Fran's Week of Meal Plans

**Our house seasoning is Tony Chachere's   We use it in just about everything.  When I say "Tony's," this is what I mean.  You can use whatever house seasoning you prefer or salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Sunday (Family Favorite)

Spaghetti and Meatballs

3 lbs of Ground Beef (or Turkey)

½ cup of bread crumbs (or food processed oatmeal)

2 eggs (or egg substitute)

1 tsp. minced garlic

2 TBSP. Worcestershire Sauce

½ cup Parmesan

Season to taste—Tony’s, dried basil, oregano

Mix all ingredients and form ¼ cup meat balls.  Bake in oven, in aluminum foil lined baking dish at 350 for 20 minutes, until slightly browned.  Removed from pan, drain on paper towel.  Place in crockpot (if cooking over 4-6 hours) OR in a dutch oven on the stove.  Over meatballs, pour a large can (Sam’s) of crushed tomatoes.  Sprinkle in Tony’s, Italian seasonings, and add a TBSP of minced garlic.  In crock pot, cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours.  On the stove, cook for at least an hour, until sauce is bubbly and meatballs are cooked through.

Serve over cooked angel hair or spaghetti noodles

Roasted Broccoli

Place fresh broccoli flowerets on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Drizzle with Olive Oil or spray with Olive Oil spray.  Season with Tony's.  Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

French Bread

Monday (Crockpot)

Chicken Tacos

3 Lb. bag of frozen chicken tenderloins or breasts.  1 packet of Taco seasoning, ½ jar of salsa (verde or red).  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  After cooked thoroughly, removed chicken and shred it.  You can return it to the crock and incorporate in a bit of the remaining liquid, to moisten if needed.  We like to add in fresh cilantro, at the end.

Tortillas

Shredded Cheese

Refried Beans or warmed can of black beans

Salsa

Sour Cream

Green Salad

Tuesday (Ethnic)

Salmon Stir Fry

4 Frozen Salmon Filets, defrosted.

1 red onion, sliced

1 yellow or orange sweet pepper, sliced

Olive Oil

Sesame Oil

Garlic Chili Paste

Soy Sauce

Tony’s

In a large skillet or dutch oven, sauté onions and peppers in a TBSP or so of olive oil, until translucent.  Move the veggies to the side of the pan and add in the salmon filets to cook on Medium-High.  When the salmon beings to flake apart, add a TSBP of sesame oil, one TBSP of garlic chili paste, and ½ cup of soy sauce.  You can add more soy sauce or chicken broth to give more liquid, if needed.  Cook on Medium-Low to reduce slightly and incorporate flavors.  Also, fresh cilantro is good at the end, too.

Cook 1 box of Uncle Ben’s brown rice (according to microwave directions) and stir cooked rice into the salmon veggie skillet.

Serve with a bag of steamed Edamame

Wednesday (Fast Fixin’)

Steak and Blue Cheese Salads (or wraps)

Cook steak on grill or according to stove top directions above.  Slice thinly.  Serve over Romaine salad (bagged or homemade, adding in any veggies you want--we like red onions and red peppers), with crumbled blue cheese and dressing.  OR serve in warm tortillas with cream cheese softened combined with blue cheese.

Mashed Potatoes

*OreIda Steam n Mash Potatoes

Thursday (Budget, under $10)

Roasted Chicken (Sam’s Rotisserie $5)

Rice (Box of Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice $2)

Veggies (Margaret Holmes Seasoned Field Peas and Snaps $2)

Debone chicken.  Cook box of rice according to directions on box.  Warm one or two cans of seasoned field peas on the stove.  Serve chicken and peas over rice.

Friday (Meatless)

Yogurt Waffles or Yogurt Pancakes  *I use plain Greek yogurt for extra protein and less sugar, but any yogurt works fine

Fruit (fried apples, berries, bananas, etc.)

Chop 2 apples, cook in 1 TBSP of butter, 1 TBSP of brown sugar, ½ tsp. cinnamon, pinch of salt.  Sauté apples in a skillet until softened.  Spoon over waffles or pancakes.

Peanut Butter, Nutella, or Syrup

Saturday (Comfort Food)

“White Noodles” (Penne Alfredo)

1 box of Barilla Plus Penne (or other favorite pasta, I use Barilla Plus for its protein content as a meat replacer)—Cook noodles while sauce is being cooked

1 stick of butter

1 tsp. dried basil (or 2 tsp. of fresh basil)

1 TBSP. minced garlic

¼ cup Flour

Tony’s

1 Quart Half and Half (not fat free)

1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

Melt a stick of butter in a large skillet (with high sides—not an omelet skillet).  Add basil and garlic, stir.  Add flour, stirring constantly.  Do not let flour brown too quickly—cook on medium (or medium high) until flour begins to turn golden and is bubbly.  Slowly whisk in Half and Half.  Continue to stir, so that sauce doesn’t stick or burn—maybe 10-15 minutes.  When the sauce begins to bubble, add the Parmesan cheese and stir until thoroughly melted.

Add in cooked Penne noodles and stir to completely incorporate and cover noodles with sauce.

Sautéed Veggies

Julienne or coarse chop veggies:  carrots, zucchini, squash, onions, peppers, mushrooms (anything you have in the fridge—great way to use extra veggies!).  Sauté veggies in 1tsp. minced garlic, 1 TBSP Olive Oil AND 1 TBSP butter, season with a sprinkle of Tony’s.  Once veggies are softened, add in a handful or two of fresh spinach.  Cook until wilted.

French Bread