4/3/11 - 4/16/11 Menu Plan

Breakfast:

Pancakes/fruit

Omelets 

Cereal

French Toast Sticks/fruit

Coffee Cake Muffins/fruit

Lunch:

Cesar Pleaser Sandwiches (Kraft)/pasta salad

Tuna Sandwiches/yogurt/veg

Chef Salad

Pizza Rollups/fruit/veg

Nuggets/veg/fruit

Dinner:

4/3 - Lunch: Stoffers/bread/salad 

        Dinner: Tacos/Mexican rice

4/4 - Spinach, Pesto, and Feta-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Chunky Tomato Sauce (Lisl's)/salad/rice

4/5 - Spaghetti/bread/corn on the cob

4/6 - Unstuffed Peppers

4/7 - Chile Lime Shrimp/Toasted Corn Salad

4/8 - Chicken Club Pizza/raw veggies

4/9 - Hot Mess Burgers/broccoli salad (Paula Deens)

4/10 - Lunch: Coconut Curry Beef/rice

          Dinner: Firehouse :)

4/11 - Chicken Ragu/bread/salad

4/12 - Apricot Pork Chops (Aimee's)/green beans/rice

4/13 - Meatball Subs/pasta salad/fruit

4/14 - Asian Pasta Stir Fry/bread

4/15 - Chicken Vegetable Quesadilla's (Brenna's)/chips and salsa

4/16 - date night

Snacks:

Trail Mix

Cheese sticks

Homemade granola bars

yougurt

fruit

Hummus and pretzel chips 

Apricot Baked Pork Chops (Aimee)

Ingredients

4-6 Thinly sliced pork chops.
Salt, pepper, garlic powder (to season chops to taste)
For sauce, mix ingredients below together in glass bowl:
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 10 oz jar apricot jam (we use smucker's simply fruit)
1 TB minced garlic
1TB apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 (or dash to taste) each: cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves

Directions:

 
Put oven on broil,
Season each porkchop on one side with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Broil in oven for five minutes, flip, season other side and broil again for 5 more minutes.

Turn oven down to 350 and place pork chops side by side in glass baking dish and pour sauce on top. Cover with foil and bake @ 350 for 60 minutes, flipping chops over half way through cooking time and stirring sauce around.

Great served over rice.

Menu planning on a budget

Trying to plan a menu on a budget? Check out Krafts website, 5 dinner meals out of 1 bag of groceries.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/dinner/1Bag5Dinners/main.aspx

Chicken Club Pizza (Kraft)

Ingredients 

1 can (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust

1/4 cup  KRAFT Mayo with Olive Oil Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

1/2 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing, divided

1-1/2 cups  KRAFT Shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese with a Touch of PHILADELPHIA, divided

1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken

8 slices  OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled

1-1/2 cups finely shredded lettuce

1   tomato, finely chopped

 

Directions

HEAT oven to 400ºF. UNROLL pizza dough on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray; press into 15x10-inch rectangle. Bake 10 min. MIX mayo and 1/3 cup dressing; spread onto crust. Top with half the cheese, chicken, remaining cheese and bacon. BAKE 5 min. or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with lettuce and tomatoes; drizzle with remaining dressing.   

 

 

Redbook's Boneless Buffalo Chicken vs. Chili's Buffalo chicken

Chili's Buffalo Chicken appetizer has 1, 170 calories and 72 grams of fat.

Redbook Boneless Buffalo Chicken has 552 calories and 24 grams of fat. 

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoon(s) light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoon(s) crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup(s) whole-wheat breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 6 tablespoon(s) hot red pepper sauce (such as Frank's or Tabasco)
• 1 1/2 pound(s) boneless chicken tenders, cut into 40 pieces
• 2 tablespoon(s) canola oil
• 2 teaspoon(s) unsalted butter
• Celery sticks
• stick(s) Carrot sticks

---

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, cider vinegar, and blue cheese; set aside.
2. In a pie plate or shallow dish, combine flour, breadcrumbs, cayenne, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and 1 tablespoon of the red pepper sauce.
3. Dip chicken tenders in egg mixture, then in flour mixture to coat.
4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook, stirring often, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet, set aside, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Add remaining oil to pan and cook the rest of the chicken.
5. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, heat remaining hot sauce and butter until melted; add cooked chicken to bowl, tossing to coat. Serve with dressing and celery and carrot sticks.

Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns (Redbook vs. Cinnabon Pecanbon)

Cinnabon Pecanbon has 1, 080 calories and 50 grams of fat.
Redbook's Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns has 372 calories and 15 grams of fat.


Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns (Redbook)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup(s) dark-brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoon(s) honey
• 1/2 cup(s) pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1 can(s) (16 1/3-ounce) reduced-fat buttermilk biscuits
• 1/4 cup(s) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon(s) melted butter
• 1/3 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoon(s) low-fat milk

---

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a small saucepan, heat brown sugar, butter, honey, and 1 tablespoon water over medium heat, until mixture is smooth. Pour into a 9-inch-round cake pan. Sprinkle pecans over mixture, then place biscuits on top of pecans in pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Brush each biscuit with melted butter; sprinkle with ­cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake 20 minutes or until tops of biscuits are browned. Remove from oven and immediately invert onto a wire rack (with foil underneath to catch drips); let cool slightly.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together glaze ingredients and drizzle over buns. Serve warm.

Unstuffed Peppers (Rachel Ray)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 pound mild italian sausage, casings discarded
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• One 10-ounce package white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red onion, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil. Cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes; fluff with a fork. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the rice. Return the skillet to the heat and add 1 more tablespoon olive oil, the bell peppers, mushrooms and onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the veggies to the sausage and rice and toss.