Welcome to the 23rd Weekly Menu planner!
Planing your week's menu saves time, hassle, money and ya might even find yourself fitter if you choose healthy meals like the ones you find here.
Meatless Monday:
Follow this delicious recipe for Kung Pao Spaghetti. Leave out the chicken, add shrimp, use both if you like and you could even use a non pasta or gluten free type pasta as well. So versatile!
Tuesday: M, S, V= meat starch veg or even a flex day if ya wanna prepare some left overs or simply bring home some delicious fresh made goodies from your local delicatessen. I'll be firing up my grill pan, baking some potatoes and making this recipe below of balsamic glazed carrots. Only I substitute the sugar with honey. Goodness! Do NOT use 3 tablespoons of sugar?! This isn't dessert. Hehehe...Sugar is pretty much poison for our bodies. So limit it any time you can. I'm throwing some pork chops on my handy grill pan and I've got some garlic butter for over those baked potatoes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over both sides of your porkers and grill until your desired doneness. Depending on the thickness, I go about 2.5 minutes each side on a medium high heat on a very lightly olive oiled pan.
Wednesday: steak, crochets and a fresh salad
Wow, right! Snip some fresh rosemary or use dried if ya haven't got the fresh stuff (although rosemary is THE easiest herb to grow.) and chop it up with some fresh garlic and salt. I actually take these ingredients plus a couple table spoons of olive oil and put it in my mortal and pedestal and make a paste, then rub it all into my meat. Mmmm.... I never make my steak like they do here, but rather use my good old, cast iron grill pan. I would definitely hit up the garlic butter though. Just watch your salt content. If you use the garlic butter, it's better that you don't use the salt in your rub.
You can decide if ya need the carbs or not. I'm serving the steak with a basic, fresh salad and balsamic vinegar, olive oil and herb dressing. Put some croutons on that salad if ya gotta have your carbs.
Thursday: fish, rice and broccoli
Why not try this delicious recipe of tilapia baked parmesan?! If you're wanting to cut calories and cholesterol, than it will be best to ditch the cheese. However, hard cheeses like parmesan, are lower in fat and cholesterol. Yay! I've got two recipes ready for you because many peeps out there are not so great with rice making. I was terrible for decades! The recipe below is for a garlic, Phillipean recipe. I love how simple it is. Give it a try and see that'll it will fit with a lot of future meals, too.
They are also giving you an extra garlic version, but you can decide how much is right for your family. Remember garlic is awesome for combatting cholesterol!
I love making broccoli with my fish, but you can choose whatever FRESH veggie your family prefers. Yes, fresh! Always fresh!
Fun Food Friday: slow cooker chicken taquitos
Fabulous recipe here, folks! Grab these couple of ingredients, throw them in your crock pot, head to work and when ya get home, not only will your house smell fantastic, but dinner will be nearly ready!
A few tips for this recipe. Chipotle is not accessible where I live, but I did manage to grab some dried chipotle mix that I'll use for this in its place. I also never use canned bouillon either. In its place, use water and some granules or best your thawed out fresh version. (As if?!) Hehee...
Saturday: Lemon, orzo shrimp
I love orzo dishes! I love one pot meals, too! This one is a fabulous! I love this site, by the way. All great ingredients and fairly easy and fast. Check out the site further for more fabulous meal ideas. You can use fish or chicken here for a meat substitute or no meat. If you have no orzo use something similar. Of course, risotto would be FAB-U-LOUS as would any smaller, compact pasta or even rice!
Sunday: Pot Roast Patio Fries
You're gonna need a bit of time for this baby, but Man! This is one kick ass recipe!
A couple of tips with this recipe. You probably don't have left over roast beef available, so click here for a delicious slow cooker recipe that you can use. If you don't use it all make some awesome beef sandwiches tomorrow! If you think the sauce is a bit difficult, then I've got an uber easy replacement. Simply, melt some cream cheese in a shallow pan (on low heat) and add some shredded fresh cheese to it. That's it! Use one of the cheeses from the recipe, though.
Now, get that list together and get cook'n!