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Frugal Mom Menus - Coming soon!
We have another exciting addition coming to the Menus4Moms menu choices! Coming in May, the Frugal Mom Menu is a new weekly menu plan designed to help you save money in these uncertain financial times with delicious meals based on frugal choices. Created by Heather Anderson, a single mom with years of frugal cooking experience, these menu plans will give you delicious dinners that include recipes, grocery list, and a cost analysis of each meal. Look for Frugal Mom Menus starting next month!
Now you can download samples of our other premium menus:
- Sample Premium Weekly Menu
- Sample Food Ministry Menu (for Angel Food Ministries™ food boxes)
Enjoy!
Share Coupons!
My mother rarely uses her coupons and always
cuts them out for me. It's great to have extras
when the store has a special and you get items
for free. I always feel so good when the checker
looks at my receipt and is amazed at the savings!
Mayme
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Monday
- Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables
- Homemade Applesauce
- Spinach Salad
Tuesday
- Eye of Round
- Corn Casserole
- Rice
- Leftover Spinach Salad
Wednesday
- Linguini with Ham, Peas, and Mushrooms
- Apple, Grape, and Walnut Salad
- Italian Bread
Thursday
- Thai Noodles with Vegetables and Peanut Sauce
Friday
- Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
- Mashed Potatoes
- Broccoli
This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:
Grocery List for April 28 - May 2 , 2008 - PDF
Grocery List for April 28 - May 2 , 2008 - TXT (for PDAs or text editing)
Shopping List Software format (download shopping list free Windows software)
Would you like the nutrition data, point values, and meal makeovers for the current menu?
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Monday Recipes
Notes for Monday:
- Although tonight's dish starts with raw onion rather than cooked onion, if you do not have cooked onion in the freezer, this would be a good time to pick up a bag of onions and chop the whole thing and saute in olive oil until transparent, then freeze in dated freezer bags. I have added a bag of onions to the shopping list for this purpose.
- In keeping with Menus 4 Moms' effort to keep prep time to a minimum, we will make a large Spinach Salad tonight which we will eat of off tonight and tomorrow night, saving prep time tomorrow. 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.
Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables
- 2 cups fresh baby carrots
- 4 medium white or red potatoes, cut into quarters
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 1/2 bell pepper any color, chopped (a green pepper is on the grocery list)
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Adobo seasoning to taste
Homemade Applesauce
- 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.
Spinach Salad
Simply make a salad as you usually would, but substitute baby spinach leaves for lettuce. My family hates cooked spinach, but loves these salads. One night as we were eating this salad and talking about how much he dislikes cooked spinach, my then 7 year old daughter chimed in about how yucky spinach is... as she asked for more salad. We are careful never to actually call this a spinach salad in our house. <g>
Tuesday Recipes
Notes for Tuesday:
- Tonight's roast and gravy will provide a dinner for today and leftovers for Friday's meal, so don't gobble up all of the leftovers!
Eye of Round
- 3-4 lb. eye of round roast
- salt
- pepper
- oil
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). If you are concerned that you will not have enough gravy (remember that we will need some on Friday for hot roast beef sandwiches), you can stretch the amount by adding beef broth.
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°F for 25 minutes or until firm and slightly brown.
Leftover Spinach Salad
Wednesday Recipes
Notes for Wednesday:
- If you do not have any ham in your freezer, be sure to add ham to your grocery list.
Linguini with Ham, Peas, and Mushrooms
- 16 oz Linguine
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 scallions, including tops, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pkg. mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 8 oz baked ham, cubed (from freezer)
- 2 ½ cups frozen green peas, thawed
- 3 cups chicken stock
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cook the linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a deep 12 inch skillet over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the scallions and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the remaining oil and sauté 3 minutes longer. Add the ham and sauté, stirring, for 12 minutes. Add the peas, stock and pepper, raise the heat to high, and boil uncovered, for 3 minutes or until the liquid is slightly reduced. Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter, drain the linguine and add to the skillet along with the cheese and toss lightly. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese on the side if desired.
Apple, Grape, and Walnut Salad
- 3 sliced and cored Granny Smith apples
- 1 bunch red grapes, pulled from the stems
- chopped walnuts
- 8 oz. vanilla yogurt
- 3 oz. cream cheese
Combine fruit and nuts and serve with vanilla yogurt mixed with cream cheese (use a mixer for a smooth blend).
Italian Bread
Thursday Recipes
Notes for Thursday:
- Tonight's dish is a meal in itself. If you feel like you need to have more than one dish, add a salad with a ginger dressing.
- You will find the rice noodles in the ethnic section of the grocery store. If you can't find rice noodles, I would serve this dish on brown rice.
- Ginger is a root that is found in the produce department. Ask the produce employee for help if you can't find it.
- Juliennned vegetables are ones that have been slivered thinly.
- The peanut sauce makes a lot and you may or may not use it all. The leftovers can be used as a dip for veggie roll-ups for lunches. The peanut sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated then reheated before use.
Thai Noodles with Vegetables and Peanut Sauce
- 8 oz. dried rice noodles
- 1 1/2 cups carrots, julienned
- 1 1/2 cups red bell peppers, julienned
- 1 1/2 cups green onion, chopped
- olive oil
- 2 cups peanut sauce (see recipe below)
- toasted pine nuts or peanuts* (for garnish, opt.)
Prepare the peanut sauce (below) and leave to warm on the stove. Start preparing rice noodles according to package directions. Saute vegetables in non-stick pan until tender. Drain noodles. Serve with vegetables on noodles and peanut sauce on top of all. I recommend serving plates individually instead of putting it all on one dish as it is harder to serve from one dish.
Peanut Sauce
- 2 T. Thai chili paste (opt. - leave out if you don't have it)
- 2-3 T. honey
- 1 T. vinegar
- 3 tsp. soy sauce
- 2 T. finely minced ginger (peel first)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
- 1 cup water or more
Heat chili paste, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a saucepan on low. Heat, stirring constantly, until blended. Add peanut butter in thirds, mixing well after each third is added. Simmer until hot. Keep warm until use or store in refrigerator for later.
Friday Recipes
Notes for Friday:
- Use leftover roast and gravy from Tuesday for this meal.
Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
Slice leftover roast beef thinly and heat. Place roast beef slices on top of bread and cover with hot gravy before serving.
Mashed Potatoes
- 6 potatoes
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- milk
- Adobo seasoning to taste
Peel potatoes and quarter. Boil in enough water to cover potatoes until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mix all ingredients except milk and mash with a potato masher or large fork. Add enough milk to make potatoes creamy. If you like very creamy mashed potatoes you can use a mixer to get a good whipped consistency. If you like lumpy potatoes, I recommend using a fork or potato masher to maintain a more solid consistency. If you want a healthier version, omit sour cream and cheese, mix with skim milk and add butter buds for flavor. Serve with butter or gravy.
Broccoli
* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.
