Tag Archives: Dinner Menus

Mar 5-8 Weekly Menu and Shopping List – Tested Feb 27-Mar 1

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Menu

Monday – Teriyaki Chicken With Snow Peas, Bell Pepper and Quinoa

Tuesday – Pasta and Vegetable Gratin and Side Salad – Tomatoes, Cucumber, Cuties

Wednesday – Baked Lemon-Garlic Tilapia, Yam Rounds, Zucchini

Thursday – Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables (Broccoli, Yellow Squash, Carrots, Onions) and Peanuts over Brown Rice and Side Salad

Recipes

Teriyaki Chicken With Snow Peas, Bell Pepper and Quinoa

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Teriyaki Chicken with Snow Peas and Bell Pepper

Ingredients

1.75 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast – Use 3.5 lbs. if you are going to prep the chicken for the chicken stir fry later in the week.

1 C teriyaki sauce – look for low sodium and no preservatives

3/4 C Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids, divided

1 C Quinoa

1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/2 lbs. snow peas, rinsed

1 pinch brown sugar

Instructions

Pre Heat Oven 375

1. Rinse and cut chicken into 2 -3″ chunks. Ideally prepare an additional 1.75 lbs. of chicken for the chicken stir fry later in the week – you can store it in the refrigerator until you need it later in the week.

2.  Put into a lightly sprayed baking/ roasting pan.

3.  Combine teriyaki and 1/2 C of Braggs Liquid Amino Acids and pour over chicken.

4.  Pop in oven for 20 minutes or until chicken springs back to the touch and is not pink inside.

5. Follow package directions and make Quinoa.

6. Place bell pepper strips and snow peas in a lightly sprayed skillet over medium heat.  Pour in 1/4 C Braggs Liquid Amino Acids and a pinch of brown sugar and sauté 3-4 minutes until just tender. Set aside.

7. When Quinoa is done, remove from heat.  Let sit with lid on until you are ready to serve.

8. Serve by placing a serving of quinoa in the bottom of wide shallow bowl or plate.  Top with chicken and vegetables.

9. Make sure to drip some teriyaki-Braggs sauce on top for an extra juicy meal!

10. Save all leftovers for the chicken stir fry night.  You should have some bell peppers and snow peas left. Save them in the Braggs sauce in the refrigerator.

Pre Prep Opportunities

1. Rinse and cut chicken ahead of time and store in refrigerator.

2. Cut bell pepper ahead of time and store in refrigerator.

3. Make entire meal ahead of time. Store components separately in the refrigerator.  Warm when ready, put together, and serve!

Recipe 

Pasta and Vegetable Gratin and Side Salad

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids for 2 meals or 1 meal and lunches

Kid's Portion, Pasta and Vegetable Gratin with Side Salad

Ingredients

16 oz. penne pasta

1 yellow squash, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 scallions, finely diced

1 C frozen peas

1.5 C fresh or frozen broccoli

1-2 cloves garlic

1 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 T butter or plant-based margarine

1 T unbleached flour

2 1/4 C milk or 2 C coconut milk drink (original flavor)

1/4 C grated parmesan (cow’s milk) or manchenga (sheep’s milk) cheese

1/8 t nutmeg

1/4 t dill

1/2 t salt

1/4 t paprika

pinch cayenne pepper

pepper to taste

2 T bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Cook pasta al dente. Pour into shallow baking dish.

2. Stir all vegetables, including garlic. into pasta.

3. Sprinkle cheese on top and lightly mix in.

4.  Melt butter in sauce pan.  Stir in flour, let bubble and whisk until it turns beige.  Stir for about a minute.

5.  Add milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

5. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and spices.

6. Pour sauce over pasta mixture and stir slightly.  Sprinkle on bread crumbs.

7. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly and brown on top. Consider baking the yams for tomorrow at the same time.

8. Serve and see if you miss the meat in this hearty vegetarian dish!

Pre Prep Opportunities

1.  Cook pasta ahead of time and store in refrigerator.

2. Dice all vegetables ahead and store in the refrigerator or buy pre chopped.

3. Prepare recipe through step 3 and store in refrigerator until ready to make the sauce.

Recipe

Baked Lemon-Garlic Tilapia, Yam Rounds, Zucchini

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Baked Lemon Garlic Tilapia, Yam Rounds and Zucchini

Ingredients

2 yams

1.75 lbs. tilapia fillets

3 T fresh lemon juice

1 t basil

1 t dried parsley flakes

1 t paprika

1 t dried thyme

1/2 t salt

2 zucchini

pepper to taste

Make Ahead

1. Bake yams in 350 oven for 45 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. If time has passed you by on this one, and that has happened to me more than once, pull a frozen vegetable out of the freezer and cook that in the microwave.

Instructions

Pre heat oven to 375
1. Lightly spray a roasting pan.

