You are here:  Home / Weekly Menu / Archive / April 28 - May 2, 2008

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.


Menus 4 Moms recipe Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables
Place carrots, potatoes, onion, chicken and pepper in crock in order. Mix soup, water, adobo, and oregano and pour over chicken. Top with paprika. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
 
 
 
Menus 4 Moms recipe Homemade Applesauce

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.


Menus 4 Moms recipe 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:

  1. 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!



Menus 4 Moms recipe Eye of Round
Preheat oven to 325°F. 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). 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



Menus 4 Moms recipe Corn Casserole

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:

  1. If you do not have any ham in your freezer, be sure to add ham to your grocery list.


Menus 4 Moms recipe  Linguini with Ham, Peas, and Mushrooms

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.

Menus 4 Moms recipe Apple, Grape, and Walnut Salad

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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Ginger is a root that is found in the produce department. Ask the produce employee for help if you can't find it.

  4. Juliennned vegetables are ones that have been slivered thinly.

  5. 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.


Menus 4 Moms recipe  Thai Noodles with Vegetables and Peanut Sauce

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.

Menus 4 Moms recipe  Peanut Sauce

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:

  1. Use leftover roast and gravy from Tuesday for this meal.


Menus 4 Moms recipe  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.

Menus 4 Moms recipe Mashed Potatoes

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.

Back to Menus 4 Moms archive

Back to Kitchen Helps