Printer-friendly Weekly Menu Plan

If you have pie crusts in your freezer, take two of them out in the morning to thaw for tonight. If you do not, you can add a prepared (rolled) refrigerated crust package (you will need 2) to your grocery list or make a bulk pie crust.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 can chicken broth
2 lbs. cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced (optional)
3/4 cup milk
2 T. flour
2 T. butter
1 tsp. Adobo or season salt
2 pie crusts
1 beaten egg + 2T. water

Make a white sauce by melting butter and adding flour. Stir for 1-2 minutes but don't let it burn. Add milk and stir while it thickens. Add 1/2 can of broth, seasoning, chicken, vegetables, and hard boiled eggs if you are using them.

Roll out 1 pie crust and place in a 9" pie pan. Put chicken mixture in pan. Roll out second pie crust and place on top of pie. Pierce with a fork and brush with beaten egg. Bake at 350° until crust is brown and filling is bubbly.

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.

Apples and Cheddar Cheese Slices

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

You can make your eggs to order however your family likes them best. If you are making scrambled eggs, you could add chopped chives or cheese for more flavor.

Pancakes

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Blend wet ingredients in a measuring cup. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until blended. Do not overbeat. Cook over medium heat until bubbles on unbaked side begin to break; turn once and cook on second side until golden.

Eggs

Cantaloupe slices

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

I prefer to use my slow cooker to bake my ham so I don't have to run the oven for several hours. We are going to have a meal of baked ham tonight, then the rest should be chopped and put into pint-sized freezer baggies for use later in casseroles and soups.
Next week we will be making Pinto Beans so you can save the ham juices to use as the base for your soup. I would freeze it after keeping it refrigerated one night so it doesn't go bad. The purpose of refrigerating it for one night is to allow you to skim the fat off after it has risen to the top.
You can prepare the macaroni and cheese ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to bake it.

Baked Ham

5 lb. ham, preferably smoked butt or shoulder

Place ham in slow cooker and cook 8-10 hours on low. You do not need to add any liquid to the slow cooker. Slice tonight's portion before serving. Reserve 1-1/2 cups for next week. Shred or chop leftovers and freeze in 1-2 cup portions.

Sugar Snap Peas

1-2 small packages fresh sugar snap peas
1 Tbsp. butter
1tsp. sugar

Wash pea pods. Drain and dry on a paper towel. Melt butter in a fry pan and add sugar snap peas. Toss well and sprinkle with sugar. Heat on medium heat until peas are tender but crisp. Serve hot.

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.

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday: none

Grilled Pork Chops

6 pork chops, 1/2-3/4" thick
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. dry sherry
1/4 c. vinegar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Combine all ingredients except pork. Pour all but 1/4 cup marinade over pork chops and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight. Grill 5 to 7 minutes per side, reserving marinade. Brush occasionally with the reserved 1/4 cup marinade. Pork is done at 160 °F (medium) to 170 °F (well done).

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 a 9x12 pan with cooking spray. Spread bottom with 1/2 of the stuffing mixture. Spread the vegetable mixture on the stuffing, then cover with the remaining stuffing mixture.Bake at 375° for 45 minutes.

Green Beans

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.

Pepperoni Pizza

Your favorite pizza dough recipe (see notes above)
28 oz. can spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
pepperoni

Make pizza dough according to recipe and roll out on a pizza stone or pan. Layer remaining ingredients. Cook at 400° until brown and bubbly.

Salad

Banana Splits

1/2 gallon Neapolitan ice cream
1 banana for each person
jar of maraschino cherries
whipped cream
chocolate sauce
nuts

Peel bananas and split lengthwise. Place one split banana in the bottom of each bowl (you may wish to cut the lengths in half if you do not have long banana split dishes). Put one small scoop each of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream on the bananas and top with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, nuts and cherries.

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