2. Measure out and combine spices.

3. Place tilapia in pan, and pour lemon juice on top, followed by spices.

4. Place in oven for 20-30 minutes or until tilapia cracks and springs back to the touch.

5. Consider making the brown rice for tomorrow…

6. While tilapia is cooking, slice zucchini, place in a sauté pan lightly sprayed with canola oil and sauté until just tender. Add 1/2 T butter or vegetable based margarine on zucchini and sprinkle one pinch of salt.

7. Cut yams into 1/2″ rounds.  sprinkle two pinches of cinnamon sugar on top – just enough to catch the taste buds, and warm in the microwave for 45 seconds – 1 minute or until just cooked through.

8.  Plate yams, zucchini and fish and serve!


Pre Prep Opportunities

1. Make the yams earlier in the week and store in the refrigerator.

2. Cut zucchini and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Pre-measure spices and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Recipe

Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables over Brown Rice and Side Salad

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids + 2 Lunches

Chicken Stir Fry and Side Salad

Ingredients

1.75 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked – baked in teriyaki sauce.

1.5 C broccoli, cut into small pieces

2 carrots, cut into thin rounds

1 yellow squash, diced

1 onion, diced (or buy pre-chopped)

1/4 C Braggs Liquid Amino Acids

left over snow peas and bell pepper and left over sauce

1 C peanuts, roasted, unsalted


Make Ahead:

1. Make brown rice according to package directions.

Instructions

1. If you weren’t able to make brown rice ahead of time (and this is often the case with me), make white rice or quinoa according to package directions. You can make this a day ahead of time – you just have to be organized… Not always my strong suit…

2. Pull cooked chicken out of the refrigerator. Hopefully chicken was cooked when you made the teriyaki chicken earlier in the week. If not, see Teriyaki Chicken recipe to make chicken.

2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

3.  Portion a small salad on each plate, and top with some of the squash, carrots, and some cucumber and a tomato.  Drizzle no oil or low fat salad dressing.

3. Put broccoli, carrots, squash, and onion in a Wok or large sauté pan, lightly sprayed with canola oil spray. Pour in Braggs Liquid Amino Acids. Cook until just tender.

3.  Add chicken to warm.

4. Add bell peppers and snow peas with their sauce to warm.

5. Serve stir fry mixture over brown rice and top with peanuts (optional).

Pre Prep Opportunities

1. Make brown rice ahead of time. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Make and cut the chicken ahead of time. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Prepare all vegetables ahead of time and store in refrigerator so they are ready to go into the Wok or large sauté pan.

Shopping List

Entrees

3.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

1.75 lbs. tilapia

Veggies

2 yellow squash

2 medium zucchini

1 large carrots, thinly sliced

2 bell peppers

1/2 lb snow peas

1 bunch broccoli (or pkg of frozen broccoli)

2 scallions

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

1 yam

8 C salad greens

1 cucumber

2 tomatoes

Fruit

2 cuties

1 lemon

Frozen

1 C frozen peas

Dairy (substitute as needed)

1 C cheddar cheese, grated

2 T unsalted butter/ or plant-based margarine

2 1/4 C low-fat milk

1/4 C grated parmesan or manchenga cheese

Dry Goods

1 box penne pasta

1 T unbleached flour

1/8 t grated nutmeg

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t dried dill

salt and pepper

2 pinches brown sugar

2 T bread crumbs 2

1 C teriyaki sauce

1 C Braggs Liquid Amino Acids

1 C Quinoa

1 C Brown Rice

1 C dry, unsalted peanuts (optional for stir fry meal)

1/4 C pumpkin seeds


Weekly Dinner Menu and Shopping List – Tested Jan 17-20

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Weekly Dinner Menu

Tested Jan 17-20 

Menu

Monday:  Seasoned Tilapia, with Onions and Red Peppers, Green Beans, Fresh Avocado, and a Side Salad

Tuesday: Hawaiian Chicken, Broccoli and Rice

Wednesday: Meatloaf w/ Ground Chicken and Beans, Broccoli

Thursday: Lettuce (or Tortilla) Hawaiian Chicken Tacos, with Mango, Avocado, Cheese, Tomato and Lettuce

Bonus: Weekend Dinner or Lunch:  Meatloaf Sandwiches!

 

Pre-Prep

There are lots of pre-prep opportunities to make the actual dinner time prep even faster and easier. They are mentioned at the end of each recipe.  Consider carving out time at the beginning of the week to get some or all of the suggested pre-prep done.

