Sunday: Family
Invite Grandmother and all the family for COMPANY'S COMING PORK ROAST. Alongside, serve BAKED SWEET POTATOES (slash the centers and sprinkle with cinnamon). Add FRESH GREEN BEANS and BISCUITS. Top CHERRY CRISP with VANILLA ICE CREAM for a family-pleasing dessert.
Plan
Save enough pork, green beans and crisp and bake enough sweet potatoes for Monday. Save enough ice cream for Tuesday and Friday.
Shopping List
boneless pork roast, honey mustard, prepared horseradish, brown sugar, canned light peach halves, cinnamon, butter, sweet potatoes to bake, fresh green beans, biscuits, cherry crisp, vanilla ice cream.
COMPANY’S COMING PORK ROAST
Servings: makes 8 to 12 servings (3 ounces cooked weight)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: about 1 hour; standing time: 5 minutes
- 1 (2- to 3-pound) boneless pork roast
- FOR THE GLAZE:
- 1/2 cup honey mustard
- 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- FOR THE GARNISH:
- 2 (16-ounce) cans light peach halves, drained
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place roast in a shallow roasting pan and roast 45 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together honey mustard, horseradish and brown sugar; set aside.
For the garnish: Place peach halves in shallow baking dish, cut side up. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over peaches; dot with butter.
Spread glaze over surface of roast and continue to roast 20 to 30 more minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Place peaches in oven for last 15 minutes to heat through. Remove roast and let stand 5 minutes. Slice roast and serve surrounded by peaches.
Per serving: 259 calories, 22 grams protein, 9 grams fat (32 percent calories from fat), 4.1 grams saturated fat, 21 grams carbohydrate, 64 milligrams cholesterol, 134 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.
Monday: Heat and Eat
Make PORK WRAPS for an easy meal. Warm leftover pork slices in a little barbecue sauce. Top heated whole-grain flour tortillas with pork, shredded lettuce, chopped onion and chunky salsa. Wrap and eat.
Serve with SWEET POTATO WEDGES. Cut leftover potatoes into wedges. Coat with cooking spray and a little cumin, then bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Add leftover GREEN BEANS. Leftover CRISP is your dessert.
Shopping List
barbecue sauce, whole-grain flour tortillas, lettuce, onion, chunky salsa, cooking spray, cumin.
Tuesday: Meatless
Skip meat and enjoy TORTILLA SOUP tonight. Add a RED-TIPPED LETTUCE SALAD on the side. Dessert is leftover ICE CREAM and OATMEAL COOKIES.
Shopping List
canola oil, frozen peppers with onion for stir-fry, garlic, cumin, canned no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, canned chopped jalapeno peppers, unsalted vegetable broth, canned Mexican-style corn, baked tortilla chips, 50 percent light cheddar cheese, avocados, red-tipped lettuce, oatmeal cookies.
TORTILLA SOUP
Servings: makes about 11 1/2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 (16-ounce) package frozen peppers with onion for stir-fry
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
- 2 to 3 teaspoons canned chopped jalapeno peppers
- 3 (14-ounce) cans unsalted vegetable broth
- 1 (11-ounce) can Mexican-style corn, rinsed
- 6 ounces baked tortilla chips, broken
- 1/2 cup shredded 50 percent light cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, diced
Heat oil in a Dutch oven on medium. Add stir-fry mix, garlic and cumin; cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Stir in the tomatoes, peppers, broth and corn. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Ladle into bowls over chips and garnish with cheese and avocado.
Per cup: 194 calories, 6 grams protein, 7 grams fat (33 percent calories from fat), 1.4 grams saturated fat, 27 grams carbohydrate, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 355 milligrams sodium, 4 grams fiber.
Wednesday: Budget
JERK BARBECUE CHICKEN is low in cost and has great flavor, so it's a winner all around. Rub 8 skinless chicken legs with 3 to 4 teaspoons jerk seasoning. Place in a 4-quart or larger slow-cooker. Pour 3/4 cup barbecue sauce and 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional) over chicken. Turn chicken to coat. Cover and cook on low 6 to 7 hours or until chicken is tender. Place chicken and sauce on a platter. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sliced green onions. Serve with canned reduced-sodium BLACK BEANS, DELI COLESLAW and CORNBREAD (from mix). For dessert, try PLUMS.
Shopping List
skinless chicken legs, jerk seasoning, barbecue sauce, dark rum (optional), green onions, canned reduced-sodium black beans, deli coleslaw, cornbread mix, plums.
Thursday: Kids
We call it finger food, but for kids, CHICKEN STICKS is a better name. Toss chicken tenders with lemon juice and coarse salt and coat in a little flour before pan-frying. Serve them with the kids' favorite DIPPING SAUCE, OVEN FRIES (from frozen), BUTTERED CARROTS and SOFT ROLLS. To keep up the sticky fun, how about drippy CHOCOLATE FREEZER POPS for dessert?
Shopping List
chicken tenders, lemon, coarse salt, flour, kids' favorite dipping sauce, frozen oven fries, butter, carrots, soft rolls, chocolate freezer pops.
Friday: Express
For the easiest meal ever, buy cooked SHRIMP (or boil from frozen) and sprinkle with seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay. Not only is it quick, but it also has a good flavor. Serve it with CORN-ON-THE-COB, a packaged GREEN SALAD and WHOLE-GRAIN ROLLS. Top leftover ICE CREAM with BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE for dessert.
Shopping List
cooked shrimp, seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay), corn-on-the-cob, packaged green salad, whole-grain rolls, butterscotch sauce.
Saturday: Easy Entertaining
Treat your guests to a company-worthy meal: SCALLOPS WITH CAPERS AND TOMATOES. Serve it over ANGEL HAIR PASTA, and add a SPINACH SALAD and WHOLE-GRAIN ROLLS. Buy a CHEESECAKE for dessert.
Shopping List
sea scallops, garlic, dry white wine, tomato, capers, fresh basil, coarse salt, extra-virgin olive oil, angel hair pasta, fresh spinach, whole-grain rolls, cheesecake.
SCALLOPS WITH CAPERS AND TOMATOES
Servings: makes 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: less than 10 minutes
- 1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops (about 12)
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 large tomato (about 8 ounces), seeded and diced
- 3 tablespoons drained capers
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until opaque throughout. Return scallops to plate and keep warm. Add garlic to pan; cook 15 seconds. Add the wine, tomato, capers, basil and salt to pan and stir together. Spoon mixture over scallops; drizzle evenly with oil just before serving. (Adapted from "Quick-Fix Dinners," Oxmoor House.)
Per serving: 175 calories, 21 grams protein, 4 grams fat (23 percent calories from fat), 0.7 gram saturated fat, 8 grams carbohydrate, 41 milligrams cholesterol, 982 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.