Basic Weekly Menu Plan

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

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

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 calzones on Friday.
   
   
3. Save the rest of your Apple Crumble for dessert on Wednesday.
   
   

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°F 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.

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Make enough salad for 2 nights, but don't add croutons and dressing until you are ready to serve it. That will save prep time on Friday.
   
   
2. If you don’t have cooked chicken in the freezer, add more chicken to the grocery list for tonight’s chili.
   
   
3. You may want to make extra cornbread for Thursday's meal. It would be a nice compliment to the recipes that night.
   
   
   
   

 Crockpot White Chicken Chili

• 4 chicken breasts, cubed (from freezer)
• 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.

 

 

Spinach Salad

 

 

Cornbread

• 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
• 1 can corn, drained (optional)

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.

 

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday: None

Kielbasa Pepper Pasta

• 4 cups bow tie pasta, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cup green pepper, julienned
• 1 cup red bell pepper, julienned
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 lb. kielbasa, or polish sausage fully cooked and cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

In a large skillet, melt butter and saute peppers and onion until tender. Add the sausage, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through. Add cooked, drained pasta to skillet and toss to coat. Serve warm.

 

 

Hard Rolls

 

Leftover Apple Crumble

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. If you do not have any cooked ground beef in the freezer, be sure to add beef to your shopping list.
   
   
2. Make the black bean salad ahead of time so it can chill.

 

 Beef Taco Skillet

• 1 lb. browned ground beef (from freezer)
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 flour tortillas, cut into 1" pieces
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Thaw beef. In a frying pan, add beef, soup, salsa, water and tortillas. Heat to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir and top with cheese.

 

 

Black Bean Salad

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 1 cup cut corn, drained
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley

Combine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and sugar. Mix well and combine with remaining ingredients. Toss before serving.

 

 

Fried Okra

• 1 bag frozen breaded okra (or two if your family likes it as much as ours)
• oil for pan frying

Heat oil in a deep (2-3") fry pan. Fry okra (do not crowd in pan) until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, salt and serve.

 

 

Leftover Cornbread

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Use your leftvoer green pepper from Monday night.
   

Italian Pizza Calzones

• 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 2 cups leftover spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped (from freezer)
• 2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F. In large skillet, brown sausage, pour off fat. Add 3/4 cup pasta sauce, mushrooms, green pepper and onion. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, unroll crescent dough and separate into 8 rectangles. Firmly press perforations together and flatten slightly. In a small bowl mix egg and water, brush on dough edges. Stir cheese into meat mixture. Spoon equal amounts of meat mixture onto half of each rectangle to within 1/2 inch of edges. Fold dough over filling. Press to seal edges. Arrange on baking sheet; brush with egg mixture. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Heat remaining pasta sauce; serve with calzones. Refrigerate leftovers.

 

 

 

Leftover Salad

 

 

 

Five Cup Salad

• 1 cup pineapple chucks, drained
• 1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 cup coconut flakes

Mix together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

 

* 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 October 26-30, 2009 - PDF

Grocery List for October 26-30 , 2009 - TXT (for PDAs or text editing)

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

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