 

 

Recipes

Seasoned Tilapia, with Onions and Red Peppers, Green Beans, Fresh Avocado, and a Side Salad

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Seasoned Tilapia with Onions and Red Peppers, Green Beans and Side Salad

Ingredients
1 Large Onion

2 Red Bell Peppers

1.5 lbs. Tilapia

2 t Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends Seafood Magic

Green Beans, Fresh or Frozen

Greens for Salad

1 Tomato

1 Avocado

Low Fat Dressing – I use no oil balsamic or a low-fat balsamic vinaigrette

Instructions

Pre-heat Grill to high or oven to 350

  1. Cut onion and bell pepper into strips.  (If you can buy pre-chopped, go for it.)
  2. Rinse tilapia and place on foil on top of a baking sheet.
  3. Sprinkle Seafood Magic seasoning on tilapia and top with onions and red bell pepper.
  4. Place on grill and turn heat down to low, or place in oven.
  5. Place enough green beans for your family in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 2 ½ minutes.  Check and heat for another 2 ½ minutes.  Repeat until beans are done. (Based on how quickly your microwave cooks, adjust the time intervals as necessary.)
  6. In the meantime check tilapia after 4-5 minutes.
  7. Portion greens on plates and top with tomato and avocado and a light sprinkling of dressing.  For my kids, I put a few leaves of lettuce, and separate the tomato and avocado on the plate.  I also sprinkle a bit of salt on the avocado.
  8. Pull tilapia when the top of the fish begins to crack and the fish springs back to the touch (like in baking).
  9. Serve and see if this isn’t one of the easiest dinner recipes out there!

 Pre-Prep Opportunity

1.  Cut onions and bell pepper up to a day ahead of time.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Hawaiian Chicken, Broccoli, Tomato, and Rice

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids + Enough Chicken for another meal (Hawaiian Tacos) + 2-3 Lunches

Hawaiian Chicken, Broccoli and Rice

Ingredients

1 Cup White Rice (If you can make ahead, change to brown rice as it is healthier but takes longer to cook)

2 Cups Water

3.0 lbs. of Chicken (You will be cooking all the chicken for the week.  If you are cooking this stand alone, use 1.5 lbs. of chicken.)

Braggs Hawaiian Dressing and Marinade

1 Bunch Broccoli*

1 t salt*

1 T Basil*

1 T Oregano*

1 T Minced Onion*

1 Tomato

*Make a double batch so that the broccoli is cooked for the week. You just have to warm up!

Instructions

Preheat Grill to High or Oven to 350

  1. Measure 1 Cup rice and 2 Cups Water in a rice cooker and turn on. Or prepare using your preferred method.
  2. Wash Chicken and mix with Hawaiian Dressing. Set aside.
  3. Wash Broccoli and cut into small florets.
  4. Place on lightly sprayed roasting pan and sprinkle salt, basil, oregano, and minced onion.
  5. Place Chicken on grill and turn heat down to medium, or place in oven.
  6. Place broccoli in oven.
  7. Slice tomato and divide across plates.
  8. Check on broccoli and chicken.  Stir broccoli and if chicken is on grill turn it over.
  9. Broccoli should be done in 8 -9 minutes.  Oven chicken should take about 15-20 minutes and grilled chicken 12-15 minutes, (flipping chicken halfway through.)

10. Portion plates with chicken, rice, broccoli, and tomato.

11. Drizzle some extra Hawaiian Dressing on the chicken.

12. Serve and enjoy!

Pre-Prep Opportunities
1.  Make rice a day ahead or earlier in the day that you will be serving it.  Use brown rice since it will have more time to cook.

2.  Wash chicken a day or two ahead and store in fridge.

3.  Wash and cut the broccoli a day or two ahead and store in the fridge.

 

 

 

Meatloaf w/ Ground Chicken and Beans, Broccoli, Tomato

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids for 2 meals -Meatloaf sandwiches, are in you future! YUM!)

Meatloaf w/ Ground Chicken and Beans, Broccoli

Ingredients

1 15 oz. can or other shelf stable container of White Beans

½ of a 15 oz. can or other shelf stable container of Black Beans

5 Cloves Garlic, minced or pressed – include the garlic membranes if pressing

1 lb. Ground Chicken*

1 lb. Ground Beef*

1 small onion, diced – or purchase pre-chopped onion

5 oz. of tomato paste (buy smallest can and use it all)

Olive or canola oil spray

1 Bunch Broccoli**

1 t Salt

1 T Basil

1 T Oregano

1 T Minced Onion

1 Tomato

*You can substitute turkey or pork for chicken and beef – be sure to modify your shopping list accordingly.

**If you made all the broccoli yesterday, you have saved yourself some time. Just warm it up for today!

Instructions

Ahead of Time:

Mash white and black beans with 5 cloves of minced or pressed garlic (throw in garlic membranes if pressing).  Store in fridge until ready to use.

Side Bar:  Snack opportunity!  Warm a small portion of bean and garlic mixture and spread on rice cracker or other cracker.  My son loves this as a snack on teriyaki rice crackers!

