Weekly Menu for June 6-10, 2005

Welcome to the menu for March Week 4! In order to make the best use of Menus 4 Moms, before beginning the Menu please read the Menus 4 Moms plan basics and the Busy Cooks Pyramid as Menus 4 Moms will be based on these items each week.

 

Monday - Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas
Refried Beans
Yellow Rice

 

Tuesday - Recipes

Lasagna
Spinach Salad
Frozen Dinner Rolls

 

Wednesday - Recipes

Beef Hot Links or Cheese Links
Grilled Peppers, Mushrooms, & Onions
Quick Stovetop Vegetables

 

Thursday - Recipes

French Cranberry Chicken
Baked Rice
Broccoli Casserole
Salad

 

Friday - Recipes

15 Bean Soup
Crunchy Apple Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Brown Rice

 

 

 

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for June 6-10, 2005 - PDF

Shopping List Format

 

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

1. Tonight we are using some of the chicken that we froze when we made the grilled chicken last week.
   
   
2. Dried black beans are the base for our refried beans tonight, so start them early in the morning. They are much cheaper than canned and easy to make, and we will have enough to freeze some.
   
   
3. I am putting 5 bell peppers on your list. Chop and saute them all and separate into 5 portions. Freeze 3 and use the other 2 for your enchiladas.
   
   
4. We are going to double this recipe and freeze one pan of the enchiladas before cooking.
   
   
5. Thaw the Bolognese sauce for tomorrow.

Chicken Enchiladas

• 3 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (from freezer* or buy a hen and boil it)
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 2 onions, sauteed (from freezer)
• 2 bell peppers, chopped & sauteed
• cilantro
• cumin
• Adobo or garlic salt
• 12 whole wheat flour tortillas (if you can't find them, get regular ones)
• 4 cups Mexican blend cheese
• Foil 9x9 pan

Combine soup, 1 1/2 cans chicken broth, and sour cream. Set aside 2 cups of this mixture. To the remaining mixture, add chicken, onion, pepper, and spices to taste. Add 2 cups of the cheese.

Place 2-3 T. of mixture onto each tortilla, roll up, and place 6 tortillas in each of 2- 9x9 pans (use 1 foil pan for the ones you will be freezing). Add the remaining Chicken broth to the reserved soup mixture and pour over enchiladas in each pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas. Cover foil pan tightly with foil or plastic wrap and freeze. Cook other pan of enchiladas at 350° until bubbly.

Refried Beans

• 1 bag black turtle beans (pinto or red beans also work)
• cumin
• Adobo or garlic salt
• olive oil
• 1 can red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

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 cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours.

Drain beans, reserving liquid (place colander on a lg. pan or bowl then pour beans in). Separate beans into 2 cup servings in freezer bags, reserving 4 cups of beans for tonight's meal. Cover beans in each bag with some of reserved liquid.

Mash 4 cups of beans, adding enough liquid to make beans mushy and soft. Heat 2 T. olive oil in a fry pan and add mashed beans and spices to taste. Stir until hot and bubbly. Heat enchilada sauce in a sauce pan and serve beans topped with enchilada sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.

Yellow Rice

cooked according to package directions

 

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

1. Tonight we are using some of the Bolognese sauce that we froze last week to make our lasagna. You can make your own ricotta if you want to, or buy it.
   
   
2. Spinach may be unappealing cooked, but even people who hate spinach find it tasty in a salad raw. It is full of good stuff for you, so try it!
   
   
3. Don't forget to let your dinner rolls rise beforfe baking.
   
   
4. If you prefer, you can make a thinner lasagna and break it into 2 8x8 pans and freeze one.

Lasagna

• 3-4 cups Bolognese sauce from freezer (see recipe here if you don't have this)
• 10 oz. lasagna noodles
• 1 beaten egg
• 3 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 2 T. parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 16 oz. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Mix egg, ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper. In a 9x12 pan, place 3 T. Bolognese sauce and 3 T. water. Top with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles, half of ricotta mixture, 1/3 of mozzarella cheese, and half of Bolognese sauce. Repeat layers and top with the last 1/3 of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Spinach Salad

• Spinach leaves (baby) or spinach salad mix
• Croutons
• Sunflower seeds
• grated carrot
• salad dressing

Wash greens and pat dry. Mix all ingredients and enjoy.

Frozen rolls

 

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

1. You can slice the vegetables for the sandwiches in the morning and keep refrigerated in a baggie until it's time to grill.
   
   

Beef Hot Links or Cheese Links with Veggies

• 1 pkg Hot Links or Cheese Links
• 1 sliced green bell pepper (not from frozen)
• 1 sliced red bell pepper (not from frozen)
• 1 pkg sliced mushrooms
• 1 sliced onion (not from frozen)
• Hoagie rolls

Slice hot links lengthwise. Grill meat and vegetables and serve on warmed hoagie rolls with mayonnaise, lettuce, hot or sweet peppers, and any of your other favorite condiments.

Quick Stovetop Vegetables

• 1 can cut corn
• 2 cans diced tomatoes and green chiles (you may want to just use diced tomatoes for kids)
• 1 can black beans
• 1 10 oz. pkg. frozen okra (not breaded)
• Adobo or garlic salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese and heat in a saucepan until bubbly. Serve topped with shredded cheese.

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

1. Tonight's chicken recipe comes from Lisa H. and is one of her family's favorites. Thanks, Lisa!
   
   
2. The rice with tonight's dinner is not a healthy side dish, but it is my family's favorite.
   
   
3. You can prepare the broccoli casserole for baking in the morning and keep it in the refrigerator until time to bake it.

French Cranberry Chicken

 

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday:

1. Tonight we are having bean soup, so we are going to prepare our dried beans just like we did when we made refried beans. This meal can be prepared with or without meat.
   
   
2. Brown rice takes almost an hour to cook, so be sure to allow time when making it.

15 Bean Soup

• 15 bean soup dried beans package
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• chili powder or chili seasoning packet
• ham, if desired
• brown rice, prepared according to directions.

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 cover with water, making sure the water is twice as deep as the beans. Drain tomatoes and add tomatoes and seasoning to beans. If using meat (ham is preferable), add now. Cook on Hi for 5 hours or Low for 8-10 hours. Serve on cooked brown rice.

Crunchy Apple Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

• 1 large head red leaf lettuce, torn into small pieces
• 2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
• 4 oz. cashews, chopped
• 1 cup light olive oil
• 1 T. minced onion
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. poppy seed

Layer lettuce, apples, cheese and cashews in large bowl. In a blender, mix oil, mustard, sugar, vinegar, and poppy seed. Pour over salad just before serving.