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Monday - Recipes

• Tacos
• Southwestern Bean Salad
• Mango Slices

Tuesday - Recipes

• Quick Lemon Pasta With Chicken
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Frozen Grapes

Wednesday - Recipes

• Stir Fry
• Rice
• Fortune Cookies

Thursday - Recipes

• Chicken Packets
• Spinach Salad
• Frozen Fruit Salad

Friday - Recipes

• Chicken Caesar Salad
• Dinner Rolls
• Leftover Frozen Fruit Salad

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Over the next several weeks I will showcase a few recipes from Sensational Summer Salads by The Urban Homemaker, Marilyn Moll. This is a great ebook for encouraging those of you to step out of your comfort zone a little and experiment with adapting recipes to suit your own tastes.
   
   
2. I suggest making soft tacos with whole wheat tortillas for a healthier meal, but you may substitute hard tacos if you wish.
   
   
3. If you don't have taco-seasoned ground beef in your freezer, either use regular cooked ground beef from your freezer and season it, or add ground beef and taco seasoning to your grocery list (5 lbs. if possible since we will be using a pound of taco seasoned beef again next week), cook and season according to package directions, use 1 lb. for tonight's tacos and freeze the remaining taco-seasoned ground beef in 1 lb. portions (or whatever portion size works best for your family). Be sure to label your freezer items with the date and the contents for future use.
   
   
4. Put washed grapes in the freezer for tomorrow night. If you haven't tried frozen grapes before, be warned that they are rather tart. You can roll the wet grapes in a little sugar before you freeze them if you want. My kids love this fun, cold, refreshing treat.
   
   

 Tacos

• 1 lb. taco-seasoned browned ground beef (from freezer)
• 1 pkg. whole wheat tortillas* (or make your own)
• cheddar cheese
• shredded lettuce
• chopped tomatoes
• salsa
• sour cream (optional)
• black olives (optional)

Cook taco seasoning and cooked beef according to package directions. Serve meat with remaining ingredients at the table so everyone can make their own tacos.

Southwestern Bean Salad

• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen*, thawed
  

Dressing:

• 3/4 cup thick and chunky salsa
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt, optional
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beans, celery, onion, tomato, and
corn. Prepare the dressing in a small bowl or jar. Mix well. Pour the
dressing over the bean mixture and toss to coat. Cover and chill for at
least 2 hours.

Sensational Summer Salads by Marilyn Moll, The Urban Homemaker
Used by permission

 Mango Slices

You can use either fresh mango* or the slices that come in a glass jar in the refrigerated produce section.

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Don't forget about the frozen grapes in the freezer that we prepared last night. Take them out of the freezer about 10 minutes before you serve them to allow them to thaw just a bit.
   
   

Quick Lemon Pasta With Chicken

• 8 oz. linguini, cooked according to package directions
• 3 tbsp. unmelted butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1 lb. cooked, cubed chicken (from freezer)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a separate saucepan, combine next 5 ingredients and simmer until butter is melted. Add cooked chicken and stir until coated and chicken has been reheated. Add drained pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

 

   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.

 Frozen Grapes

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. Tonight's stir fry can use chicken, beef, shrimp, or simply go vegetarian. If you use meat, precooked meat from the freezer works great - just thaw and saute with the vegetables.
   
   
2. This is a good meal to add any vegetables that you have on hand that may need to be used up such as green beans, carrots, mushrooms, etc. Do not be limited by the listed ingredients if you have other items that can be added or substituted. We are adding zucchini to our stir fry to use up some of the summer bounty some of you may have. See Zucchini Overload for more ideas to use up this prolific vegetable.
   
   
3. For more Stir Fry ideas see Stir It Up! Fast and Easy Cooking.
   
   
4. The Frozen Fruit Salad for tomorrow needs to freeze tonight so make it today (recipe below tonight's dishes). The grocery list and recipe will reflect doubling this dish to serve two nights.
   
   

 

 Stir Fry

• 1-2 lbs. chicken*, beef, or shrimp (optional... you will see this on the grocery list under freezer items)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil (optional)
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• jarred stir fry sauce, such as Kikkoman's

Start cooking rice according to directions. Steam veggies until tender crisp and drain. This will help keep the liquid from the vegetables from turning your stir fry into "stir soup". Heat sesame and olive oils in a large fry pan or wok. Stir fry vegetables and cooked meat until tender and slightly brown on the edges. Add stir fry sauce and heat through. Serve over rice.

 

 

Rice

Fortune Cookies


Frozen Fruit Salad (This recipe is doubled for Thursday and Friday night)

• 4 T. sugar
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 4 T. milk
• 4 T. lemon juice
• 2 cans mandarin oranges
• 1 cup pecans (optional)
• 2 cup maraschino cherries, quartered
• 2 cans crushed pineapple, drained
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cups whipping cream, whipped
• lettuce leaves

Mix cream cheese and milk. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, dash salt, pineapple, pecans, cherries, and sugar. Fold in whipped cream (do not stir). Freeze. Serve on lettuce leaf.

 

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Tonight we are making individual chicken packets for each person. We will marinate and grill (not in foil) extra pieces of chicken which we will use both for tomorrow night's Caesar Salad and to chop and freeze for future use, including next week's Chicken, Ham and Rice Casserole. Be sure to label your chicken before freezing. In one freezer safe container, freeze a 2 cup portion and label "Cooked Chicken for Casserole on Tuesday 8/7/07".
   
   
2. Tonight's Chicken Packets recipe is compliments of Heidi who contributed this recipe along with many more on TheHomeSchoolMom in the Kitchen. Thanks, Heidi!
   
   
3. The Frozen Fruit Salad will cut more easily if you set it out about 30 minutes before you need to slice it.

 Chicken Packets

• Chicken for each person, plus extra pieces to grill for tomorrow night and for freezer
• Olive oil
• Vinegar
• spices of your choice - chopped garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, tarragon, etc. (for an excellent marinade, use this recipe)
• 2 small potatoes for each person, chopped
• 1 zucchini for every 2 people, sliced
• 1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tomato for every 2 people, chopped
• 1 small package mushrooms, chopped
• 1 green chili* for each person, chopped, or 1 small can of diced green chilies
• Aluminum foil

Marinate the chicken in the oil, vinegar, and spices all day. Cook potatoes for about 5 minutes in the microwave to soften them. Make a square of foil for each person. Place onions and potatoes on each square and top with desired vegetables. Add chicken on top of it all and pour some of the marinade over all. Make a little foil envelope out of the square of foil and place on the grill for about 20 minutes or until chicken is done. You can also do these in the oven.

 

  Spinach Salad

Make a salad with baby spinach leaves (the bagged ones are good) and add shredded carrots (kids who won't eat chopped carrots will eat these), Parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, croutons, and anything else that appeals to you. Top with your favorite dressing.

 

 

 Frozen Fruit Salad

Use half of the Frozen Fruit Salad we made last night and save half for Friday night.

 

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. While adults will enjoy the Chicken Caesar Salad, children will likely prefer their salad and chicken separate.
   
   
2. The Frozen Fruit Salad will cut more easily if you set it out about 30 minutes before you need to slice it.

Chicken Caesar Salad

• 1 lb. cooked, cubed chicken (from last night)
• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Croutons
• Caesar Salad Dressing

Reheat cooked chicken if desired by placing in the microwave for about 1 minute. Add more time if needed. Chop up lettuce into bite-size pieces and mix all ingredients. Serve.

Dinner Rolls

Leftover Frozen Fruit Salad

 

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

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