Pre-heat oven to 350

  1. Lightly spray loaf pan with olive or canola oil.
  2. Mix bean-garlic mixture, ground chicken, ground beef and diced onion in a bowl.
  3. Form mixture into a meatloaf shape and put in loaf pan.
  4. Top with tomato paste.
  5. Pop in oven for 1 – 1.25 hours, until meatloaf starts to pull away from pan.  (Like in baking)
  6. Wash and slice tomato, portioning across 4 plates.
  7. Wash broccoli and cut into small florets.*
  8. Sprinkle with 1 t Salt, 1 T Basil, 1 T Oregano, 1 T Minced Onion.
  9. Catch up on the mail, help kids with homework, drive a carpool, call your mother – you can relax for a while!

10. Place broccoli in oven for about the last 5 minutes of the meatloaf’s bake time, stirring broccoli around just before you take the meatloaf out.

11. When meatloaf starts to pull from the sides of the pan, remove from oven – let rest for 5-10 minutes.

12. Remove broccoli from oven after about 10 minutes, when broccoli stems can be easily pierced with a fork.

  1. 13.  Portion meatloaf and broccoli and serve!

14. This is not the way your mother made meatloaf, but it is really delicious!

Pre-Prep Opportunities

  1. Put the meatloaf together ahead of time, place in loaf pan and store in fridge until ready to use.   All that is left to do is pop it in the oven.  Because it will be cold, you might consider putting the meatloaf in the oven earlier – during preheating.
  2. Wash and cut the broccoli up to two days before.

*If you made the broccoli in yesterday’s meal, skip broccoli preparation steps.   You just have to warm it up!

Lettuce or Tortilla Hawaiian Chicken Tacos, with Mango, Avocado, Cheese, Tomato and Lettuce

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids; with extra chicken for another dinner or 4 lunches

Lettuce (or Tortilla) Hawaiian Chicken Tacos, with Mango, Avocado, Cheese, Tomato and Lettuce

Ingredients

1 Avocado

1 Tomato

1 Mango

Remaining ½ can of Black Beans

Whole Wheat Tortillas, corn tortillas and/or big leaves of lettuce – boston leaf lettuce, romaine, other good “sandwich” lettuce

Cheddar Cheese –  derived from cow or goat or soy

1 radish (optional)

1.5 lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast – use the left over from the Hawaiian Chicken

Salsa

Bragg Hawaiian Fat Free Dressing and Marinade

Instructions

  1. Slice and Dice Avocado, Tomato, and Mango.
  2. Dice chicken and warm on skillet over medium heat.  Set chicken aside.
  3. Heat Tortilla(s) on a skillet over medium heat.
  4. When tortilla starts to bubble ( is heated through), flip tortilla, sprinkle cheese on the hot side, and turn off heat.
  5. As cheese begins to melt, sprinkle chicken, avocado, tomato, mango, radish (if including) and black beans.
  6. If using flour tortillas, roll into a “burrito”: fold the bottom 1/8 of the tortilla on top of the chicken and other stuffings.  Fold in the sides  of the burrito and roll the tortilla into a log.
  7. Set on the side of the grill and make one for each person.
  8. If using corn tortillas, serve as a taco
  9. If using lettuce (and I used tortillas for the kids and lettuce for me):
    1. Warm chicken and beans.
    2. Sprinkle cheese in lettuce cup
    3. Add chicken and beans
    4. Top with avocado, tomato and mango, salsa, and Hawaiian dressing.

10. Serve – with carbs or without!

Pre-Prep Opportunities

1.  Make tacos as the second chicken meal of the week.  Prepare all chicken at the beginning of the week, storing leftovers in the refrigerator for later use.

2. Cut Mango, tomato, and radish ahead of time.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Bonus Meal:  Meatloaf Sandwiches!

Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Meatloaf Sandwiches with Side Salad

Ingredients

Left over meatloaf from above

Baguette / baguette rolls or other preferred bread

Barbeque Sauce

Side Salad – what’s leftover in your fridge?  Lettuce, tomato, nuts, sunflower seeds, avocado, broccoli, green beans, bell pepper, mango, radish? – Finish things up!

Instructions

  1. Slice meatloaf into ½ – ¾ inch slices.
  2. Lightly spray griddle with canola oil and warm meatloaf on medium heat, flipping after a few minutes.
  3. Portion salad on plates.
  4. Spread barbeque sauce on bread – consider using ½ a roll or less bread since the meatloaf is so satisfying.
  5. When Meatloaf is heated through, 6-8 minutes, make into a sandwich and serve.
  6. Now that’s a sandwich!

