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. We will be restocking our freezer with pork tonight. Buy a tenderloin large enough to feed your family for 2 meals at least, preferably more. We will be cubing the leftovers for Thursday so after your meal tonight, cube any remaining meat, save out about 2 cups for Thursday and freeze the rest for future use.
   
   
2. This recipe is even easier than the pork tenderloin I normally use for restocking. My family rated this one much higher than the one that uses marjoram.
   
   

Onion Pork Tenderloin

• 3-4 lb. pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix

Spray inside of large crockpot or roaster pan with cooking spray. Place tenderloin in pot and sprinkle with onion soup mix. Pour water over top, cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low in crockpot or about 3 hours at 325°F in the oven. Check for doneness. Pork is done at an internal temperature of about 160°F. Slice and serve what you need for tonight and cube and freeze the rest in 1 lb. portions.

 

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• 6 potatoes
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• milk
• Garlic Salt or 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.

 

 Bacon and Mandarin Salad

• 1/2 lb. bacon, cooked according to package directions and crumbled
• 1/4 cup olive or salad oil
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 tsp basil, fresh chopped
• 1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 cups red leaf lettuce, torn
• 2 cups romaine, torn
• 1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted

Mix together oil, vinegar, sugar, and basil in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix mandarin oranges and lettuces together. Sprinkle with bacon and walnuts. Split salad mix in half, saving half for tomorrow night. To the half you are using tonight, pour half of the dressing mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Store salad mix and dressing mix separately until tomorrow.

 

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. I would love to tell you that I have a wonderful homemade chocolate pudding recipe, but I use the boxes of Food Lion brand instant pudding. Choose your favorite brand or recipe and make it according to directions. Be sure to make it early enough that it has time to set up.
   
   
   

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 to taste.

 

 

Chocolate Pudding

 

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday: none

Crustless Quiche

• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients and pour into a well-greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350° and cook for 30-40 more minutes.

 

 

Bacon or Sausage

 

 

 Buttermilk Biscuits

• 4 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1-1/2 cups buttermilk

Combine flour and butter, cutting with a fork. Stir in buttermilk. Add more flour if too wet, more buttermilk if too dry. When dough is rolling consistency, knead a few times and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter. Bake half of the biscuits on cookie sheet at 475° until brown. Place the other half of the biscuits on a cookie sheet or other flat pan and put in the freezer until frozen. Before going to bed or early the next morning, bag the biscuits in a dated freezer bag for later use. If cooking thawed biscuits, follow normal cooking instructions. To cook frozen biscuits, extend cooking time. Serve hot biscuits with butter and jelly.

 

 

Fried Apples

• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 medium tart apple, cored and peeled
• 1/2 cup apple juice or cider

Melt butter in a large skillet, over medium heat. Stir in sugar and juices. Thinly slice apples or cut into whatever shape you like. Add apples to skillet. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring frequently. Serve warm.

adapted from Details of Dinner

 

 

 

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. If you did not make the pork tenderloin and restock your freezer with pork Monday, be sure to add a small pork tenderloin to your grocery list.
   
   
2. You can bake your potatoes for tomorrow's Twice Baked Potatoes tonight to save time tomorrow.
   
   
   

 Sweet and Sour Pork

• 1lb. pork loin, cooked and cubed (from freezer)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 (15 1/4-oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• Hot cooked rice, (optional)
  

Preheat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir-fry green pepper and onion in hot oil for 2-3 minutes or till crisp-tender. Remove from wok. Add more oil, if necessary. Reheated pork in wok; keep warm.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a small pan combine the juice, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook about 1 minute or till thickened, stirring constantly.

Return green pepper and onion to wok. Stir in pineapple and the thickened pineapple juice mixture. Cook and stir until heated through. Serve with rice, if desired.

adapted from recipe found at theotherwhitemeat.com

White Rice

 

 

Fortune Cookies

 

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 next Monday's salad. You can marinade the extra meat overnight in the the Italian dressing and steak sauce (see Monday's recipe) tonight if you want. Otherwise, make sure you leave several hours time Monday for this step.
   
   
3. Use the potatoes you cooked last night to quickly prepare your twice baked potatoes tonight. If you did not bake the potatoes last night, be sure to leave time to bake potatoes tonight.
   
   

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.

 

 

  Twice Baked Potatoes

• 3 baked potatoes, baked and cooled
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup bacon bits

Wash potatoes and poke each potato several times with a fork. Bake at 350 °F until centers are hot and tender. (start with 1 hour and go from there.)

After potatoes have cooked and cooled, cut them in half length-wise and scoop out the inside pulp. Mash pulp and add ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese , ¼ cup milk and sprinkle with bacon bits OR add ½ cup sour cream and chives to taste. Place seasoned pulp back into skins and sprinkle with cheese or paprika for garnish. Bake at 350°F again for about 15 minutes until heated through and cheese on top has melted.

 

  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 February 8-12, 2010 - PDF

Grocery List for February 8-12 , 2010 - 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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