7-Day Menu Planner
A week’s worth of quick, healthful meals for budgetminded families
SUNDAY: Family Day is always special, so make it extra-special with Beef and Green Olive Stew (see recipe). Serve the savory dish over your mashed potatoes. Add a spinach salad and crusty rolls on the side. How about strawberry ice cream for dessert?
Plan ahead: Save enough stew for Monday and enough ice cream for Thursday.
MONDAY: Enjoy the leftover stew for an easy meal. For a little variety, serve it over brown rice this time. Add a mixed green salad and whole-grain bread. Enjoy sliced oranges for dessert.
TUESDAY: Tonight’s no-meat dinner, Penne Pasta With Caramelized Onions and Chickpeas (see recipe), has lots of flavor and is easy to prepare. Serve it with a lettuce wedge and garlic bread. For dessert, make instant chocolate pudding. Slice a banana and stir it into the pudding for some extra flavor.
Plan ahead: If time permits, make tomorrow’s posole tonight because it takes a little longer to prepare.
WEDNESDAY: You won’t know you’re saving money, because the flavor of Pueblo Posole With Pork and Green Chiles (see recipe) is so rich. Serve it with a romaine salad and cornbread. Strawberries are a light dessert.
THURSDAY: Give yourself a break tonight and serve your favorite rotisserie chicken. Alongside, how about o’brien potatoes (from frozen), a packaged Caesar salad and whole-grain rolls? Scoop some leftover ice cream for dessert.
FRIDAY: Treat the kids to allbeef or turkey hot dogs. Serve the dogs in whole-grain buns. Add baked chips. Alongside, spread peanut butter on celery sticks to munch on. Apple slices are good for dessert.
SATURDAY: Invite your favorite friends for Mustard-Crusted Salmon: Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place 4 (4 to 6 ounces each) salmon filets skin side down on a rimmed, foil-lined baking pan. In a small bowl, mix together 2 to 3 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard and 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup. Spread over each filet; sprinkle panko breadcrumbs over the mustard mixture. Bake 10 to 12 minutes (according to thickness) or until salmon is opaque in center. Serve with roasted red potatoes, sauteed spinach, a mixed green salad and whole-grain rolls. For dessert, peach sorbet and chocolate wafer cookies are a perfect combo.
Tip: When salmon is done, carefully remove from foil, leaving the skin behind.
THE RECIPES Beef and Green Olive Stew
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 ½ pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 cup red wine
1 (14 ½-ounce) can reducedsodium beef broth
1 (14 ½-ounce) can no-saltadded diced tomatoes with garlic
¼ cup tomato paste 1 (7-ounce) jar green olives with pimentos, drained
Combine flour, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Lightly coat beef with flour mixture. Coat bottom of a 4-quart or larger slow cooker with oil; add beef, onions, oregano, fennel, wine, beef broth, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir until combined. Cook on high 4 to 6 hours, or on low 8 to 10 hours. (No stirring is necessary during cooking.) Stir in olives and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes; serve.
Makes 6 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 296 calories, 25 g protein, 14 g fat, 14 g carbohydrate, 71 mg cholesterol, 809 mg sodium and 3 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 1
Penne Pasta With Caramelized Onions and Chickpeas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion (such as
Vidalia), thinly sliced
1 large bunch escarole (endive), torn into pieces ¼ cup golden raisins
8 ounces multigrain penne pasta
1 (15 ½-ounce) can chickpeas, lightly drained Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium. Add onion; cook 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Add escarole and raisins; cook, turning occasionally about 3 minutes or until leaves are tender and stem ends still crunchy.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return pasta to pot. To escarole mixture, add chickpeas with some liquid. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until heated through. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese. Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 378 calories, 14 g protein, 6 g fat, 70 g carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 303 mg sodium and 13 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 4 ½
Pueblo Posole With Pork and Green Chiles
2 tablespoons canola oil 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons Mexican or other dried oregano
¾ teaspoon cumin
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 ½-inch chunks
5 ¼ cups unsalted chicken broth
½ teaspoon coarse salt 2 (15-ounce) cans whole white or yellow hominy, rinsed
1 to 2(7-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
In a Dutch oven, heat oil 1 minute on medium-high. Add onions, garlic, oregano and cumin; cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes or until softened and lightly browned. Add pork, broth, 1 cup water and salt. Adjust heat so liquid barely ripples; cover and simmer slowly 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally or until pork is nearly tender. Mix in hominy and chiles and simmer, uncovered, until pork is forktender and liquid is reduced slightly, about 30 minutes more. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 356 calories, 34 g protein, 10 g fat, 31 g carbohydrate, 94 mg cholesterol, 1,113 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 2