7day menu planner

SUNDAY: It’s a good day for Grilled Asian Steak and Summer Squash. Place 1 (1 ½ -pound) flank steak and ½ cup Asian barbecue sauce (such as San-J or another brand, or make your own) in a resealable plastic bag; turn steak to coat. Marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or more, turning occasionally. Heat grill to medium. Remove steak and discard marinade. Brush 3 medium zucchini or yellow squash (halved and sliced lengthwise) with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil; season with coarse salt and pepper. Grill steak 11 to 21 minutes for medium-rare to medium; turn occasionally. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Grill squash 15 minutes; turn occasionally. Heat another ¼ cup barbecue sauce. Carve meat across grain, pour sauce over steak and serve with squash. Accompany the steak with Brown Rice Salad. Mix together 3 cups cooked brown rice, 1 ½ cups cucumber slices (quartered and seeded),

¼ cup sliced kalamata olives, 1 large chopped tomato, 1 small chopped onion, ¼ cup chopped parsley and ½ cup Italian dressing. Serve with wholegrain bread. Surprise everyone with Cookies and Cream Angel Cake (see recipe). You could add chocolate ice cream alongside for a show-stopping dessert. Plan ahead: Cook enough brown rice for Tuesday. Save enough steak and cake for Monday. Save some ice cream for Wednesday.

MONDAY: Make a Beef Salad for dinner. Toss together 6 cups cold, coarsely chopped iceberg lettuce, 1 (15-ounce) can black beans (rinsed), 1 (11-ounce) can Mexican-style corn (rinsed). Place thinly sliced cooked (leftover) steak over top. Drizzle

¼ cup ranch dressing and ⅓ cup salsa separately over beef. Sprinkle with 1 cup broken baked tortilla chips. Leftover cake is dessert tonight.

TUESDAY: Vegetable Curry (see recipe) takes advantage of the summer garden’s bounty. Serve the vegetable blend over leftover brown rice. Add a green salad and whole-grain pita bread. For dessert, fresh pineapple chunks are sweet and juicy.

WEDNESDAY: Help the kids make Chicken and Sour Cream Enchiladas tonight. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1 cup EACH sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese and salsa and 1 (9- or 10-ounce) package cooked, carved chicken. Divide and spoon down center of 6 (6- or 8-inch) flour tortillas. Fold tortillas in thirds and place seam-side down in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with ½ cup salsa; cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with ¼ cup additional cheese; bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts. Top with chopped tomatoes and lettuce. Serve with canned vegetarian refried beans. Leftover ice cream for dessert. THURSDAY: Make it quick tonight with a B.T. Pizza. Top a ready-to-bake whole-grain thin pizza crust with 4 slices bacon (crumbled), plenty of diced tomatoes, sliced fresh basil and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake as directed on package or until cheese melts and pizza is hot. Serve with a packaged green salad. Slurp on watermelon for dessert. FRIDAY: Tighten your purse strings with Turkey Apricot Salad Sandwiches. Combine 1 ½ cups chopped cooked turkey,

¼ cup thinly sliced celery, ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons EACH unsalted cashews, chopped dried apricots, chopped green onions, plain low-fat yogurt, and coarse salt and pepper to taste. Spread on 4 slices pumpernickel bread; top with a lettuce leaf and a second slice of bread. Cut in half and serve with corn-on-the-cob and sliced tomatoes. Fresh peaches are dessert. SATURDAY: Your lucky guests will dine on Tuna Steaks With Avocado Salsa (see recipe) tonight. Try this Spicy Potato Salad for a perfect side dish. Cook 2 pounds unpeeled large red potatoes in boiling water 20 to 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Cut into

½ -inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Whisk together 3 tablespoons EACH vegetable oil and white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon chili powder, ¾ teaspoon coarse salt and ⅛ teaspoon hot sauce; pour over potatoes; toss. Cover and chill 1 hour. Stir in 1 (8 ¾ -ounce) can corn (rinsed), 1 small carrot (shredded), ¼ cup sliced black olives and 4 green onions (sliced); toss to mix. Add whole-grain rolls. For dessert, spoon vanilla pudding into wine goblets. Top each with a teaspoon or so of raspberry jam and stir. Garnish with fresh raspberries and you have raspberry swirl.

THE RECIPES Cookies and Cream Angel Cake

9 chocolate sandwich cookies, divided use 1 (16-ounce) package white angel food cake mix 1 ¼ cups cold water 1 package fluffy white frosting mix ½ cup boiling water

Move oven rack to lowest position, removing other racks. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Finely crush three of the cookies. Cut the remaining cookies in half using a sharp knife.

In an extra-large mixing bowl, beat cake mix and cold water with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium 1 minute. Carefully fold crushed cookies into batter. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch angel food cake pan (tube pan). Do not use fluted tube cake pan or 9-inch angel cake pan, or the batter will overflow while baking. Bake 37 to 47 minutes or until top is dark golden-brown and cracks feel very dry and are not sticky. Immediately turn pan upside down over a heat-safe bottle or funnel until cake is completely cool, about 2 hours. Run knife around edge of cake; remove from pan. Place on serving plate.

In a small bowl, beat frosting mix and boiling water on low 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high 5 to 7 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until stiff peaks form. Frost cake; top frosted cake with sandwich cookie halves just before serving.

Makes 12 slices.

Adapted from Betty Crocker: The Big Book of Cakes (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013)

Vegetable Curry

3 cups broccoli florets 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon butter 1 small onion, chopped 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 ½ tablespoons curry powder ½ teaspoon coarse salt ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) 1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth 1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 small yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced 3 carrots, thinly sliced ½ cup half-and-half ½ pound small fresh green beans Roasted peanuts for garnish

Combine broccoli and water in a medium bowl and cover; microwave on high (100 percent power) 1 ½ minutes; drain; set aside.

Melt butter on medium in a Dutch oven; add onion and cook 4 minutes or until softened. Stir in flour, curry powder, salt and cayenne. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, 8 minutes or until thickened. Stir in reserved broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, half-and-half and green beans; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until vegetables are softened. Garnish and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Tuna Steaks With Avocado Salsa

Vegetable oil or nonstick spray ½ cup chopped red onion ½ teaspoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon firmly packed light brown sugar ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper ½ cup orange sections, chopped ⅓ cup chopped tomato ⅓ cup chopped peeled and pitted avocado 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 1 ½ pounds tuna steak

Cook onion and garlic in a skillet coated with vegetable oil over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until onion is softened. Stir in vinegar, sugar and red pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in oranges, tomato, avocado and lime juice.

Meanwhile, coat a skillet with cooking oil and heat mediumhigh. Add tuna steaks and cook 4 minutes per side. Halve each steak and serve immediately with salsa.

Makes 4 servings.