Printer-friendly Weekly Menu Plan

In keeping with Menus 4 Moms' effort to keep prep time to a minimum, we will make a large salad tonight which we will eat of off tonight and Wednesday night, saving prep time Wednesday. Be sure to keep your crunchies (bacon, sunflower seeds, croutons, etc.) and dressing separate from the lettuce and vegetables and combine all just before serving.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

3lb. chicken parts
1 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
Salt to taste
1 clove garlic or 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup melted butter

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, pepper, and salt; set aside. Lightly saute garlic in 2 T. butter then stir in remaining butter. Dip chicken in garlic butter then roll each piece in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture. Pour on remaining butter. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes.

Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash for each 2 people

Wash acorn squash, cut in half; scrape out seeds. Place upside down into a glass baking dish containing 2 Tbsp. water. Cook in microwave until squash is tender, (time depends on your microwave strength and the number of squash you are cooking).

Remove from microwave, turn squash right side up in same dish. Into each hollow, place:

1 tsp. brown sugar or honey
1 tsp. butter
dash salt

Cook in microwave until butter mixture is bubbly. Serve hot.

Salad

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

The roast we are going to make today is not the most common cut, but it makes fabulous gravy. This cut of beef does not have a lot of fat, so do not overcook it or it will get dried out.
Save about 1-1/2 cups of the leftover beef for Friday's Barbecue Beef Pizza. The leftovers are also wonderful as a hot roast beef sandwich with gravy.
The broccoli casserole can be prepared early in the day and baked later.
If you want to serve cold applesauce instead of hot apples, don't forget to prepare your apples in the morning so they will have time to chill before dinner.

Eye of Round Roast

3-4 lb. eye of round roast
salt
pepper
oil

Preheat oven to 325°. Salt and pepper the outside of the roast on all sides. If you have a dutch oven that can be used on the stovetop and in the oven that would be best. If you don't you will need to transfer the roast to an oven-safe pan before baking. Heat enough oil to barely cover the bottom of a dutch oven large enough to hold roast. Brown roast on all sides in oil. Cover pan and place in preheated oven for 1-1/2 hours. Check for tenderness after about an hour and continue cooking until roast is done all the way through and tender. Add a little water if the juices dry out.

Remove roast from oven and place on stovetop. Carefully add 1/2-3/4 cup hot water to pan (water hitting hot drippings may splatter). Remove roast from pan and place on a platter for slicing. Mix about 2 Tbsp. flour with 3 Tbsp. hot water in a jar with a lid, shaking until flour is dissolved. Add this to the juices in the pan to create gravy. Slice roast and serve with rice and gravy.

Brown Rice

Broccoli Casserole

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°.

Cooked Apples

5 Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup water
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tsp. sugar

Wash, peel, core, and slice apples. Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer, stirring occasionally until apples are tender. You may need to add more water if it cooks down. You may either serve these hot as slices or mash them up and serve them as hot or cold applesauce.

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

I realize that the recipe for Ratatouille looks intimidating, but don't be put off by appearances. It is easy once your vegetables are cleaned and it is very good.
Today's dinner is a great way to take advantage of summer produce. Visit your local farmer's market to pick up fresh, locally grown veggies for this meal . I was skeptical about this dish at first, but after preparing it I was sold. It is delicious when served with crumbled feta cheese on top.
The ratatouille uses two onions but I have put a bag on the list. Saute the rest and stock your freezer.

Ratatouille

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes* (about 3 medium) or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 large red bell pepper or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch squares
3 medium zucchini, sliced
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs dried basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed through a press
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 (6 ounces) can tomato paste
1 (5 ounces) can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped coarsely
3 Tbs chopped fresh basil (I have omitted)
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients except tomato paste, olives, and basil in slow cooker. Mix well and cook on high for 3 hours. Add tomato paste, olives, and basil, mixing well. May be served hot, cold, or room temperature. If you work outside the home, you could have the vegetables cut up and refrigerated with instructions for an older child to put them in the slow cooker and turn it on in the afternoon.

Homemade Bread

Use your bread machine's recipe for fresh bread. If your machine offers a timer, use it to have your bread ready at the same time as your ratatouille.

Salad

Serve the leftover salad from Monday, combining just before serving.

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

This isn't one of the healthiest meals, but it is easy to make and easy to adapt to what you have on hand. Feel free to substitute cooked chicken and cream of chicken soup if that is what you have.

Tater Tot Casserole

32. oz package frozen Tater Tots
1/2 lb. browned ground beef, thawed (from freezer)
16 oz. container sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup (substitutions)
1 can cream of celery soup (substitutions)
4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
1 pkg. sauteed onions, thawed (from freezer)
6 oz. can French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13 casserole pan. Place frozen tater tots in bottom of pan. Sprinkle beef over tater tots. In a bowl, mix sour cream,cheese, soups, mushrooms, and sauteed onions. Pour over beef. Top with French fried onions. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Cottage Cheese and Pineapple

Corn on the Cob

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

Reserve remaining pumpkin puree by freezing. We will make Pumpkin Rolls next month and you can use the rest for that.
Use the leftover beef from Tuesday's roast for this pizza.
The cole slaw can be prepared in advance and refrigerated.
The cookie dough can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. You can even individually freeze the dough balls so that you can cook just the number of cookies you want - just freeze them, untouching, on a flat surface like a cookie sheet, then bag them when frozen. When you are ready to bake, just preheat the oven and bake.

Beef Barbecue Pizza

Prepared pizza crust
1 jar barbecue sauce
1-1/2 cups cooked roast beef (from Tuesday)
Sliced red onion
2 cups cheddar cheese

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

Cole Slaw

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

Combine last 3 ingredients and refrigerate covered until ready to use. Mix with shredded slaw vegetables just before serving.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. pumpkin
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 c. chocolate chips* or cinnamon chips
1 tsp. vanilla
nuts (optional)

Dissolve baking soda in milk; set aside. In a large bowl add pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg; stir. Add flour, baking powder cinnamon, salt and baking soda mixture. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees 10 to 12 minutes or until done.

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