7day menu planner
SUNDAY: Invite Grandmother and all the family for Company’s Coming Pork Roast (see recipe). Alongside, serve baked sweet potatoes (slash the centers and sprinkle with cinnamon). Add fresh green beans and biscuits. Top a cherry crisp from the bakery with vanilla ice cream for a family-pleasing dessert. Plan ahead: Save enough pork, green beans and crisp and bake enough sweet potatoes for Monday. Save enough ice cream for Tuesday and Friday.
MONDAY: Make Pork Wraps for an easy meal. Warm leftover pork slices in a little barbecue sauce. Top heated whole-grain flour tortillas with pork, shredded lettuce, chopped onion and chunky salsa. Wrap and eat. Serve with Sweet Potato Wedges. Cut leftover potatoes into wedges. Coat with cooking spray and a little cumin, then bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Add leftover green beans. Finish off the leftover cherry crisp for dessert.
TUESDAY: Skip meat and enjoy vegetarian Tortilla Soup (see recipe) tonight. Add a redtipped lettuce salad on the side. Dessert is leftover ice cream and oatmeal cookies.
WEDNESDAY: Jerk Barbecue Chicken is low in cost and has great flavor, so it’s a winner all around. Rub 8 skinless chicken legs with 3 to 4 teaspoons jerk seasoning. Place in a 4-quart or larger slow-cooker. Pour ¾ cup barbecue sauce and 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional) over chicken. Turn chicken to coat. Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours or until chicken is tender. Place chicken and sauce on a platter. Sprinkle with ¼ cup sliced green onions. Serve with canned black beans, deli coleslaw and cornbread. For dessert, try plums.
THURSDAY: We call it finger food, but for kids, Chicken Sticks is a better name. Toss chicken tenders with lemon juice and coarse salt and coat in a little flour before pan-frying. Serve them with the kids’ favorite dipping sauce, oven fries, buttered carrots and soft
rolls. To keep up the sticky fun, how about drippy chocolate freezer pops for dessert?
FRIDAY: For the easiest meal ever, buy cooked shrimp (or boil from frozen) and sprinkle with seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay. Not only is it quick, but it also has a good flavor. Serve the seasoned shrimp with corn-on-the-cob, a packaged green salad and whole-grain rolls. Top leftover ice cream with butterscotch sauce for dessert. SATURDAY: Treat your guests to a company-worthy meal: Scallops With Capers and Tomatoes (see recipe). Serve over angel hair pasta, and add a spinach salad and whole-grain rolls. Buy a cheesecake for dessert.
THE RECIPES Company’s Coming Pork Roast
1 (2- to 3-pound) boneless pork roast
½ cup honey mustard
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 (16-ounce) cans light peach
halves, drained
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place roast in a shallow roasting pan and roast 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together honey mustard, horseradish and brown sugar; set aside.
Place peach halves in shallow baking dish, cut side up. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over peaches; dot with butter.
Spread mustard mixture over surface of roast and continue to roast 20 to 30 more minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Place peaches in oven for last 15 minutes to heat through. Remove roast and let stand 5 minutes. Slice roast and serve surrounded by peaches.
Makes 8 to 12 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 259 calories, 22 g protein, 9 g fat, 21 g carbohydrate, 64 mg cholesterol, 134 mg sodium and 2 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 1 ½.
Tortilla Soup
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 (16-ounce) package frozen peppers with onion for stirfry
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons cumin
1 (28-ounce) can no-saltadded crushed tomatoes
2 to 3 teaspoons canned
chopped jalapeno peppers
3 (14-ounce) cans unsalted
vegetable broth
1 (11-ounce) can Mexicanstyle corn, rinsed
6 ounces tortilla chips, broken
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
Heat oil in a Dutch oven on medium. Add stir-fry mix, garlic and cumin; cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Stir in the tomatoes, peppers, broth and corn. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Ladle into bowls over chips and garnish with cheese and avocado.
Makes about 11 cups. Nutrition information: Each up (prepared with baked tortilla chips and reduced-fat cheese) contains approximately 194 calories, 6 g protein, 7 g fat, 27 g carbohydrate, 3 mg cholesterol, 355 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 2.
Scallops With Capers and Tomatoes
1 ½ pounds large sea scallops (about 12)
1 large clove garlic, minced
½ cup dry white wine
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until opaque throughout. Transfer scallops to a plate and keep warm. Add garlic to pan; cook 15 seconds. Add the wine, tomato, capers, basil and salt to pan and stir together. Spoon mixture over scallops; drizzle evenly with oil just before serving. Adapted from Quick-Fix
Dinners (Oxmoor House). Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 175 calories, 21 g protein, 4 g fat, 8 g carbohydrate, 41 mg cholesterol, 982 mg sodium and 1 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: ½.