Basic Weekly Menu Plan

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Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Tonight we will be restocking our freezer with taco seasoned ground beef. The grocery list shows 5 pounds of ground beef and the ingredients for a homemade taco seasoning mix. You can add store bought taco seasoning packets to your grocery list if you prefer.
   
   
2. Cook all 5 pounds and season according to seasoning recipe below. Use one pound for tonight and and freeze the remaining beef in one pound portions, making sure to label as Taco Seasoned Ground Beef. If you already have precooked taco seasoned ground beef in your freezer you can delete the ground beef and seasoning from your list. Also, if you have plenty of cooked ground beef in your freezer, but it is not seasoned, you can just thaw a pound and season it according to package directions in a frying pan.
   
   
3. Mexicorn comes in a can. Look in the canned vegetables aisle in your grocery store.
   
   
4. Thaw the pack of "Cooked Pork Chops" that we put in the freezer last week. If you did not have any cooked chops in your freezer, make sure to add chops to your grocery list.

 

Taco Crescent Bake

• 1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 cups crushed tortilla chips, divided
• 1 lb. taco seasoned ground beef
• 1 container sour cream (8 oz.)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (4 oz.)

Cook ground beef and add seasoning according to the recipe below. Unroll crescent dough into a rectangle; press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 13 in x 9 in x 2 in baking dish. Seal seams and perforations. Sprinkle with 1 cup of crushed chips; set aside. Spoon seasoned ground beef over chips. Top with sour cream, cheese and remaining chips. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

 

Taco Seasoning Mix

• 1/4 c dried minced onion
• 1/4 c chili powder
• 3 tbsp salt
• 4 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp dried minced garlic
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 year.

To prepare taco meat: brown ground beef in a skillet, drain. For every pound of ground beef, add 2 tbsp of the mix and 1/3 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then cook and stir for two minutes.

Bacon Ranch Green Beans

• 1 package (16 oz) frozen green beans
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled or bacon bits* (I like Hormel Real Bacon Bits)

In a skillet, saute the green beans in butter. Add the salad dressing mix and toss to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle in the bacon and mix.

 

Mexicorn

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Last night you should have thawed a pack of "Cooked Pork Chops" that we put in the freezer last week. If you did not have any cooked chops in your freezer, make sure to add chops to your grocery list.
   
   
2. Tonight we are going to boil double the amount of potatoes we need for our Mashed Potatoes. Before you mash tonight's potatoes, set half of your boiled potatoes aside for Thursday's Potato Beef Pie.
   
   
   

Chops with Gravy

• 4 cooked pork chops (thawed from freezer)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 poultry seasoning
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 can (10.75 oz.) cream of potato soup

Place thawed pork chops in a skillet with oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. Pour undiluted soup over pork chops; cover and cook over low heat 15 - 20 minutes until heated through.

 

Sautéed Greens of Your Choice

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

Mashed Potatoes

• 6 potatoes (plus potatoes for Thursday's Potato Beef Pie...see notes above and recipe below)
• 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 from pork chops.

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. Tonight's chicken dish is served over puff pastry shells. If you can't find them (they are located near the frozen pie crust at the grocer), serve over another bread of your choice. English Muffins would be fine, but truly the puff pastry shells are what make this dish so wonderful.

 

 Cheddary Chicken & Broccoli

• 1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells, baked (we will use 6)
• 2 jars chicken gravy
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 cups cooked chicken (from freezer)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli cuts, thawed
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a saucepan, combine gravy, lemon juice, broccoli, and chicken. Heat, stirring frequently. Serve in pastry shells with cheese sprinkled on top.

Glazed Carrots

• 1 bag baby carrots
• 2/3 c. honey
• 6 tbsp. butter

Cook carrots in a small amount of water until tender crisp. Drain water, add honey and butter. Cook on med. low until carrots are glazed, turning carrots once or twice.

Fruit Cocktail

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Use the extra potatoes you made Tuesday night with tonight's dinner.
   
   
   

   Potato and Beef Pie

• 5 lbs. potatoes, peeled & quartered
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained (from freezer)
• 1 medium onion, sauteed (from freezer)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Adobo or garlic salt
• butter
• bread crumbs

If you did not make extra potatoes on Tuesday, boil potatoes until they are soft when pierced with a fork. Drain and place in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed while adding milk. Do not overbeat as you want them mashed but still a little lumpy. Add Adobo seasoning to the potatoes. Divide them in half and put half in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Evenly distribute meat mixture on top of potatoes and sprinkle cheese on top of meat. Spread the rest of the potatoes on top of the cheese. Sprinkle all with bread crumbs to cover and dot with butter pats. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

 

  Sauteed Squash And Zucchini

• 2 yellow squash, sliced
• 2 cups zucchini, sliced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 1/4 Tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

Heat oil in large frying pan. Add thinly sliced squash and zucchini to oil and saute until desired tenderness is reached. Add salt and pepper to taste and add pecans, if desired.

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday: none

 Michele's Signature Salmon

• 4 (6 oz) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ½ med. red onion, thinly sliced
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Place salmon skin side down in shallow roasting pan. Top with Soy sauce, garlic, almonds, onion and tomatoes Cover fish with a foil tent. Bake at 350°F for 30 - 40 minutes.

Alternate ingredients: Substitute Spanish or Vidalia onions for Red onions, or top with parsley or Italian seasonings. Substitute any citrus fruit for tomatoes: oranges, pineapple, lemons or limes (even mango or papaya).

 

 Rice Pilaf

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped (from freezer)
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/2 green pepper chopped, seeded
• 1/2 red pepper chopped, seeded
• 1/2 cup of frozen peas, thawed
• 1 c. long grain rice (or brown rice* for healthier version)
• 2 c. chicken broth (if you are using brown rice add extra water)
• herbs of your choice (basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.)

Thaw onion. Saute garlic and peppers in oil until tender. 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).

 

 

English Peas with Butter

 

 

Apple Slices

 

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

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for Jan. 19-23 , 2009 - PDF

Grocery List for Jan. 19-23 , 2009 - TXT (for PDAs or text editing)

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Eating healthy? Find out how to get the meal makeovers, nutrition data and point values for the menus.

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