Shopping List

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Entrees

1.5 lbs. Tilapia

3.0 lbs. of Chicken

1 lb. Ground Chicken*

1 lb. Ground Beef*

* substitute ground turkey if preferred

Vegetables

1 Large Onion

2 Red Bell Peppers

Green Beans, Fresh or Frozen

2 Tomatoes

1 Avocado

Greens for Salad

lettuce, romaine, other good “sandwich” lettuce

2 Bunches Broccoli – for 2 meals

1 Tomato

5 Cloves Garlic, minced or pressed – use the garlic membranes if pressing

1 small onion, diced – or purchase pre-chopped onion

1 Avocado

1 Tomato

1 radish (optional)

Fruit

1 Mango

Dry Goods

2 t Salmon Seasoning

Low Fat Dressing – I use no oil balsamic

1 Cup White Rice (If you can make ahead change to brown rice as it takes much longer to cook)

Bragg Hawaiian Fat Free Dressing and Marinade

1 t salt

1 T Basil

1T Oregano

1 T Minced Onion

1 15 oz can or other shelf stable container of White Beans

1 15 oz can or other shelf stable container of Black Beans

Olive or canola oil spray

3.5 oz of tomato paste

Salsa

Barbeque Sauce

Bakery

Whole Wheat Tortillas, corn tortillas and/or big leaves of lettuce – boston leaf

Baguette / baguette rolls or other preferred bread – despite the goal of shopping 1 time per week, fresh bread is key to a successful sandwich.  You may want to purchase this bread over the weekend if you plan to have for a weekend meal.

Dairy

Cheddar Cheese –  derived from cow or goat or soy

Nov 28-Dec 1 Menu and Master Shopping List

Aside


Miss me? I have been absent for a few weeks but now I am back!  While I didn’t write, we had many great menus which I promise to share.

This week, I am borrowing and modifying recipes from some cookbooks that I have had for a long time – some for more than 15 years!  As always, I am keeping it healthy, simple, easy and delicious!

This Week’s Menu

Monday: Orange Garlic Chicken (From Fix it and Forget it), Brown Rice, and Green Beans.

Tuesday: Dilled Vegetable-Barley Soup (from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest), and Oatmeal Muffins.

Wednesday:  Pastel de Papa with Mashed Cauliflower (An Argentinian recipe modified from One Bowl- One Dish Meals from around the World), and a side salad.

Thursday: Orzo with Peas, Saffron and Leftover Orange Garlic Chicken (Modified from “Vegetarian Entertaining”).

Shopping List

For 2 Adults and 2 Children

Entrees

3 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 3/4 lbs. Ground beef

Veggies

1/2 C Minced onion

1 Medium carrot

1 Medium stalk celery

1/4 lb. Chopped mushrooms

3 Large Idaho potatoes

26 Garlic cloves

2 Large red onions

5 Bell peppers – different colors if not too expensive

2 Large Tomatoes

12 Green Olives, pitted

4 shallots

Cauliflower

Fruit – Enough for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

1 Pineapple

8 Kiwi

8 Apples

5 Pears

Dry Goods

1/2 C Raw Barley

2/3 C Raisins

4 C Tomatoes, canned or in shelf stable container

1 T Saffron Threads

4 C Vegetable broth

1 1/2 lbs. Orzo

Brown rice

Muffin mix

Salt

Pepper

1 Bay leaf

6 T Dry White Wine

1.5 t Dried Dill Weed

1 t Tamari sauce

4 T Olive oil

1.5 t Dried Thyme

2 T Balsamic vinegar

1/3 C Dry White Wine

Dairy

4 T Butter

1/3 C Milk

1/2 C Plain yogurt

Parmesan or manchenga cheese

Frozen

1 C Orange Juice Concentrate

1 C Frozen Peas

Frozen green beans


ICE Menu: In Case of Emergency! Oct 17-20 Menu and Shopping List

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This week did not start out well. It was Monday at 5:15, and I was in the café area of the grocery store with my kids. I had them doing homework and I was frantically planning my menu and shopping list for the week. I felt that I had hit an all time low. My kids doing homework in the grocery store?! I was somewhat reassured that I wouldn’t be seen – surely my friends who are a bit more together than I, were probably home making their Chinese Chicken Salad (Last week’s Monday night dinner). …A tiara and cape would be really useful right now…

What to make this week? The fleeting thoughts throughout the day of menu possibilities quickly went out the window. It was time for the ICE Menu: In Case of Emergency!

Monday: Roasted Chicken (store bought), Tomatoes, Sugar Snap Peas, and Grapes
Tuesday: Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions, Beets, Tomatoes, and Side Salad
Wednesday: Roasted Chicken over Rice, and Roasted Butternut Squash
Thursday: By Request: Breakfast for Dinner – Buckwheat Pancakes with Hemp -Granola, Chicken Maple Sausages, and Frittata with Asparagus, Tomato, Left Over Caramelized Onion and Butternut Squash

Roasted chickens are amazingly good – I like to save these for emergency situations. I can pull a rabbit out of a hat (actually a hot, savory roasted chicken out of a bag), add a few easy sides and sit down to a feast! I can reinvent this meal two days later over rice. The turkey burgers, a proven winner, are really, really fast. And breakfast for dinner – who could turn those angelic kids, sitting across from me, diligently doing homework in the grocery store?!

