Weekly Menu Plan

Welcome to the menu for December 12-16, 2005! In order to make the best use of Menus 4 Moms, before beginning the Menu please read the Menus 4 Moms plan basics and the Busy Cooks Pyramid as Menus 4 Moms will be based on these items each week. If you have questions, please check the FAQ page.

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Menu for December 12-16, 2005

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Please check the message board if you have questions or comments about these recipes.

Monday - Recipes

Grilled Chicken
Corn on the Cob
Sliced Raw Vegetables and Dip
Dinner Rolls

Tuesday - Recipes

Linguini with Vegetables and Sauce
Acorn Squash
French Bread
Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Recipes

Tacos
Spanish Rice
Mexican Salad

Thursday - Recipes

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti
Creamed Peas
Vanilla Yogurt with Apples and Grapes

Friday - Recipes

Tater Tot Casserole
Celery Stuffed with Pimiento Cheese
Leftover Mexican Salad

Grocery List

This week's Grocery List can be downloaded here:

Grocery List for December 12-16, 2005 - PDF

Shopping List Software format (download shopping list free Windows software)

Monday Recipes

Notes for Monday:

Tonight we are going to grill chicken which we will use for dinner tonight, tomorrow, and Thursday. Chop all of the remaining chicken after dinner into bite-size pieces and set aside 1 1/2 cups for tomorrow and 2 cups for Thursday. Any extra should be put in dated freezer bags for later use.
Be sure to marinate your chicken for at least 12 hours, but 1-2 days is preferable.

Grilled Chicken

8 lbs. chicken parts of your choice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic salt or Adobo
1/2 tsp. pepper

Place marinade with chicken in a zipper bag and marinate overnight.

Grill chicken until it reaches 160° at the thickest part, or until white all the way through and juices run clear. Serve several pieces of the chicken tonight as needed for your family and save the rest as advised in the notes for today. If you do not have a grill, you can bake the chicken in the oven.

Corn on the Cob (frozen)

Sliced Raw Vegetables with Dip

Dinner Rolls

Tuesday Recipes

Notes for Tuesday:

A jar of Alfredo sauce and leftover chicken make tonight's meal a breeze to prepare.
Be sure to prepare the fruit salad early enough to allow time for it to chill.
I have put 3 acorn squash on the grocery list but you should adjust that to 1 squash for each 3 people on your list.

Linguini with Vegetables and Sauce

28 oz. jar of Alfredo sauce
1 lb. box linguini
1 1/2 cups chopped chicken
1 bag (14 oz.) bag frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
Parmesan Cheese (to taste)

Prepare linguine according to directions, cooking frozen vegetables in with linguini. Drain all and return to pan. Add sauce and chicken and heat. Heat tomatoes in microwave or on stovetop. Serve pasta mixture topped with tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.

Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash for each 2 people

Wash acorn squash, cut in half; scrape out seeds. Place upside down into a glass baking dish containing 2 Tbsp. water. Cook in microwave until squash is tender, (time depends on your microwave strength and the number of squash you are cooking).

Remove from microwave, drain water, and turn squash right side up in same dish. Into each hollow, place:

1 tsp. brown sugar or honey
1 tsp. butter
dash salt

Cook in microwave until butter mixture is bubbly. Serve hot.

French Bread

Fruit Salad

1 container (8 ounce) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 can (8 ounce) fruit cocktail, drained
1 can (8 ounce) pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (11 ounce) mandarin oranges, drained
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 jar (10 ounce) maraschino cherries, drained (optional)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Wednesday Recipes

Notes for Wednesday:

I have put 5 lbs. of ground beef on the grocery list so we can brown all of it and replenish our freezer supply of cooked ground beef. We will use 1 lb. of it tonight for tacos and save 1/2 lb. for Friday night. Place the rest in 1 lb. increments in dated freezer bags and freeze.
Tonight we are having Mexican Salad so we will prepare it ahead and save half for Friday night. I like to put all of the vegetables together but save out the dressing until I am ready to serve each portion.
You can serve hard or soft tacos, whichever your family prefers.

Tacos

tortillas or taco shells*
1 lb. cooked ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
grated cheese
sour cream
salsa

Prepare taco meat according to package directions. For softer tacos that don't break when you bite them, preheat oven to 300°. Fill each taco with meat and grated cheese and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Serve with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

Spanish Rice

1 chopped onion, sauteed (from freezer)
black pepper
chili powder
cumin
Adobo seasoning
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
Olive oil
1 can (15 oz.) chicken broth
1 cup water

Saute onion in olive oil in a Dutch oven until tender; remove from pan. Add 2 T. olive oil to pan and brown the uncooked rice. Do not burn! Add chicken broth and water (this will sizzle loudly when the liquid meets the hot oil), add seasonings to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes; do not open. When cooked, add onions and any other warmed items you may have on hand that would be good in rice (corn, salsa, Rotel, etc.). Stir gently and serve.

Mexican Salad

variety of lettuces, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 can black olives, drained
1 tomato, diced
1 bottle ranch salad dressing

Combine all ingredients, reserving half for Friday, and serve with ranch dressing.

Thursday Recipes

Notes for Thursday:

Tonight we are using chicken leftover from Monday's grilled chicken. If you didn't grill chicken and don't have any in your freezer, you will need to add it to your grocery list.
You can adjust the spiciness of this dish by either reducing or omitting the green chiles. I usually add them last and only put them on one side so it will not be too spicy for the children.

Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

1 package (8 oz) spaghetti, broken in half
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup milk
1 T diced pimientos (optional)
1 can green chiles (optional)
1 Tbsp. tarragon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the chicken, 1 cup cheese, soup, milk, pimientos, green chiles, tarragon, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti, add to the chicken mixture and toss to coat.

Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Creamed Peas

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
2 cups frozen peas (use a 10 oz box, or measure 2-cups from a bag of loose frozen peas)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir with a whisk for 1 minute. Do not brown the flour and butter mixture. Continue stirring constantly and add the milk gradually. Add salt, pepper, and sugar. Heat to a simmer and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add peas and heat to a simmer. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until peas are tender-crisp. Do not overcook.

Vanilla Yogurt with Apple Slices and Grapes

Friday Recipes

Notes for Friday: none

Tater Tot Casserole

1- 32. oz package frozen Tater Tots
1/2 lb. browned ground beef (from Wednesday)
1- 16 oz. container sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1- 4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
1 pkg. sauteed onions (from freezer)
1- 6 oz. can French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13 casserole pan. Place frozen tater tots in bottom of pan. Sprinkle beef over tater tots. In a bowl, mix sour cream,cheese, soups, mushrooms, and sauteed onions. Pour over beef. Top with French fried onions. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Celery Stuffed with Pimiento Cheese

Leftover Mexican Salad

* Indicates that of the options listed, this item is the one on the grocery list.

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