Menu Planning Monday: My menu for the week of 5/23

For those of you who may be doing Weight Watchers, I have included the points per serving calculations for most of my recipes this week (we had lots of family things going on this weekend, so I didn’t have time to calculate all the recipes – I will try to have the points added in for the others by the end of the day). I used the “Recipe Builder” feature on the WeightWatchers.com e-Tools program to input all of the ingredients and calculate the points, so it should be pretty accurate.

You can read more about my $40 weekly budget in this post here.

SUNDAY ~ Pizza (at my kids request) and banana pudding – the banana pudding is a family favorite and my husband told me last night that I never make it often enough. To be honest, I just forget about it, but we love it every time we have it!

INGREDIENTS

* 8 ounces sour cream (I use “light”)
* 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I use “light”)
* 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
* 2 cups whole milk (I use “skim”)
* 1 (16 ounce) package vanilla wafer cookies (I use “reduced fat”
* 4 bananas, peeled and sliced

DIRECTIONS

In large bowl combine sour cream, whipped topping, pudding mix and milk. Stir well. In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other glass serving dish, put a layer of cookies, then a layer of pudding mixture, then a layer of bananas. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Refrigerate until serving.

(After calculating the points, I think I realized WHY I hardly every make this – it’s 6 points per serving even with all the reduced fat stuff!  This makes 10 servings)

MONDAY ~ Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops – I found this recipe on Unfinished Mom, who posted it on Menu Planning Monday on orgjunkie.com last week.  It sounds yummy!

Here’s the recipe complete with the Unfinished Mom’s revisions:

Ingredients:

* 3/4 Cup grated Parmesan* (we use reduced fat)
* 2 large eggs, whisked
* 1 Cup Italian style bread crumbs**
* 4 porkchops (1/2 – 3/4″ thick) – bone-in or boneless***
* salt & pepper to taste
* 6 Tbsp olive oil (we’ll use 3)

Directions:

1. Lay out 3 pie plates (or other similar size container with sides). Place Parmesan cheese, whisked eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate pie plates (one ingredient in each container).
2. Sprinkle pork chops with salt & pepper on both sides.
3. Coat pork chops with parmesan cheese on both sides; pat to adhere.
4. Dip chops into eggs, turn to coat both sides.
5. Dredge pork chops in bread crumbs; turn to coat both sides. Pat to adhere.
6. Heat 3 T oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chops in batches if necessary; cook until golden brown and center reaches 150° (~6 minutes per side; longer for thicker chops). (DO NOT try to “hurry” this up by raising the heat; the pork chops will scorch on the outside and be underdone inside.)
7. Transfer to plate; serve.

Notes:
* The original recipe calls for freshly grated Parmesan, but I rarely use it because of the expense; the recipe is wonderful either way.

** Regular bread crumbs with 1 Tblsp Italian seasoning mixed in works fine.

*** I’ve used both bone-in and boneless pork chops with great success.

My digital probe thermometer and my long-handled tongs are essential tools for this recipe. The recipe is easily cut in half for our family. We find 2 pork chops is more than enough meat for 2 adults and 2 young children and often have about 1/2 pork chop for leftovers.

WW points = 9 points per serving (makes 4 servings), serve with green beans and cantaloupe slices

TUESDAY ~ French dip sandwiches (slow cooker) – This is a family favorite and I love it because it is SOOO easy to make!

Ingredients:
beef roast
2 cans beef broth
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
4-6 hoagie buns
(we also add some swiss or provolone cheese)

Place roast in a greased slow cooker. Pour broth over the top of the roast. Add spices. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours (or high heat 5-7 hours). Remove roast and save extra juice. With a fork, break the meat apart and serve on hoagies. Use excess juice for dipping sandwiches.

WW points = 6 points per serving (this does not include the cheese or the buns)

WEDNESDAY ~ Taco salad – This is a pretty basic recipe that my mom used to make all of the time when I was a kid – it sounds a little bit strange, but when you mix it all together, it’s yummy!

Ingredients:
Iceberg lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
Ground beef, browned (I use 1/2 lb and mix mine with a little bit of taco seasoning as I cook it, I use 93/7)
Corn tortilla chips (crushed)
Shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz bag)
Thousand Island salad dressing (chilled, we use the “light” variety)

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

WW points = 7 points per serving (makes 6-8 servings)

THURSDAY ~ Honey glazed “dump” chicken – I saw this posted on the Orgjunkie.com Menu Planning Monday last week (unfortunately, I can’t remember which blog it was posted on)

WW points = 7 points per serving (makes 4 servings)

FRIDAY ~ Black bean and chicken burritos (slow cooker) – This is another family favorite that is SUPER easy to make!

Ingredients:
1 taco/fajita seasoning packet
2 cans black beans, drained
2-3 chicken breasts
1 can green enchilada sauce

Place chicken breasts in bottom of the crockpot and then add remaining ingredients. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken before serving and serve in tortillas. We add cheese, sour cream, etc. to the tortillas. We sometimes add rice (cooked rice to the mixture once we’re ready to serve, not in the crockpot!). This is also really good if you use beef instead of the chicken!

Side:  Cilantro Lime Rice (this recipe also comes from Marci’s blog!)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter (I use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
1 1/2 cups rice
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 large lime (juice and zest)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:
In a skillet, melt butter and add rice. Let cook for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except cilantro) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 18-20 minutes. Add cilantro with a few minutes before done. Fluff with fork and serve.

WW points = 3 points per serving (makes 4 servings)

SATURDAY ~ Tator tot casserole

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can French style green beans
1/2 (32 ounce) package tater tots
shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef and drain fat. Stir in condensed cream of mushroom soup, water, garlic salt, cheese, and green beans. Pour the mixture into a medium-sized casserole dish and layer with the tater tots. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until tater tots are browned and crispy.

WW points = 8 points per serving