Shopping List
For 2 Adults and 2 Kids – with some leftovers for lunches; Includes Fruit for breakfast and lunch

Entrees
2 Roasted Chickens
2 lbs. Ground Turkey, dark meat
1 box Chicken Maple Sausage, Frozen, Fully-Cooked

Vegetables
Sugar Snap Peas – enough for 1 dinner and lunches (paired w hummus it is great in kids’ school lunches)
5 Tomatoes
3 Onions, medium sized, halved and cut into thin strips
6 Beets
Greens For Salad – enough for 1 dinner and lunches
Asparagus

Fruit
1 Big Bunch Grapes
1 Large Bunch Bananas
8 Kiwi
3 Mango
8 Apples

Dry Goods (You probably have a lot of this in your pantry from previous weeks)
1 1/3 C Buckwheat Flour
2/3 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
¾ lb. Hemp Plus Granola (from bulk section)
Maple Syrup
2 T Honey
Salt
1-2 T Vegetable Oil
Canola or Olive Oil Cooking Spray
1 ¾ T Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 ¾ T Worcestershire Sauce
2 t Balsamic Vinegar
1 t Brown Sugar
1 C rice – white or brown
Sunflower seeds or cashews to top salad

Dairy
3 T Butter or Earth Balance
4 Eggs or Egg Substitute (I use 1 T flaxseed meal w 3 T Water for each egg)
6 Eggs for Fritatta

Bakery
Mini rolls for Turkey Burgers

Oct 10-13 Weekly Menu and Master Shopping List

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 It’s Shop on Sunday or bust.  The next two weeks are going to be really busy as I push a big project to close. As I look at my calendar, I will need meals I can prepare ahead of time, or VERY, VERY quickly, given the upcoming weekday schedule.

My kids have some requests, which I have worked into this week’s schedule.  Oldies but goodies…

Weekly Menu

Monday: Chinese Chicken Salad

Tuesday: Tortilla Soup

Wednesday: Baked chicken, Peas, Fruit, and Side Salad

Thursday: Tortilla Soup – The encore presentation!

Master Shopping List

Entrees

5.0 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breast

Vegetables

3 Anaheim peppers

2 Bell peppers

1 Large onion

1 Bunch, cilantro

4 Radishes

Romaine Lettuce, 1 large or 3 small heads

4 Tomatoes

1 pint Cherry Tomatoes

Fruit

3 T Lime Juice

1 Lime

2 Avocados

6 Mandarins or 3 larger oranges

Fruit for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

5 Pears

8 Apples

1 Pineapple

Grapes

Bananas

Dry Goods

Canola oil or olive oil spray

2 t Ground cumin

8 C Chicken broth, one low sodium

1 28 oz. Can or shelf stable container of diced tomatoes

1 4 oz. Can mild chiles

Salt

Island Teriyaki Marinade

2 Packs Ramen Noodles (noodles only – throw seasoning packet away)

½ C Slivered almonds

1/8 C Sesame seeds

Dairy

¼ C Butter or vegetable spread

Frozen

1 Bag frozen corn

1 Bag frozen peas

Bakery

10-12 Corn Tortillas (or you can use flour if you prefer)

Oct 3-6 Weekly Menu and Master Shopping List

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I am going to shop on Sunday again this week.  Right now I consider myself a working mom.  Between this website and some big projects at school, my schedule is very tight.  Mondays in particular seem to be very busy for me and don’t allow time for shopping.

But I have “made lemonade out of lemons!”  Sunday is a great day for me to get organized for the week. In addition to the shopping, I have committed 45 minutes to pre-prep the last couple of weeks and that has made all the difference – Monday through Thursday dinner prep has been so easy and much less stressful!

Do you use Sunday as a day to get organized for the week? Have any of you shopped my list and done any of the pre-prep on Sunday?  Let me know! Blog!

