parmesan* cheese
14 oz. meatballs, chopped
5 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
sautéed peppers and onions, thawed (from freezer)

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread olive oil in an 8"x10" baking pan and spread about 5 oz. of the spaghetti sauce around. Layer with 1/2 of the ravioli, 1/2 of the Romano or Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 of the meatballs and peppers and onions, and 2 oz. of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, saving 1 oz. of mozzarella cheese for the top. Tent the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Salad

Make a large salad and save half for Wednesday, adding the salad dressing and any crunchy ingredients just before serving each night.

Italian Bread

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday: none

Grilled Chicken

4 lbs. chicken parts of your choice (I use boneless breasts)
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 2 cups chicken for Thursday's casserole. Any extra can be chopped or shredded and frozen for future use.

Zucchini and Tomatoes

Olive oil
1 small zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 small onion, sliced into 1/4-inch wedges
1-2 Tbsp. water, as necessary
2 small tomatoes (or 1 large tomato), cut into wedges
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese

Saute onion and zucchini in olive oil. Add water if needed. When vegetables are starting to get tender, add tomatoes and seasonings. Serve warm sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese. (You may serve this over pasta if you wish.)

Pasta Salad

1 lb. whole wheat pasta shells
2 handfuls baby carrots, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 package frozen baby peas, thawed

Dressing:

1 cup real mayonnaise, more if it seems dry
1 package ranch dressing mix

Mix all ingredients and stir in dressing gently. Chill for 1 hour or more.

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

If you work outside the home, you can add extra liquid to this dish and cook it on low all day so it will be ready when you get home. You can just put everything in at once - it does not have to be cooked before adding the vegetables.
Save about 2 cups of the beef for Friday's pizza. Any extra can be used as leftovers or put in freezer bags to use in recipes that use beef with a Mexican flavor, like tacos or Mexican lasagne.
Make enough rice to save 2 cups for the chicken casserole tomorrow night.

Carne Guisada over Rice

3 lbs beef stew meat
2 cans diced Rotel tomatoes with green chiles* or plain diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup chopped onion
3 T. flour
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup water
1 diced bell pepper
Cooked rice

Place stew meat, 1/4 cup water, salt and pepper in slow cooker. Turn heat to high and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Drain juice from the Rotel tomatoes into measuring cup. Add Rotel, garlic, bell pepper, and onions to crock pot. Stir and let simmer on high for 30 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, and chili powder to crock pot and stir. Blend the Rotel juice and enough water to equal 1 1/2 cups liquid. Add flour to the liquid & stir into meat/veggie mixture. Let cook on low for 3-4 hours until sauce is nice and thick. (If you like runnier gravy three hours is good.) Serve over cooked rice.

Corn on the Cob

Salad

Crushed or Chunk Pineapple (drained) over Cottage Cheese

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

Use 2 cups of chicken from Monday. If you did not make chicken on Monday, use chicken from your freezer.
If you have ham in your freezer, use a cup of that. If you don't, you can buy diced ham in the cold meat section at your grocer.

Chicken, Ham, and Rice Casserole

2 c. cooked rice (from last night)
1 c. cubed ham, cooked (from freezer)
2 c. cubed chicken, cooked (from Monday)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. buttered bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients except bread crumbs and cheese. Top with bread crumbs then cheese and bake at 350° for 30 min.

Lemon Parmesan Broccoli

Family pack (32 oz.) frozen broccoli
lemon juice
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Steam or boil broccoli according to instructions. Drain. Place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or more to taste). Toss to distribute evenly and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Squash and Onions

4 summer squash (yellow squash)
1 large onion
2 T. butter

For this dish it is better not to use onions from the freezer. Wash squash and slice into thin slices. Slice onion into thin slices. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add squash and onions. Saute until squash is tender and onion is caramelized (turns sweet and brown).

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

You should have cooked black beans in your freezer to use for refried beans. If not, you can make some following these directions.
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.
If you do not have any black beans prepared in the freezer, you can use a can of refried beans. They are not nearly as good as homemade, though.

Mexican Beef Pizza

Prepared pizza crust
2 cups refried beans (see below)
2 cups cooked beef (from Wednesday)
2 cups Mexican blend cheese
salsa
chopped lettuce

Refried Beans:

2 cups prepared dried black beans, thawed (from freezer)

cumin

Adobo or garlic salt

olive oil

Mash 2 cups of beans, adding enough liquid 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.

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.

Broccoli Slaw

1 bag prepared broccoli* or cabbage slaw, or homemade shreds
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Combine last 3 ingredients and refrigerate covered until ready to use. Mix with shredded slaw vegetables just before serving. You may add any of the following if you wish: raisins, bacon, sesame seeds, almonds, walnuts, green onions, and apple.

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