A week’s worth of quick, healthful meals for budget-minded families
SUNDAY: Fire up the grill today for your own grilled chicken breasts and use your favorite spice rub to boost the flavor. Serve with Wasabi Sweet Potato Fries: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 2 pounds peeled sweet potatoes into thick "fingers" and place on a large roasting pan. Whisk 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and ¼ to ½ teaspoon wasabi paste (wasabi powder mixed with a little water) together. Drizzle it over potatoes; toss together using your hand. Sprinkle evenly with coarse salt; roast 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp and golden. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley; serve. (Adapted from Virtually Vegan by Heather Whinney via Nourish magazine.) Add roasted or grilled fresh asparagus and dinner rolls to your meal. Serve these easy Fruit Tarts (see recipe) for dessert.
Plan ahead: Grill some extra plain chicken (without rub) for Monday and save enough tarts for Tuesday.
MONDAY: Cobb Salad makes good use of leftover chicken. In a large bowl, toss 12 cups torn romaine with about 5 tablespoons blue cheese dressing; divide among 4 dinner plates. Divide and arrange 2 cups leftover diced cooked chicken, 2 slices cooked and crumbled bacon and 3 seeded and chopped medium tomatoes among the plates. Top each salad with 1 to 2 tablespoons more blue cheese dressing. Add poppy seed muffins. Kiwi halves are your dessert.
TUESDAY: Fusilli Vegetable Toss (see recipe) makes an easy no-meat meal. Add a spinach salad with hard-cooked egg wedges. Serve with garlic bread on the side. For dessert, warm the leftover tarts.
WEDNESDAY: Put extra pennies in your pocket when you serve Beany Sloppy Joes. In a large skillet, combine 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas (rinsed), 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans (rinsed), 1 ½ cups marinara sauce, ½ cup frozen cut green beans, ½ cup chopped green bell pepper, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar and 1 ½ teaspoons chile powder; mix well. Bring to a boil on medium-high. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 12 minutes or until peppers are tender. Spoon onto toasted whole-grain hamburger buns. Accompany the sandwiches with hash-browned potatoes (from frozen) and a mixed green salad. For dessert, peaches are the answer.
THURSDAY: The kids will show up early for Spaghetti and Meatballs. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1 pound 95 percent lean ground beef, ½ cup soft bread crumbs, 1 egg, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, 1 clove minced garlic, ½ teaspoon coarse salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 12 (2-inch) meatballs. Place on rack in broiler pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Combine the cooked meatballs and 1 (24- to 26-ounce) jar any red pasta sauce in a large saucepan; heat through, stirring occasionally. Serve over cooked spaghetti. Add a chopped lettuce salad and Italian bread. Let the kids make refrigerated ready-to-bake brownies for dessert.
Plan ahead: Save enough brownies for Saturday.
FRIDAY: Make a quick Pork Stir-Fry tonight. Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Add 1 pound pork loin cut into ½-inch strips and cook 2 minutes or until cooked through. Add 1 (16-ounce) package any frozen stir-fry vegetable mixture and ½ cup stir-fry sauce. Continue to stir-fry 3 minutes or until mixture is hot. Serve over quick-cooking rice. Add a romaine salad and whole-grain rolls. Enjoy fresh tropical fruits for dessert.
SATURDAY: What guest could resist Roasted Salmon With Lemon and Dill (see recipe)? Serve with orzo tossed with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a bibb lettuce salad. For dessert, Marinated Strawberries are close to perfect: Combine 4 cups halved fresh strawberries, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Toss and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Toss again before serving. Serve with leftover brownies.
THE RECIPES
Fruit Tarts
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts (2 crusts)
5 cups fresh fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries or sliced medium strawberries
1 (16-ounce) jar strawberry glaze
Light whipped cream
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Unfold or unroll crusts; press out fold lines, if necessary. With a 4-inch round cutter, cut 5 rounds from each crust. Turn over an ungreased, regular-size muffin tins and fit rounds over outside of each tin. Pinch 5 equally spaced pleats around sides of each crust. Prick each pastry cup generously with fork. Bake 9 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow to cool on the tins about 30 minutes. Remove from muffin tins to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine fruit and glaze; stir gently to mix. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until thoroughly chilled. Just before serving, spoon ½ cup fruit mixture into each cooled tart crust. Garnish with whipped cream and serve immediately.
Makes 10 (4-inch) tarts.
Nutrition information: Each tart contains approximately 245 calories, 2 g protein, 10 g fat, 40 g carbohydrate, 4 mg cholesterol, 252 mg sodium and 2 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 2.5.
Fusilli Vegetable Toss
3 cups fusilli
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 (14-ounce) can water-packed quartered artichokes, drained
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions, sliced
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ cup Italian dressing with parmesan
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Cook fusilli according to package directions. Just before pasta is done, add broccoli and carrots and cook 1 minute; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Return to pot and stir in artichokes, tomatoes, green onions, oregano and basil. Add dressing; toss to coat. Cover and chill 2 hours. Sprinkle with feta and serve.
Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 300 calories, 11 g protein, 7 g fat, 49 g carbohydrate, 13 mg cholesterol, 405 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 3.5.
Roasted Salmon With Lemon and Dill
4 (6-ounce) salmon filets
2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
8 fresh dill sprigs
4 lemon slices, halved
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Place salmon on lightly coated rack on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Place 2 dill springs and 2 lemon slice halves on each fillet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or just until fish is opaque; serve warm. (Adapted from Quick Fix Dinners by the editors of Southern Living Oxmoor House.)
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 221 calories, 36 g protein, 8 g fat, no carbohydrate, 80 mg cholesterol, 130 mg sodium and no fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 0.
Susan Nicholson is an Atlanta-based cookbook author and registered dietitian. She can be reached by email:
susan@7daymenu.com
Food on 06/05/2019