As for this week’s menu, I found inspiration and recipes from Real Simple.  Real Simple is one of my favorite magazines – A good friend gave me one of their cookbooks.  This week I am using 3 recipes from my Real Simple cookbook – I reinvented one of them for the fourth dinner:

Weekly Menu

Monday: Roasted Chicken, Apples, Pears, and Leeks, Pumpkin, and Side Salad

Tuesday: Winter Lentil Soup with Apple-Cinnamon Muffins

Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas, with Salsa, and Pumpkin

Thursday: Winter Lentils over Pasta with Pears and Side Salad

Master Shopping List

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Entrees

3.0 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2.0 lbs. Chicken legs

Vegetables/ Fresh Herbs

8 Leeks

2 Small zucchini, diced

1 Small red onion

1 Small cooking pumpkin

3 Sweet potatoes

1 Bunch kale

Greens for salad

Tomatoes and other salad fixings

2 Small sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 ½ T Fresh thyme

Optional for homemade salsa made in a food processor for Wednesday night. Or you can save time and just buy salsa verde in a jar:

1 lb. Tomatillos

1 Jalapeno (I am only going to use 1/3 of one)

1 C Fresh cilantro

1 T Fresh lime juice

Fruit

6 Crisp apples (Braeburn, or other)

4 Pears (Bartlett or Bosc)

Extra or other Fruit for breakfast and lunch

Dry Goods

3 T Olive oil

Canola oil spray

Shell pasta

2 28-Ounce can whole tomatoes, drained – or other non-canned shelf stable tomatoes

1 C Brown lentils

Salt

Pepper

Dairy

1 ½ C Grated cheddar or Monterey cheese (from cow or goat’s milk)

½ C Plain yogurt (from cow or goat or vegan)

½ C Grated parmesean or manchenga cheese

Frozen

½ C Corn (from ear or frozen and thawed)

Bakery

12 Tortillas (corn or flour)

Final Sept 26-29 Weekly Menu and Master Shopping List

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“Fixing” Monday’s Tomato-Herb Chicken

Remember how bland I said Monday’s dinner was? Fear not! I have some good news; I think the recipe can be fixed.  I consulted with Chef Melanie Barsuk, of Simple Gourmet and I learned a lot.  She is not a big fan of crock pots.  In fact she doesn’t like saying or spelling the word, simply making reference to “the c word”… No offense taken, Melanie.  While I don’t use crock pots everyday, I do appreciate them for the fact that there is very little, if any, prep during the “bewitching” hour (dinner/carpool/homework hour).

Melanie elaborated on crock pot cooking saying that sometimes flavors can “cook out” of a dish that is cooked too long in the crock pot.  Based on my ingredients, she thinks this may have happened and suggested adding more savory flavors.

First, she suggests using fresh thyme – stems and all – in place of the dried seasoning.  “Thyme is an herb that actually lets off more flavor the more you cook it,” Melanie says.  Try adding 4-5 fresh sprigs, stems and all.  She also suggests one fresh fennel bulb, sliced.  She also talked about adding more savory flavors.  I shared my experience using the smoked turkey thighs in the split pea soup recipe last week. Melanie encouraged me to give some smoked turkey wings a try in the Tomato-Herb Chicken.  Lastly, if the dish is still bland after it is cooked, she suggested adding a little lemon zest, crushed red pepper flakes, or even some chopped bacon…

So I have revised this recipe accordingly.  If you make this, please blog how it turns out!  Other than that, I did not change anything else!

The Weekly Menu

Monday: Tomato-Herb Chicken (recipe revised), Broccoli, Fruit

Tuesday: Fish with Fall Harvest Red Grape Salsa, Peas, Side Salad, Fruit

Wednesday: Braised Chicken Gumbo, Side Salad, Fruit

Thursday: Mexican Vegetable Soup with Crushed Tortilla Chips and shredded cheese

Give credit where credit is deserved:

Monday’s recipe is a slight variation of a recipe I found on EatingWell.com and the “fixes” are from Chef Melanie Barsuk, of Simple Gourmet.  A special thanks to the Chef!

Tuesday’s recipe features a “fall salsa”. While the rest of the meal is not new – we have cooked plenty of fish – I was looking for a fall flavor topping.  Better Homes and Gardens featured this fall salsa that is amazing.

Wednesday’s recipe was Eating Well’s easy reinvention of Monday’s recipe, which is what I aim to do during the week to keep things fresh.

Thursday’s recipe comes from “Quick Vegetarian Pleasures”, a cookbook that I have had for over 15 years.  I have had great luck with several recipes of these recipes, and even used their Split Pea Soup recipe as a base for my variation last week.

Master Shopping List

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Entrees

3.5 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breasts

1.5 lbs. Cod

Vegetables

Greens – for lunch and dinners

4 Red Onions

8 Cloves garlic

¼ C Fresh chopped parsley

2 Bell peppers, at least one red

3 Carrots

3 Medium zucchini

1 Head Broccoli

Fruit

1 C + Seedless red grapes, halved

5 Pears

5 Plums

2 Mangos

5 Apples

Dry Goods

1 t Dried thyme

1 t Fennel seeds

1 t Fresh ground pepper

1 Bay leaf

3 C Low sodium chicken broth

8 C Low sodium vegetable broth

1 T Lemon Juice

2 – 28 oz. Can tomatoes, or tomatoes in other shelf stable package

1 ½ t Salt

1 T Olive oil or canola oil

2 T Flour

1 C Cooked rice

1/8 t Cayenne pepper

1 T Balsamic vinegar

1 t Ground cumin

1 15 oz. Can kidney beans

Dairy

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional – for the Mexican vegetable stew)

