7 day menu planner

SUNDAY: Think of warm tropical breezes instead of cold February winds when you prepare Caribbean Roast Pork Loin for the family. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, blend 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Rub onto 1 (2-pound) boneless pork loin roast (trimmed of visible fat).

Place in shallow pan; roast 20 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with Poppy Seed Noodles (toss cooked noodles with poppy seeds and a little butter) and sugar snap peas and dinner rolls. Buy peach crisp for dessert, and top it with vanilla ice cream.

Plan ahead: Save enough pork for Monday.

MONDAY: Make Savory Pork Stir-Fry with leftover pork. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium-high.

Add 2 cups cooked (leftover) pork cut into strips and stir-fry 1 minute. Stir 1 (16-ounce) package frozen stir-fry vegetables and 1 tablespoon water into pork. Cover; cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are hot. Serve over brown rice.

Add crusty bread. Munch on gingersnaps for dessert.

TUESDAY: This Enchilada Casserole (see recipe) is low in cost and mild enough for kids.

Serve with a grapefruit salad.

Make instant chocolate pudding for dessert.

Plan ahead: Save enough casserole for Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY: Enjoy an easy meal and heat the leftover casserole tonight. Add a packaged salad. Buy cupcakes for dessert.

THURSDAY: Make Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Guacamole Wraps - a new twist on an old favorite. Cook 4 slices of bacon until crisp. Spread 4 (8-inch) tortillas with cream cheese; top each tortilla with 2 tablespoons mild salsa and shredded lettuce; spread evenly. Place 1 bacon slice, some sliced tomato and 2 tablespoons guacamole on the bacon and roll tightly. Serve with baked potato wedges (frozen). The adults might like chili powder sprinkled on their potatoes. For dessert, fresh pineapple chunks are kid friendly.

FRIDAY: Enjoy this flavorful Moroccan Bean and Pepper Stew (see recipe) and couscous for a no-meat dinner. Add sliced cucumbers in plain yogurt on the side, along with flatbread.

Apricots are dessert.

SATURDAY: Guests will want seconds of creamy Rigatoni and Chicken. Cook 8 ounces rigatoni or another tube pasta according to package directions;

drain. Cut 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast into ½ -inch slices and season with ¼ teaspoon coarse salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook 1 ½ minutes per side or until edges are lightly browned (see tip). Stir in 3 ½ to 4 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms and cook 2 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add 1 cup half-and half and cook 3 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half. Stir in◊cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. Simmer and stir 1 minute or until cheese melts. Toss hot pasta with sauce and divide among six plates.

Garnish with extra parmesan and chopped parsley if desired.

Serve with an Italian salad and crusty rolls. Your guests will swoon over Strawberry Cream Cheese Cream Puffs (see recipe) Created by Dawn Logterman of Verona, Wis., a 2013 Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist.

Tip: Use cooked, sliced chicken for convenience and skip the browning step in recipe.

THE RECIPES

Enchilada Casserole

1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce, divided use

12 ounces ground turkey breast

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed

1 (10 ¾ -ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup (such as Healthy Request)

½ cup sour cream, plus extra for garnish

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 cup shredded regular sharp cheddar cheese

Chipotle (smoked jalapeno) salsa for garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 7-by-11-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the enchilada sauce over bottom of dish; set aside.

In a large skillet, cook turkey, onion and garlic 4 to 5 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink and onion is softened; drain.

Add beans, soup, sour cream, cumin and oregano.

Place 4 tortillas in baking dish on top of enchilada sauce, tearing to fit and cover. Top with half the meat mixture and 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat once with 4 more tortillas, remaining meat and 1/3 cup cheese. Top with remaining 4 tortillas and remaining enchilada sauce.

Cover tightly with foil that has been coated with cooking spray (to prevent it from sticking to top of casserole).

Bake 45 minutes. Remove cover. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve immediately garnished with sour cream and salsa.

Makes 6 servings.

Moroccan Bean and Pepper Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow or red bell peppers

2 cups butternut squash chunks, peeled (see note)

1 ½ cups chopped onion

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed

1 (15 ½ -ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed

1 (14 ½ -ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup water

Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan on medium-high. Add peppers, squash and onions;

cook and stir 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened.

Add cinnamon, garlic powder, cumin, ginger, red pepper and salt; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas, beans, tomatoes with their liquid and the water.

Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Note: Some supermarkets sell butternut squash that is already peeled and cut into chunks. Look for it in the produce section or with the frozen vegetables.

Makes 6 servings.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cream Puffs

1 cup water

½ cup butter

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1 (8-ounce) package Neufchatel cream cheese, softened

½ cup strawberry preserves

1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a 2-quart saucepan, heat water, butter and salt on medium-high until boiling.

With a wooden spoon, stir in flour. Reduce heat to low; beat vigorously about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball.

Remove from heat. Beat in 1 egg at a time, beating vigorously after each addition until mixture is smooth and glossy. Drop dough by ¼ cupfuls, 3 inches apart, on cookie sheet, forming 12 mounds. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove from pan to cooling rack; pierce the side of each puff with tip of sharp knife to release steam. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat cream cheese and preserves with electric mixer on medium until smooth.

Fold in whipped topping until combined; refrigerate. Just before serving, cut each puff in half horizontally. Spoon about◊cup cream cheese mixture into bottom half of each puff.

Place tops over filling. Sprinkle with sugar. Serve immediately.

Refrigerate remaining puffs.

Makes 12 servings.

Susan Nicholson can be reached by email: susan@7daymenu.com

Food, Pages 33 on 02/26/2014

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