Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
7day menu planner
SUNDAY: Make family day special with Mustard-Crusted Pork Roast on the menu. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Season 1 (2-pound) trimmed, boneless pork loin roast with coarse salt and pepper to taste. Place in a shallow pan and roast 20 minutes per pound. Meanwhile, place 1 cup garlic croutons in a resealable plastic bag; roll croutons with rolling pin or bottle until crushed. Remove roast from oven; spread surface of pork with 2 tablespoons spicy mustard and sprinkle with crouton crumbs. Return to oven; roast 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until thermometer inserted in roast reads 145 degrees. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand 3 minutes; slice. Add cheese grits, green beans and biscuits. Strawberry ice cream topped with fresh strawberries is an easy dessert.
Plan ahead: Save enough pork for Tuesday and enough ice cream for Wednesday. MONDAY: Tonight, prepare economical Pumpkin Patch Chili (see recipe) for your little pirates and princesses. Alongside, serve a red-tip lettuce salad and cornbread. For dessert, Ghosts in the Graveyard Cupcakes (see recipe) are scary.
Plan ahead: Save enough cupcakes for Tuesday. TUESDAY: Slice the leftover pork and make pork sandwiches on kaiser rolls spread with honey mustard and topped with romaine. Serve with baked sweet potato wedges. Munch on leftover cupcakes for dessert. WEDNESDAY: Taco Salad is a quick dinner. Prepare meat according to package directions for less-sodium taco seasoning. Add canned black beans (rinsed) to packaged salad greens; top with taco filling and salsa. Add corn chips on the side. Serve with guacamole. Scoop leftover ice cream for dessert.
THURSDAY: Who would ever miss meat with this delicious Creamy Mushroom Stew (see recipe) served over noodles? Add a spinach salad and wholegrain rolls. For dessert, pears are light.
FRIDAY: Kids are always in the mood for Chicken Nachos. On a large microwave platter, layer 1 (10-ounce) bag nacho-style tortilla chips, 1 to 2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese and 1 (6- to 8-ounce) package refrigerated cooked Southwestern-style chicken breast strips. Microwave on 100 percent power 30 to 45 seconds or until cheese melts. Top with mild pico de gallo and garnish with sour cream. Serve with carrot and celery sticks. Make dessert easy with grapes. SATURDAY: Invite friends over for Scallops With Pesto Sauce. Rinse 1 pound sea scallops and pat dry with paper towels. In a large skillet, heat 1½ teaspoons canola oil on medium-high. Add scallops and cook 4 minutes, turning once, or until golden and just barely opaque at centers. Remove skillet from heat and put scallops on plates. Add ⅓ cup refrigerated basil pesto and 2 tablespoons whipping cream to skillet (keep off the heat); stir to blend. Spoon sauce onto serving plates and top with scallops. Serve with packaged long-grain and wild rice. Add a Boston lettuce salad and crusty rolls. For dessert, buy a banana cream pie.
THE RECIPES Pumpkin Patch Chili
1 tablespoon canola oil 1 cup chopped onion ½ small green bell pepper, chopped 1 small red bell pepper, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 pound ground turkey breast 1 (14½-ounce) can no-saltadded diced tomatoes with juice 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree 1½ tablespoons chile powder ½ teaspoon black pepper Dash coarse salt 1 (14-ounce) can unsalted chicken broth (see note) ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese ½ cup sour cream
Heat canola oil in a large skillet on medium. Add onion, both bell peppers and garlic, and cook 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in turkey and cook 5 minutes or until no longer pink; drain. Mix in tomatoes with juice, pumpkin puree, chile powder, black pepper, salt and broth. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese and sour cream. Makes about 8 cups. Note: Chili will be thick; add additional chicken broth or water to thin as desired.
Nutrition information: Each serving (prepared with reducedfat cheese and reduced-fat sour cream) contains approximately 172 calories, 18 g protein, 6 g fat, 12 g carbohydrate, 50 mg cholesterol, 251 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 1.
Ghosts in the Graveyard Cupcakes
1 (two-layer size) package white cake mix PLUS ingredients listed on package 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1¼ teaspoons black food color, divided use 2 (16-ounce) containers vanilla frosting 24 oval-shaped cookies Chocolate sprinkles (for decoration) Miniature chocolate chips (for decoration)
Prepare cake mix for cupcakes as directed on package, adding vanilla extract. Tint cake batter gray with ¼ teaspoon black food color. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool cupcakes on wire rack.
Tint 1 container vanilla frosting black with 1 teaspoon black food color. Frost cupcakes, reserving ¼ cup of frosting. Spoon reserved frosting into small resealable plastic bag. Snip a small corner from bag. Pipe “RIP” onto top half of each cookie. Push tombstone cookies gently into cupcakes.
For each cupcake’s ghost, spoon remaining container of white frosting into large resealable plastic bag. Snip a corner from bag. For the body of the ghost, pipe ½inch dollop next to tombstone. Pipe a smaller dollop on top, lifting while squeezing bag so that top of dollop is pointed. This is the head of the ghost. Use chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chips to decorate the ghost’s face.
Note: For easier measurement, ¼ teaspoon food color is equal to 20 to 25 drops. Makes 24 cupcakes. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 255 calories, 2 g protein, 10 g fat, 39 g carbohydrate, 16 mg cholesterol, 233 mg sodium and no fiber. Carbohydrate choices: 2½.
Creamy Mushroom Stew
8 ounces egg noodles 1 tablespoon butter 2 cups chopped onion 1 pound slicedcrimini mushrooms 1 (14-ounce) can unsalted vegetable broth 3 tablespoons dry sherry 1½ cups sour cream 3 tablespoons quick-mixing flour Coarse salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Cook noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter on medium. Add onion and cook 10 minutes or until softened. Increase heat to medium-high; add mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes or until the mushrooms lose their moisture and are browned. Remove to a bowl.
In the same skillet, stir in broth and sherry to deglaze the pan. Bring to boil; cook until the mixture is reduced by one-third. Reduce heat to low and return the mushrooms and onion to skillet. Remove pan from heat; mix together the sour cream and flour and blend into the mushrooms. Return skillet to stove and continue cooking over low heat, just until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon over cooked noodles and garnish with parsley.
Makes 6 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving (prepared with reducedfat sour cream and no-yolk noodles) contains approximately 313 calories, 11 g protein, 10 g fat, 44 grams carbohydrate, 36 mg cholesterol, 344 mg sodium and 3 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 3.