Wednesday (Meatless)
Sunday (Family)
The family will rave about this PecanCoated Chicken: Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, lightly beat 2 egg whites. Coat 4 chicken cutlets with flour mixture and then dip into egg whites. Next, coat chicken with 1 cup finely chopped pecans. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray, 12 to 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Serve with rice and Scalloped Cabbage (see recipe). Add crusty rolls. Enjoy Blueberry Cobbler for dessert.
Plan ahead: Prepare some extra rice and freeze for Friday. Save enough cabbage and cobbler for Monday.
Monday (Express)
Buy and heat Bratwurst for a fast meal. Smear it with spicy brown mustard. Serve with quartered red potatoes tossed with a little butter, chopped fresh dill and the leftover cabbage. Add rye bread. Heat the leftover cobbler for dessert.
Tuesday (Kids)
All the “kids” at our house liked the sloppy joe sensibility of Barbecued Turkey and Beans (see recipe). We served it open-face over toasted whole-grain buns. Add oven fries (from frozen) and deli carrot salad. Pears make a good dessert.
Tip: Adults might want to add sliced jalapeno peppers to their sandwiches.
Plan ahead: If time permits, assemble tomorrow’s lasagna tonight, cover and refrigerate.
Lazy Lasagna works for me! Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 2 (15-ounce) containers reduced-fat ricotta cheese, 4 beaten egg whites, 1 cup (of 2 cups total) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup (of 1/2 cup total) freshly grated Parmesan cheese; mix well. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread 1 cup (of 4 cups total) red pasta sauce. Layer 4 (of 12 total) uncooked lasagna noodles, 1 more cup pasta sauce and half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat layers of noodles, sauce and cheese mixture. Top with remaining 4 noodles and last cup sauce. Cover with nonstick foil; bake 1 hour. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake 10 more minutes; let stand 10 minutes.
Serve with a packaged Italian Salad and garlic bread.
How about Tapioca Pudding for dessert?
Plan ahead: Save half of the Lasagna for Thursday night.
Tip: if the Lasagna was assembled previously and refrigerated, add about 10 minutes to the baking time.
Thursday (Heat and Eat)
You’ve done the work; now relax and reheat the leftover Lasagna for an easy dinner. Serve with a packaged green salad and Italian bread. Add refreshing Lemon Sherbet for dessert.
Plan ahead: Thaw frozen rice in refrigerator for Friday.
Friday (Budget)
Buy some canned low-sodium tomato soup and add leftover rice for your own tomato rice soup. We liked the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and any style pickles on the side. Make sundaes by spooning fresh strawberries over Chocolate
Ice Cream.
Saturday (Easy Entertaining)
Prepare Spicy Lamb Loin Chops with Tomatoes and Mint (see recipe). Serve them with this White Bean Salad with Red Onion: in a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup finely diced red onion, 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar; let stand for 15 minutes. In medium bowl, mix the vinegar and onion with 1 (15-ounce) can rinsed white beans, 1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons rinsed capers, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and coarse salt and pepper to taste. Toss to mix.
Alongside, add steamed fresh sliced zucchini and whole-grain rolls. Buy fruit tarts for dessert.
SCALLOPED CABBAGE (SUNDAY) 2 cups crushed cornflakes
cereal
2 tablespoons melted
butter
1 (10-ounce) package
shredded coleslaw mix
1/2 medium sweet onion (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise 1 (101/2-ounce) can condensed reducedsodium reduced-fat cream of celery soup 1 cup shredded 50% reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 11-by-7-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine cereal and butter; spoon half of mixture into dish. Top with coleslaw mix and onion. Mix together milk, mayonnaise and soup; pour over cabbage. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining cereal mixture. Bake, covered, 50 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees, remove cover and bake 10 more minutes or until bubbly.
Per serving: 205 calories, 7 grams protein, 7 grams fat (30% calories from fat), 3.6 grams saturated fat, 30 grams carbohydrate, 17 milligrams cholesterol, 525 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.
Carb count: 2.
BARBECUED TURKEY AND BEANS (TUESDAY) 2 pounds skinless bone-in
turkey thighs 1 (28-ounce) can
vegetarian baked beans 11/2 cups chopped onion 1 cup barbecue sauce 1 tablespoon spicy brown
(or other) mustard 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon coarse salt
Place turkey in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine beans, onions, barbecue sauce, mustard, cumin and salt; mix well. Spoon over turkey. Cook 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high. Remove turkey and shred with 2 forks; discard bones. Return meat to cooker, stir well and serve.
Per serving: 191 calories, 16 grams protein, 3 grams fat (14% calories from fat), 0.8 grams saturated fat, 23 grams carbohydrate, 56 milligrams cholesterol, 797 milligrams sodium, 4 grams fiber.
Carb count: 1.5.
SPICY LAMB LOIN CHOPS WITH TOMATOES AND MINT (SATURDAY)
For the chops:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil,
divided
4 cloves garlic, grated 2 teaspoons freshly
ground black pepper 2 teaspoons coarse salt 11/2 teaspoons crushed red
pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano 6 to 8 lamb chops
(4 ounces each)
For the tomatoes:
2 pints cherry tomatoes,
halved
3 tablespoons chopped
fresh mint 2 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider
vinegar
Coarse salt
In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, black pepper, salt, crushed red pepper and oregano.
Rub mixture over chops and leave covered in a medium bowl or plate for an hour, refrigerated. When ready to cook, heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a cast iron or ovenproof skillet on high. Add the remaining oil and swirl skillet to coat well. When pan is hot, add chops; sear on each side 2 minutes until they start to turn light brown. Transfer skillet to oven and cook, turning once, until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees (about 4 minutes per side). Remove chops to a serving dish and cover with foil. While the lamb rests, prepare the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl: add mint, olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and toss to coat well. Serve alongside chops.
Per serving: 564 calories, 32 grams protein, 43 grams fat (68% calories from fat), 13.9 grams saturated fat, 12 grams carbohydrate, 120 milligrams cholesterol, 688 milligrams sodium, 3 grams fiber.
Carb count: 1.