Frozen

1 C Sliced Okra

2 C Frozen corn kernels

1 Bag Frozen peas

Recipes

Tomato-Herb Chicken, Revised

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Tomato-Herb Chicken, Roasted Broccoli, and a Side Salad

Ingredients

1 Large onion, thinly sliced

4 Cloves garlic, minced

4-5 Sprigs fresh thyme, stems and all

1 Fennel bulb, sliced

1 t Freshly ground pepper

1 Bay leaf

1 c Low sodium chicken broth mixed w 1 T lemon juice

1 28 oz Can tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped

1 t salt

3 3/4 lbs Boneless skinless chicken breasts

1-2 Smoked chicken wings

1/4 c Finely chopped parsley

Pasta or rice for each dish, cooked according to package directions

A head of broccoli

1 t Basil

1 t Thyme

Sprinkle of salt

Greens and salad fixings

Optional Additions once the meal is cooked:

Some lemon zest

Crushed red pepper flakes

Chopped bacon

Dinner Prep

1. Put everything in slow cooker.

2. Cook on high for 6 hours.

3. Closer to dinner time, roast broccoli with basil, thyme and salt at 450 for 4 minutes. Stir and bake for 4 more minutes. Then lay some greens on each plate and make a side salad with your favorite toppings.

3. Serve Tomato-Herb Chicken over pasta or rice.

4. Seriously, is anything easier than that?!?!

Baked Cod with Fall Salsa, Peas, Mango, and a Side Salad

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids

Baked Cod with Fall Salsa, Peas, Mango and a Side Salad

Ingredients

1 C Halved seedless red grapes

¼ C Chopped red onion (or white if you don’t have red onion)

¼ C Chopped red bell pepper

1 T Balsamic vinegar

1.5 – 1.75 lbs. Cod

Frozen peas for 4 servings

1 Mango

Greens and toppings for side salad

Make Ahead:

The night before or earlier the day of, Combine grapes, onion, bell pepper and balsamic vinegar.  Store in refrigerator.

Dinner Prep:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Set the table ahead of time.  You will be sitting down in 10 minutes!

Take fall salsa out of the refrigerator.

1. Lay cod on a lightly sprayed roasting pan and lightly spray the cod with canola oil spray.

2. Sprinkle 1 t basil, 1 t thyme, and ½ t salt on fish.

3. Put fish in oven for 8 minutes.

4. Pour frozen peas in a microwavable dish and microwave for 2 min.  Test for doneness.  Cook an additional minute if necessary. Divide across 4 plates. Cut a Mango, and divide across all 4 plates.

5. Portion greens and add toppings.

6. Pull fish from oven, portion, top with fall salsa and serve.

Braised Chicken Gumbo

Ingredients:

1 Diced bell pepper – any color

2 T Flour

2 1/2 C Tomato-Herb Chicken (see 9-27-11 recipe)

2 C Low sodium chicken broth

1 C Sliced okra

1 C Cooked rice

1/8 – 1/4 t Cayenne pepper

Dinner Prep:

1. Heat oil in saucepan.

2. Add bell pepper and flour.  Stir 2 minutes until softened.

3. Add Tomato-Herb Chicken, chicken broth, okra, rice, cayenne pepper.

4. Bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes.  Serve.

5. See if you don’t think about Mardi Gras in 22 minutes!

Mexican Vegetable Soup

For 2 Adults and 2 Kids (For 2 Meals)

Mexican Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

¼ C Olive oil

4 Garlic cloves, minced – include skin

2 Large onions, diced

1 t Ground cumin

1 28 oz. Can of tomatoes, chopped with their juice (You can also use a 28 oz. container of POM tomatoes in a shelf-stable, non-can package)

8 C Vegetable stock, ½ regular, ½ low sodium

2 t Salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 Carrots, thinly sliced

10 oz. Frozen corn

The rest of the frozen okra not used for the Chicken Gumbo recipe

3 Medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into sixths, then into 1-inch chunks

1 15 oz. Can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Grated cheese (optional)

Corn chips (optional)

Plain yogurt

Dinner Prep:

  1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat.
  2. Saute garlic, onions, and cumin for 10 minutes, stirring often.
  3. Add tomatoes with their juice, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
  4. Add carrots and cook 3-4 more minutes.
  5. Add corn and okra and cook 3-4 more minutes.
  6. Add zucchini and kidney beans and cook 2-3 more minutes.
  7. Using a hand blender, puree about half of the soup, being sure to leave chunks of vegetables.
  8. Serve with grated cheese, broken corn chips, a dollop of plain yogurt, or just eat it straight out of the soup pot!