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. Tonight we are using leftover chicken from the freezer. If you didn't restock your chicken last week, you can buy some precooked chicken strips from the refrigerated meat section of the grocer. Be sure to add this to your shopping list if needed.
   
   
2. I use frozen french fries for convenience, but feel free to use fresh potatoes, cut into strips and either deep fry them, pan fry in a little oil, or bake in the oven until tender.
   
   
3. You can buy premade croissants in the bakery section of your grocery store.
   
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Chicken Salad Croissants

• 2 cups cubed chicken (from freezer)
• 1 cup cubed Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup dill pickle relish
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. minced parsley
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• pepper to taste
• lettuce leaves
• Croissants

Combine chicken, cheese and pickle relish in a bowl. Combine mayo, parsley, lemon juice, seasoned salt and pepper. Add mayo mixture to chicken mixture and stir until well blended. Place a lettuce leaf on each croissant. Spoon about 1/2 cup on the chicken salad onto croissant.

 

 

French Fries

Dill Pickles

 

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. If you don't still have ham in your freezer, add diced ham to your grocery list (you can usually find a small package of diced ham with the other hams in the refrigerated meat section). Just use water in place of stock or drippings.
   
   
   
   

 Navy Bean Soup

• 1 bag dry navy beans
• water as needed
• 1-2 cups ham stock or extra water
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1-2 carrots, finely diced
• 1-2 stalks celery, finely diced
• sauteed onion (from freezer)
• 1-1/2 cups diced ham (from freezer )
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• salt to taste

Rinse beans in a colander and check to be sure there are no stones or other debris. Place beans in a dutch oven and cover with water so that the water is twice as deep as the beans. Heat to boiling and boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat off and cover, let sit for 1 hour. Drain beans in colander and rinse pot. Place beans in slow cooker and add ham stock or drippings. Cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Add all remaining ingredients except flour and butter. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours. When beans are tender, use a separate small saucepan to make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat and adding the flour. Stir constantly for 1 min. over heat, then add to soup. Stir well and simmer until slightly thickened (15 minutes or so).

 

 Apple, Grape, and Walnut Salad

• 3 sliced and cored Granny Smith apples
• 1 bunch red grapes, pulled from the stems
• chopped walnuts (use as many as you like, I use about 2/3 cup)
• 8 oz. vanilla yogurt
• 3 oz. cream cheese

Combine fruit and nuts and serve with vanilla yogurt mixed with cream cheese (use a mixer for a smooth blend).

 

Crusty Bread

 

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. Even kids who consider pudding plain get excited when they see it with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. Just a little extra effort tonight will earn you the title of "Great Mom"!
   

One Pot Cabbage Sausage Supper

• 1 pound cooked smoked sausage, cut in 1/2 inch slices
• 1/3 cup onion, cut into wedges
• 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

In a large pot, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until sausage is lightly browned and onion is tender. Drain. Add cabbage and water. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Stir in carrots and potatoes. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

 

Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream and Sprinkles

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Tonight we are going to double this recipe for the freezer. I have added the doubled portions in (parentheses) at the end of each row of ingredients to help you remember to double.
   
   
2. The size of the baking dishes you will use tonight depends on your family. The doubled recipe will fill up 2-9x13 pans. You could separate this into smaller pans if you desire. Try one 9x13 to use for tonight and fill 2 8x8 freezer safe pans for freezing. Make sure to label your freezer dishes with directions for thawing and baking.
   

 

 Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake

• 1 lb ground chuck, from freezer (2 lbs .ground beef)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (2 onions)
• 1 small green pepper, chopped (2 peppers)
• 1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, (2 cans)
• 1 (26 oz) jar pasta sauce (2 jars)
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce (2 cans)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (2 tsp)
• 1 lb spaghetti, broken into small pieces (2 lbs.)
• 3/4 cup milk(1 1/2 cups)
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten (4 eggs)
• 1 (5 oz) pkg sliced pepperoni (2 pkg.)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (3 cups)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 cups)
• Freezer Wrap

Place a large pot of water over high heat. Bring to a rapid boil. Boil spaghetti as directed on the package. Drain and rinse. Place ground chuck in a large skillet over medium high heat, or if you have browned ground beef in your freezer, thaw and use that. Add the onion, green pepper and mushrooms to browned beef. Cook until meat is browned being sure to crumble the meat. Drain. Add the pasta sauce, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Stir until well combined. Simmer for 15 minutes. Place the eggs and milk in a large bowl and blend. Place the spaghetti in the egg mixture and toss to cover. Lightly spray a large baking dish (or dishes if you are doubling this for the freezer) with a non stick cooking spray. Place half of the spaghetti mixture into the bottom of the pan. (If you are doubling, you will place a fourth of the spaghetti in the bottom of each of two pans, then 1/4 of the sauce over the spaghetti in both pans, and so on.) Place half of the meat sauce over the top of the spaghetti. Repeat for another layer. Put the casseroles in the refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, top the casseroles with the pepperoni and 2 cheeses. Wrap dishes to be frozen with freezer wrap, label with the following cooking instructions :(Thaw the casserole overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake another 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.), and freeze for up to 2 months.

For the dish you will use tonight, preheat oven to 350°F, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Salad

 

 

 

Pineapple Parfait

• 2- 20oz. cans pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained
• 16 oz. ricotta or cottage cheese
• 16 tsp. honey (about 1/2 cup)
• toasted shredded coconut, for garnish

Whip ricotta cheese until smooth. In 4 parfait glasses, layer 1/4 cup pineapple, 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, and 2 tsp. of honey. Repeat layers and top with remaining pineapple. Garnish with toasted coconut and serve.

 

 

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Prepare the steak in the morning so it can marinate all day.
   
   
2. We will be using extra flank steak from tonight in a salad next Monday.
   
   
   

Marinated Flank Steak

• 1 to 1-1/2 lb. flank steak
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• pinch cayenne pepper
• dash hot sauce

Combine all ingredients except steak. Trim fat from steak. Place steak in gallon-sized freezer bag and pour in marinade, reserving 1/4 cup. Close tightly and shake gently. Marinate all day or overnight. Remove stead from bag, discarding marinade. Grill, covered on medium until desired doneness is reached (use a meat thermometer to determine doneness). Baste twice with reserved 1/4 cup marinade.

Slice into thin slices against the grain before serving.

  Tammy's Roasted Potatoes

• 6-8 large baking potatoes,cubed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix

Combine cubed potatoes, olive oil, and soup mix in a large, resealable bag. Shake until potatoes are well coated. Coat a 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place seasoned potatoes in baking dish and bake at 350° F for 45 minutes or until tender.

  Sautéed Greens of Your Choice

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

 

* 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 November 16-20, 2009 - PDF

Grocery List for November 16-20 , 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)

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