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

This is a good time to inventory your freezer. Take a notebook and inventory everything in writing, moving the newest items to the back as you replace them. Note what has been in there the longest and needs to be used. I am putting a bag of onions and several peppers as well as celery on the grocery list to saute and freeze. If you do not need to add these to your freezer, take them off of the list.

Monday - Recipes

Meat and Cheese Tray with Sandwich Rolls
Black-eyed Peas
Cooked Apples
Collard Greens

Tuesday - Recipes

Panko Chicken
Creamed Spinach
Salad

Wednesday - Recipes

Mexican Meatball Soup
Cornbread
Salad

Thursday - Recipes

Eye of Round
Corn Casserole
Rice
Pineapple and Cottage Cheese

Friday - Recipes

Barbecue Beef Pizza
Cole Slaw
Preacher Cookies

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for January 1-5, 2007 - PDF

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

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Either have a meat and cheese tray made up by your favorite deli, or put one together yourself with your favorites. Provide condiments and sandwich peppers for each person to make their own.
   
   
2. You can make your own collards by sauteing them with salt and butter, or do what I do - buy Glory brand canned collards.

 Meat and Cheese Tray with Sandwich Rolls

• Ham
• Turkey
• Roast beef
• Salami or Pepperoni
• Provolone Cheese
• Cheddar Cheese
• Pepper Jack Cheese
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Red Onion, sliced
• Sandwich Rolls
• Sandwich Peppers
• Mustard
• Mayonnaise

Arrange meats and cheese on a platter with lettuce around the edges and tomato and onion slices in the center. Rolling the meat slices makes a nice presentation. Serve buffet style with condiments and rolls.

 

 Black-eyed Peas

• 1 onion, sauteed (from freezer)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped and sauteed
• 2 stalks celery, chopped and sauteed
• 2 cans black-eyed peas, undrained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp. butter

Combine all ingredients except butter in a sauce pan and heat to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add butter and heat just until butter is melted and blended in. Serve immediately.

 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.

 

Collard Greens

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. "Panko breadcrumbs are the superhero of breadcrumbs... Originally from Japan (they are often referred to as Japanese-style breadcrumbs), panko breadcrumbs are larger, flakier and lighter. They endow any breaded item with several advantages -- they brown better, do not get soggy on the inside and stay crunchier on the outside. They are beautiful, and I highly recommend using them to create deliciously crunchy fried foods or even super-crisp breaded chicken cutlets." excerpted from DIY Network's Food Network Kitchen
   
   
2. 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 tonight and tomorrow night, saving prep time tomorrow. Be sure to keep your crunchy ingredients (bacon, sunflower seeds, croutons, etc.) and dressing separate from the lettuce and vegetables and combine all just before serving.

  Panko Chicken

• 1-2 cups Japanese breadcrumbs (on the ethnic aisle; if you can't find them, use regular breadcrumbs)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 lb. chicken tenders (uncooked, frozen or thawed)

Put mayonnaise and breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dip chicken tenders into mayonnaise, then breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet (stoneware works best) and bake at 350° until brown and cooked throughout.

 

  Creamed Spinach

Recipe is here.

Salad

 

Pears

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. Tonight's meal prep is virtually nonexistent, so this is when we will chop and saute our vegetables for the freezer. I recommend doing celery first, then peppers, then onions. While sauteing each vegetable, you can be chopping the next one. Use about 2/3 cup each of the sauteed bell pepper and onion in the soup.
   
   
2. Using minced garlic in a jar makes this and other recipes easier to clean up.
   
   
3. Use last night's extra salad tonight, adding crunchy ingredients and salad dressing just before serving.

 Mexican Meatball Soup(Crockpot)

• 1 lb. frozen Italian meatballs (store-bought or homemade from freezer*)
• 2/3 cup sauteed onion (see notes above)
• 2/3 cup sauteed green bell pepper (see notes above)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans beef broth
• 16 oz. jar salsa
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 cup pasta shells
• 2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Combine meatballs, onion, green pepper, garlic, beef broth, salsa, chili powder, and cumin in a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours. Add pasta and seasonings, stir well, cover, and cook on low an additional hour or until pasta is tender. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.

 Cornbread

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 can corn, drained

Preheat oven to 425°F. Put half of the olive oil in a 9x9x2 cast iron skillet and preheat in oven without burning oil. Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour batter into preheated cast iron skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. (If you don't use cast iron, mix the other half of the oil in the batter and cook as usual.)

 

Salad (leftover from last night)

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Tonight's roast and gravy will provide a dinner for today and leftovers for Friday's pizza, so don't gobble up all of the leftovers!
   
   

 Eye of Round

• 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 (pour through a strainer to avoid lumps).

Slice roast and serve with rice and gravy.

White or brown* rice, prepared according to instructions

 Corn Casserole

• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add flour, and stir until thick. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a greased 9x9 casserole dish. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until firm and slightly brown.

Pineapple over Cottage Cheese

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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.

 

Barbecue Beef 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.

 

Preacher Cookies

• 2 cups sugar
  
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  
• Dash salt
  
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 2 cups rolled oats

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add salt, peanut butter, and vanilla and stir gently over heat until peanut butter melts. When peanut butter is melted and consistency is smooth, add oats. Still gently until well mixed and drop by spoonfuls onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard.

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