You are here: Home / Weekly Menu / Archive / October 27-31, 2008
Monday
- Baked Honey Pecan Chicken
- Peas
- Fruit Salad
- Dinner Rolls
Tuesday
- Mandarin Topped Chops
- Couscous
- Broccoli Salad
Wednesday
Thursday
- Crockpot White Chicken Chili
- Corn Bread with Honey Butter
- Orange Slices
Friday
- Sloppy Joes
- Baked Beans
- Cole Slaw
Monday Recipes
Notes for Monday:
- We've grilled this chicken before but tonight we are going to bake it. The recipe requires only a few minutes of preparation. However, it tastes great the longer and slower it cooks! So make sure you start your prep at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours before you want to eat. If this is not an option for tonight, make something quick for dinner tonight and enjoy this great recipe over the weekend.
- We are also going to be restocking our freezer tonight so buy as much chicken as you can and bake it all. You will find 6-9 pounds on your grocery list. You can either make extra basting sauce from the recipe below to baste all of the chicken, or you can season the extra chicken you will be using to restock your freezer with other spices (ie. Montreal chicken Seasoning or Adobe). Keep out the amount you will need for tonight's meal and cool, cube and freeze the remaining chicken. Make sure to label your freezer bags.
- Thanksgiving is fast approaching here in the US. Don't forget about your holiday planning. If you have not yet seen the article on the Menus4Moms.com homepage that I mentioned last week, be sure to check out 2008 Holiday Timetable: Get a Jumpstart on Holiday Planning by Marilyn Moll of The Urban Homemaker. This week is "Baking Week". Marilyn reminds us to "set aside the time needed to complete holiday goodie making. Make lists of toys, books, and clothes that children would enjoy and keep the list handy for telling family members who ask what they would like."
Baked Honey Pecan Chicken
- 3 - 4 lb split chicken breasts
Basting sauce:
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 T. water
- 1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
Honey-Pecan Sauce:
- 3 T. honey
- 2 T. butter or margarine, melted
- 2 T. chopped pecans, toasted
- 2 t. lemon juice
Prepare Honey Pecan Sauce by mixing all ingredients together.
Spray bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with vegetable oil. Preheat oven to 275°F. Mix all basting sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place chicken in baking dish, skin sides up, and mop or brush basting sauce over chicken. Bake chicken 25 to 35 minutes; mop with basting sauce. Cover and bake 35 to 45 minutes longer, mopping 2 or 3 times with basting sauce until juices are clear. Discard any remaining basting sauce.
Serve chicken with Honey-Pecan Sauce.
Buttered Peas
Fruit Salad
Dinner Rolls
Tuesday Recipes
Notes for Tuesday:
- Couscous, a staple grain in many North African countries, is a coarsely ground semolina pasta. You can find boxed couscous, both flavored and unflavored, near the rice in your grocery store. If you haven't had couscous before, give it a try. Just follow the directions on the box. My kids love it but be warned...my toddler makes a total MESS eating couscous!
- Plan ahead...the broccoli salad is best when chilled.
Mandarin Topped Chops
- 6 pork chops (we like boneless thin pork loin chops but any cut works)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- pepper to taste
In a skillet, brown chops on both sides in oil. Top with oranges, sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until meat juices run clear.
Couscous
Broccoli Salad
- 3 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
- 2 T. chopped onion
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar* or cider vinegar
- 6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled; or REAL bacon bits*
In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, cheese, and onion. Combine the mayo, sugar, and vinegar; pour over the broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Just before serving, stir in the bacon.
Wednesday Recipes
Notes for Wednesday: none
Baked Potato Bar
- 6 baking potatoes
- shredded cheddar cheese
- steamed broccoli (from Tuesday; reheat in microwave for about 2 minutes)
- sour cream
- bacon bits
- butter
- any additional toppings your family may like
Spray potatoes with olive oil spray. Coat with coarsely ground salt and pepper. Poke several times with a fork and cook in microwave until centers are hot and tender (start with 6 minutes and go from there). Cut open and mash insides (leave insides in potato). Top with preferred toppings from above or serve plain and let each person top their own from your "toppings bar".
Salad
Thursday Recipes
Notes for Thursday:
- Use chicken from Monday or from the freezer for tonight's meal.
Crockpot White Chicken Chili
- 4 chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 cup chopped onion, cooked (from freezer)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried leaf oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
- 2 cans (about 15 ounces each) great northern beans, drained, rinsed
- 1 can (12 to 15 oz.) corn, drained
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, optional
Mix onion, garlic, chicken broth, cumin, oregano, salt and Tabasco in 3 1/2 to 6-quart crockpot. Add cubed chicken breasts. Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours, or until chicken is tender (this may vary depending on how hot your crockpot cooks). Stir in beans, corn, and cilantro, if using. Cover and cook on low 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Cornbread with Honey Butter
- 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
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.
Note: if you do not have a cast iron skillet, spray a pan with non-stick spray and mix all of the olive oil into the batter. Do not preheat your pan if it isn't cast iron.
Serve with softened butter that has been mixed with a little honey
Orange Slices
Friday Recipes
Notes for Friday:
- I have doubled the ingredients for Sloppy Joes so that you save half for next week's Sloppy Joe Pizza.
- I have added a bag of onions and 3 bell peppers. Chop and saute these together and freeze all but what you need for tonight's Sloppy Joes. Freeze the extras just like you freeze your onions.
- The cole slaw can be prepared in advance and refrigerated.
Sloppy Joes
Recipe is here. Be sure to double it and save half next week's pizza. Serve over hamburger buns.
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.
* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.
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