7day menu planner
SUNDAY: Make the day special for the family with grilled sirloin steaks for dinner. Pair the steaks with colorful Herbed Corn and Edamame Succotash (see recipe). Alongside, add mixed greens and dinner rolls. Enjoy lemon sherbet for dessert. Plan ahead: Grill 1 pound extra steak and save some edamame succotash for Monday.
MONDAY: For a quick dinner, try Grilled Beef Salad. Slice 1 pound leftover steak into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, combine steak, 1 package mixed greens, diced avocado and halved grape tomatoes. Toss with balsamic vinaigrette. Serve with the leftover succotash and bread sticks. Peaches are dessert.
TUESDAY: What kid doesn’t like Meatball Subs, especially before trick-or-treating? Heat 16 refrigerated or (thawed) frozen meatballs in marinara sauce. Spoon onto toasted submarine rolls. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and serve with green beans. For a fun dessert, make Scarecrow Cookies. Prepare 1 (17-ounce) package sugar cookie mix according to package directions, adding 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Cut out rounds with a 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter. Bake and cool cookies as directed. Frost cookies with 1 (16-ounce) container vanilla frosting. For the scarecrow’s hat, break a wafer cookie in half. Press wafer cookie half into the top of the frosted cookie. Place a whole wafer cookie below the cookie half. Press broken shredded wheat around sides of face for straw hair. Use candycoated pieces and red string licorice to decorate the face. Plan ahead: Save some cookies for Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY: Make a quick dinner tonight with a frozen pot pie. Add a packaged Italian salad. For dessert, enjoy leftover cookies. THURSDAY: It’s easy and inexpensive to prepare, so Lentil Soup (see recipe) is a perfect budget-savvy entree. Serve it with a romaine salad and whole-grain rolls. Try pears for dessert. FRIDAY: Skip meat for Grilled Portobello Quesadillas. Brush
one side of 8 medium wholegrain tortillas with olive oil. Place 4 grilled Portobello mushrooms on each of 4 tortillas (oiled side down). Sprinkle with grated pepper jack cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, oiled side up. Grill 1 to 3 minutes per side or until cheese is melted and tortillas are crisp. Cut into wedges. Serve with Avocado Salad. In a medium bowl, toss 2 cups corn with 1 diced avocado, 2 thinly sliced green onions, 1 tablespoon olive oil and some coarse salt and pepper. Scoop a little strawberry ice cream for dessert.
Plan ahead: Save enough ice cream for Saturday.
SATURDAY: Make your guests feel special with Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta With “Alfredo” Sauce (see recipe) on the menu. Add a Boston lettuce salad and baguettes. Top leftover ice cream with warm fudge sauce for dessert.
THE RECIPES Herbed Corn and Edamame Succotash
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen
shelled edamame 1 tablespoon canola oil
½ cup chopped red bell pepper ¼ cup chopped red onion 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups corn
3 tablespoons dry white wine
or water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 tablespoons chopped fresh
basil
½ teaspoon coarse salt Ground black pepper to taste
Cook edamame according to package directions; drain.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently or until vegetables start to soften. Stir in corn, wine or water, and edamame; cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings. Adapted from Eating Well magazine
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 138 calories, 7 g protein, 5 g fat, 18 g carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 167 mg sodium and 4 g fiber. Carbohydrate choices: 1.
Lentil Soup
2 (14-ounce) cans unsalted
chicken broth
¼ cup water
12 ounces beer OR 1 ½ cups
more chicken broth
1 cup dried lentils
1 cup sliced carrots
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped 3 ounces fully cooked smoked low-fat kielbasa sausage, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons freshly grated
parmesan cheese
In a large pot, heat broth, water, beer and lentils to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes or until lentils are tender, but not mushy. Stir in carrots, celery, onion, sausage, basil, bay leaf and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf and serve; sprinkle each serving with cheese.
Makes about 8 cups. Nutrition information: Each cup contains approximately 152 calories, 10 g protein, 1 g fat, 23 g carbohydrate, 7 mg cholesterol, 176 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 1 ½.
Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta With “Alfredo” Sauce
1 pound angel hair pasta 1 pound uncooked shelled and deveined shrimp, tails removed
1 (5- or 6-ounce) package
fresh spinach
½ cup whole milk 2 tablespoons freshly grated
parmesan cheese ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon crushed red
pepper (or more to taste) 1 teaspoon butter 3 (0.75-ounce) wedges soft Swiss cheese (such as Laughing Cow)
Cook pasta according to package directions; add shrimp the last 3 minutes of cooking; drain pasta over spinach in colander and return to pot.
In a small bowl, combine milk, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, red pepper, butter and soft cheese. Cover and cook on low 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce has thickened slightly; stir often. Pour sauce over pasta and serve.
Makes 6 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 394 calories, 28 g protein, 5 g fat, 59 g carbohydrate, 132 mg cholesterol, 284 mg sodium and 2 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 4.