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Monday

• Cheesy Spirals
• Peas and Carrots
• Banana Pudding

Tuesday

• Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
• Greens
• Apple Crumble

Wednesday

• Hash Brown Soup
• Dinner Rolls
• Salad

Thursday

• Thai Noodles with Vegetables and Peanut Sauce
• Leftover Salad

Friday

• Chicken Enchiladas
• Mexicorn
• Spanish Rice

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Today we will be restocking our freezer with cooked ground beef. You will find 5 lbs. of ground beef on your grocery list, but buy more if you can find it on sale.
   
   
2. Tonight's recipe comes from the Menus4Moms E-Book, Bulk Cooking for the Freezer: Ground Beef. If you are interested in stocking your freezer with premade meals made from ground beef and not just having cooked beef on hand, you may find this E-Book valuable.
   
   
3. Cook all of your ground beef in a large stock pot and season to taste. I usually add salt and pepper. Keep out 4-5 cups for tonight's dish and then freeze the remaining browned ground beef in individual 1 pound portions. Make sure to label as "Cooked Ground Beef".
   
   
4. The banana pudding is a good way to use overripe bananas, but ripe ones are delicious too. You can make the dish early and refrigerate until ready to serve. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to make.
   
   
5. Another thing you may want to think about this week is your holiday planning. If you have not yet seen the article on the Menus4Moms.com homepage, be sure to check out 2008 Holiday Timetable: Get a Jumpstart on Holiday Planning by Marilyn Moll of The Urban Homemaker. This week Marilyn encourages us to "inventory our supplies on hand, and to purchase non-perishables needed for holiday baking, supplies needed for gift making, film, batteries, gift wrapping, and Christmas cards as needed."
   
   
   

Cheesy Spirals

• 16 oz. package pasta spirals
• 5 cups cooked ground beef
• 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor
• 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta spirals according to package instructions. Drain and rinse; return to pan. Add 5 cups cooked beef, spaghetti sauce, cheddar cheese soup, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir over low heat until well mixed and mixture is of uniform consistency. Remove from heat and stir in shredded mozzarella cheese. Spray 1- 9”x12” pan and 1- 8”x8” pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour mixture into pans. Bake the larger pan at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.
Wrap the smaller pan for the freezer and label as "Cheese Spirals: Thaw. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until heated through."

Peas and Carrots

Banana Pudding

• 4 bananas
• Vanilla wafers
• 1 oz. box instant banana pudding
• 2 cups milk
• 2 egg whites (carefully separate to make sure no yolk gets in them)
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare banana pudding with 2 cups of milk according to instructions. Refrigerate. Spray a pie plate or 8"x 8" casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides with vanilla wafers. Slice bananas over the vanilla wafers. Remove pudding from refrigerator and spoon over bananas.

Beat egg whites, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Spoon on top of pudding, swirling to make peaks. Brown pie at 300°F until meringue is light brown. Cool and refrigerate.

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. If you do not have any ham in the freezer from a few weeks ago, be sure to add ham to your grocery list. The Scalloped Potatoes and Ham dish is from Kim Tilley's Bulk Cooking: Ham Plan.
   
   
2. Save the rest of your green pepper for your Spanish Rice on Friday.
   
   

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cups chopped cooked ham
• 2 small onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat, add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add half and half, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt and white pepper.

Spoon 1/4 cup sauce mixture into greased 10 inch oven proof skillet. Combine potato and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stir well. Layer half of potato mixture over sauce, top with half of remaining sauce. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350° for one hour or until potatoes are tender.

Sautéed Greens of Your Choice

Wash 3 cups greens and sauté in butter with salt. You may add chopped onions for extra flavor.

Apple Crumble

• 1 cup baking mix (I use Bisquick)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 can pie-sliced apples, drained or 2 cups thinly sliced apples*
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8 or 6x10 inch baking dish. Blend first three ingredients in a bowl. Cut margarine into bits and add to mix. Spread 1/3 of oat mixture in bottom of pan. Place apple slices over mixture. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and cinnamon. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°F. Serve warm with ice cream.

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. If you don't have onions in the freezer, add a bag of onions to your grocery list and saute for freezer restocking.
   
   
2. Make a large salad tonight and save half for tomorrow night. Add any crunchy ingredients and salad dressing just before serving each night.
   
   
   

Hash Brown Soup

• 1 sauteed onion (from freezer)
• 3 cans chicken broth
• 1 large bag frozen Hash Browns
• 1 can Cream of Celery Soup (substitutions)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (substitutions)
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 pound Velveeta Cheese

Combine onion and broth, bring to boil. Add hash browns, bring to boil. Add soups (don't dilute) and milk, bring to boil. Add Cheese. Heat until cheese melts. Optional, serve with bacon bits on top.

Dinner Rolls

Salad

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 leftover salad from last night 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.
   
   
   
   

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.

Leftover Salad

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. If you don’t have chicken in your freezer, be sure to add some to your grocery list.
   

Chicken Enchiladas

• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed (from freezer)
• 1/4 cup green chili peppers
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Mix soup and sour cream in a small bowl. Heat butter in medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and chili powder and cook until tender. Add thawed chicken, chilis, and 2 tbsp of the soup mixture.Cook until heated through. Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Spread 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in each tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place seam side down in the baking dish. Spread remaining soup mixture over the top of the enchiladas making sure to cover each tortilla completely. sprinkle cheese over the soup mixture and bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until bubbly.

adapted from Campbell's Soup recipe

Mexicorn

Spanish Rice

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 green pepper chopped, seeded
• 1 c. long grain rice (or brown rice* for healthier version)
• 2 c. chicken broth (if you are using brown rice add extra water)
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1/2 t. cumin

Saute onion garlic and green pepper in oil until transparent. Add rice and brown until lightly browned. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add to pan. Cover and cook 20-25 minutes (longer, closer to 45 minutes, for brown rice).

 

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

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