Menu Planning Monday: My menu for the week of 5/9

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 ~  I’m sharing multiple recipes for today!

Breakfast ~ Velveeta Breakfast Casserole – I got this recipe in an e-mail newsletter from Recipe Lion (if you haven’t downloaded their Free Copycat Recipe cookbook yet, it’s great!)  My husband and kids made this for me for breakfast and it was delicious!

Ingredients

* 1 pound frozen hash browns, thawed
* 1 pound pork sausage
* 1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
* 8 eggs
* 1/4 cup milk
* salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9×13″ dish. Brown sausage and drain excess fat.
2. Beat eggs. Add milk, salt and pepper.
3. In prepared dish, layer ingredients. Begin with half of hash browns, then half of sausage, then half of eggs.
4. Add half of cheese. Repeat layers with remaining half of ingredients. Bake for 45 minutes.

WW points = 9 (for 10 servings – this is pretty “rich” so a little goes a long way)

Dinner ~ Chili’s Margarita Grilled Chicken – when my husband and I go to Chili’s, their Margarita Grilled Chicken is our FAVORITE! I was so excited to find this ‘copycat’ recipe on the Frugal Novice blog.

Yield: 4 servings.
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
1 C. Liquid Margarita Mix
Fresh Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
Pour margarita mix over chicken breast and let marinate for 2 hours in refrigerator.  When ready to prepare drain and dust with black pepper to taste.
If you do not have a grill use a iron skillet and bring to medium high temperature and spray an oil coating into pan and braise chicken breast until done on each side. Place chicken breast atop of black beans and serve with a serving of your favorite Mexican rice and a generous helping of Pico de Gallo.

WW points per serving = 4 (makes 4 servings)

Chipotle rice – This is another ‘copycat’ recipe and it’s what the poster on The Frugal Novice paired her Margarita Grilled Chicken with!

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter (I use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
2 tsp. fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
2/3 cup white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.  Before serving stir in cilantro.

WW points = 2 points per serving (makes 4 servings)

Serve with black beans as a side

MONDAY ~  Cheese-stuffed meatloaf – This recipe was featured on last week’s Menu Planning Monday on orgjunkie.com and it sounds AWESOME!  Can’t wait to try it!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I use the 93/7)
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian or plain breadcrumbs
1 jar pasta sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup diced onion
1 Tbs. Parsley (optional)
Parmesan Cheese

In a large bowl combine ground beef, 1/3 cup pasta sauce, egg and bread crumbs. Line a 13×9 casserole dish with plastic wrap. Shape the beef mixture into a rectangle covering the bottom of the dish.  Cover with 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley(if desired).  Leave at 3/4 inch border around the edges.

Roll starting at long end jelly roll style. Use your plastic wrap to help you roll. Remove plastic as you roll it up.  Press all ends together.

Bake 350 degrees uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and drain as much grease off as you can. Pour remaining pasta sauce over meatloaf and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake additional 15 minutes until sauce is hot and cheese is melted.

*It works well to roll it up, wrap tightly in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge for atleast 30 minutes. (Mine will be in the fridge for most of the day because I’ll make it before I go to work)

WW points = 9 per serving (6 servings)

Serve w/ green beans and green salad

TUESDAY ~ Chicken & dumplings (slow cooker)

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2-3 carrots, sliced
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
1 tsp salt, optional
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
paprika
2 pkg refrigerated biscuit dough, torn in pieces (I only use one)

Place chicken, vegetables, soups & seasonings in crockpot and fill with enough water to cover.  Cover with lid and cook on low 5-6 hours.  About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough into the crockpot.  Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

NOTE:  If I don’t have time for the biscuits to cook in the slow cooker, I just cook them in the oven and then tear up the biscuits and add them.

WW points = 8 (makes 6 servings)

Serve w/ fruit salad (mixture of cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, and grapes)

WEDNESDAY ~ Taco bar (I asked my husband what for dinner ideas for the week and this is what he asked for – that’s easy enough for me!)

THURSDAY ~ Feta Pork Chop Skillet – I got this recipe from Marci’s blog and I have tried it once before and it was great.

Ingredients:
1 t crushed dried rosemary
1 t dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch black pepper
1 T olive oil
4 pork chops (I used 3)
¼ c fresh lemon juice
2 oz (or more) crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes (I used 4 oz)
1-2 yellow summer squash or zucchini, remove seeds and slice (I have never removed seeds from them so I didn’t…I used 3 zucchini and 2 squash because I love them, but I did have to take the meat out at the end so I had more room for them all to finish cooking)

Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together rosemary, basil, garlic, and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip pork chops in lemon juice, and spread both sides with herb mixture.
Place pork chops in skillet, drizzle with some of remaining lemon juice, and sear both sides, about 7 minutes per side.
After a few minutes, add sliced squash to edges of pan. Reduce heat to low.
Sprinkle feta on top of chops; cover skillet, and cook until cheese begins to melt, about 5 minutes.

WW points = 7 points per serving (makes 4 servings), serve with green salad and angel hair pasta (add 2 points for 1/2 cup or 4 points for 1 cup)

FRIDAY ~  Hot dogs (I asked my kids what they wanted for dinner this week and I can’t say I was very surprised at their answer….it makes me laugh sometimes because I try so hard to put together “good” meals and this is always their favorite!)

SATURDAY ~ Date night!  (my son’s daycare provider offers a free night of babysitting every few months…this is our week and we’re excited for a date night!)