Basic Weekly Menu Plan

You are here:  Home / Weekly Menu / Archive / July 20-24, 2009

Get the meal makeovers, nutrition data, dietary exchanges and point values for the menus.

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Prepare the marinade for tomorrow night's chicken tonight and let the chicken sit in the refrigerator overnight for a more intense flavor.
   
   
   
   

Chops with Gravy

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

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

 

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.

Buttered Sweet Peas

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. The longer your chicken marinates before grilling, the better it will be. I recommend preparing the marinade at least 24 hours in advance for the best flavor, but if necessary, start marinating the chicken in the morning for grilling at dinnertime. If you did not make a large amount of chicken for your freezer two weeks ago, try making extra tonight. Make a large batch of chicken so we have plenty of leftovers to freeze for later. Using grilled chicken from your freezer in place of boiled or sauteed chicken gives your casseroles and soups a great flavor, so put your freezer bags of chicken in the freezer and use them in any recipe that calls for chopped cooked chicken.
   
   
2. Be sure to save enough chicken for Friday's Chicken Caesar Salad.
   
   
3. Make your Frozen Fruit Salad today to allow time to chill.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 Grilled Marinated Chicken

• 4 lbs. chicken parts of your choice
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. garlic salt or Adobo
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Place marinade with chicken in a zipper bag and marinate overnight. Grill chicken until it reaches 160° at the thickest part, or until white all the way through and juices run clear. Serve half of the chicken tonight and save the rest for tomorrow. If you do not have a grill, you can bake the chicken in the oven.

 

Corn on the Cob

 

 

 Brussels Sprouts with Cream Sauce* or Stovetop Brussels Sprouts

• 3 c. frozen Brussels sprouts
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. chopped onion (from freezer)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. dry white wine
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook brussels sprouts according to package directions but without salt.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan over low heat, or in double boiler, melt butter. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes or until soft. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Gradually add milk, wine and pepper; cook until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. If sauce becomes too thick, add additional 1-2 tablespoons skim milk. Drain brussels sprouts; pour sauce over sprouts.

Adapted from Cooks.com.

 

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. Start your roast in the morning.

2. Save 3 cups of meat from tonight's roast for tomorrow's burritos.

3. If you did not make the Frozen Fruit Salad yesterday, make sure to prepare it early in the day today so it will have time to chill.
   
   
4. The Frozen Fruit Salad will cut more easily if you set it out about 30 minutes before you need to slice it.
   

French Dip Sandwiches

• 3-4 lb. roast
• 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
• 1 package onion soup mix
• French rolls

Place meat in slow cooker, cover with mustard and sprinkle with onion soup mix. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours (depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks). When fully cooked, carve into thick slices or shred. Strain broth and skim fat if desired. Serve meat on French rolls with juice in small bowls or saucers for dipping.

 

 

 

Potato Salad

 

• 3 lbs. new potatoes, cooked and cooled
• 1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup stone-ground mustard
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley

Cut cooked potatoes into bite-size cubes and put into a large bowl with onion. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over potatoes and onion, mixing well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

 

Frozen Fruit Salad (This recipe is doubled for Wednesday and Friday night)

• 4 T. sugar
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 4 T. milk
• 4 T. lemon juice
• 2 cans mandarin oranges
• 1 cup pecans (optional)
• 2 cans maraschino cherries, quartered
• 2 cans crushed pineapple, drained
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cups whipping cream, whipped
• lettuce leaves

Mix cream cheese and milk. Add mayonnaise, lemon juice, dash salt, pineapple, pecans, cherries, and sugar. Fold in whipped cream (do not stir). Freeze. Serve on lettuce leaf.

 

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Use 3 cups of the leftover meat from yesterday's French Dip roast for tonight's burritos. If you haven't already done so, shred the meat by hand or in a food processor. On the stovetop, cook the shredded meat with taco seasoning according to the package directions.
   
   
2. We made black beans last week so you should have some in your freezer. If you did not make any last week, you will need to add dry beans or 2 cans of black beans to your grocery list.
   
   
3. Depending on your family size, you may wish to use half of the fillings to make 6 burritos tonight and the other 6 to make a pan of enchiladas to freeze. To make enchiladas, spread the tortillas with the beans and beef as directed below, then sprinkle with cheese. Roll up tortillas and pour red or green enchilada sauce (not on grocery list) over enchiladas in pan. Cover with heavy duty foil and freeze. To bake, cook at 400°F for 45-60 minutes or until heated through, uncovering for the last 10 minutes. You may sprinkle extra cheese on top for the last 10 minutes if you wish.
   
   
4. If you are feeling industrious, you can roast your own peppers for the Roasted Red Pepper Salad. There are instructions for roasting peppers at Southern Food.

 

 Black Bean and Beef Burritos

• 3 cups seasoned shredded beef (see notes above)
• 3 cups seasoned black beans (see below)
• shredded cheddar cheese
• 12 large flour tortillas (preferably whole wheat for health)
• Shredded lettuce
• Chopped tomatoes
• Sour cream

Heat beef and bean fillings in the microwave until evenly hot. Steam or microwave tortillas until warm so they won't crack when filling and rolling. Spread 1/4 cup each of the seasoned black beans and beef on each tortilla. Add shredded cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes. Roll each tortilla up and serve.

Seasoned Black Beans

• 3 cups black beans, thawed and mashed
• Adobo seasoning to taste
• Cumin to taste

Mix all together until well blended.

 

   Roasted Red Pepper Salad

• 2 jars roasted red bell peppers
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 T. red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 6 T. olive oil

Cut peppers into 1" strips and put in a bowl. Mince garlic (or press). In a small dish, combine garlic, vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Stir until salt dissolves. Add oil and mix. Pour over peppers, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

 

Spanish Rice

• 1 chopped onion, sauteed (from freezer)
• black pepper
• chili powder
• cumin
• Adobo seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• Olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz.) chicken broth
• 1 cup water

Saute onion in olive oil in a Dutch oven until tender; remove from pan. Add 2 T. olive oil to pan and brown the uncooked rice. Do not burn! Add chicken broth and water (this will sizzle loudly when the liquid meets the hot oil), add seasonings to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes; do not open. When cooked, add onions and any other warmed items you may have on hand that would be good in rice (corn, salsa, Rotel, etc.). Stir gently and serve.

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. While adults will enjoy the Chicken Caesar Salad, children will likely prefer their salad and chicken separate.
   
   
   

Chicken Caesar Salad

• 1 lb. cooked, cubed chicken (from Tuesday)
• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Croutons
• Caesar Salad Dressing

Reheat cooked chicken if desired by placing in the microwave for about 1 minute. Add more time if needed. Chop up lettuce into bite-size pieces and mix all ingredients. Serve.

Leftover Frozen Fruit Salad

 

 

* 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 July 20-24, 2009 - PDF

Grocery List for July 20-24 , 2009 - TXT (for PDAs or text editing)

Shopping List Software format (download shopping list free Windows software)

Find sale prices on the grocery list items with our new Grocery Deals feature (brought to you in partnership with MyGroceryDeals)

Printer-friendly version

Back to Kitchen Helps

About Us | Media | Site Map | Advertise | Affiliate Program | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use | Contact Us | RSS | ©2000-2010 Menus4Moms.com