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. 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.
If you’re new to menu planning, check out my post about how I do my menu planning.
Get more inspiration by checking out the hundreds of menu plans posted every week at orgjunkie.com!
NOTE: I sometimes get e-mails expressing “concern” that there are no fruits and vegetables included in our meal plan. I typically only include our “main dish” items and not our “side/snack” items unless there is a really yummy recipe that I want to share. If you want to know more about what my $40 weekly grocery budget includes, check out this post.
SUNDAY:
Breakfast ~ Sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast burritos
Lunch ~ Chicken nuggets and fruit skewers
Dinner ~ Stacked green enchiladas – This is a modified version of a recipe my dad makes
Ingredients:
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% FF)
1 can Rotel (drained)
3-4 chicken breasts
corn tortillas (one dozen)
monterrey jack cheese
I place the chicken breasts, enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, and Rotel in the crockpot on low all day. When I get home, I shred the chicken and add it back to the mixture. Then, you can either do stacked enchiladas (pour some of the mixture on a corn tortilla/add cheese and repeat for as many layers as you would like) or do rolled enchiladas (place some of the mixture in the corn tortilla, roll, and place in a pan….repeat 9 times…then, pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top and top with cheese and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes).
WW points = 8 per serving (makes 4 servings)
MONDAY:
Breakfast ~ Cereal
Lunch ~ Out with friends!
Dinner ~ Balsamic Chicken (slow cooker) – This recipe was posted by Holly on the Simply Clean Living blog. We’ve tried it a few times now and it is a hit with our family.
Ingredients:
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Halves – approx. 1.5 to 2 lbs.
½ C. Olive Oil
½ – 1 C. Balsamic Vinegar – depending on how tangy you like the recipe
1 large can of diced tomatoes (if you are putting frozen chicken breasts in your slow cooker, drain your tomatoes – I learned that the hard way!)
1 can tomato sauce (I use an 8 oz can)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
2 t. crushed dry oregano
Combine all ingredients in Crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and serve chicken and sauce over rice or angel hair pasta. The consistency and taste of the sauce is sweet and tangy like an Italian barbeque sauce.
WW points = 11 per serving (add 2 points for 1/2 cup pasta or rice or 4 points for 1 cup pasta or rice); NOTE: cut the olive oil to 2 Tablespoons and it cuts this recipe to 5 points per serving!
TUESDAY:
Breakfast ~ Strawberry crepes – This is a Taste of Home recipe that I originally found posted on The Junk Drawer. I’ve never made crepes before, but the recipe sounds easy enough and it’s low in points, too!
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups fat-free milk
3/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup strawberry spreadable fruit
3 cups chopped fresh strawberries
2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar
In a large bowl, combine the milk, egg substitute and vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar and salt; add to milk mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Coat a 7- or 8-in. nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Pour about 2 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to plate; keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, coating with additional cooking spray as needed. Spread each crepe with about 2 teaspoons spreadable fruit. Top with about 3 tablespoons strawberries. Roll up. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Yield: 8 servings.
WW points = 1 per crepe or 3 points for every 2 crepes (I don’t know why it works out that way, but it does)
Lunch ~ Macaroni & cheese and green beans
Dinner ~ Steak stroganoff (slow cooker) – This is a family favorite!
Ingredients:
2T flour
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 3/4 lb. boneless round steak
2 cans 10 3/4 oz cream of mushroom soup (I use 98% FF)
2 c. water (or 1 can 100% FF beef broth for more flavor)
1 envelope beef stew mix
4 oz can mushrooms, sliced and drained
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T minced parsley
Combine flour, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika in slow cooker. Cut meat into 1 1/2 inch strips. Place in flour mixture and toss until meat is well coated. Add soup, water, and stew mix. Stir until well blended. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours. Stir in mushrooms, sour cream, and parsley and then cook on high 10-15 minutes until heated through. Serve over egg noodles. (Depending on the consistency of the sauce, you may need to add cornstarch to thicken or add more water/broth to thin)
To freeze: Pour into gallon freezer bags (I used Ziploc containers for this one). Allow to cool before freezing.
To reheat: Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Warm on stove and serve over rice or egg noodles. (Add sour cream when warming if you left it out of the initial recipe)
WW points = 7 points/serving, 6-8 servings (add 2 points for 1/2 c. cooked pasta or 4 points for 1 cup)
WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast ~ Pop Up Pancakes – This is a “new” recipe for us that I took from Make & Takes (I love this blog!) – we were going to try it last week, but it didn’t happen, so we’ll try again this week!
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
dash salt
Preheat oven at 400*. Blend all ingredients in blender. Grease muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes or until puffy and golden on top. Use a knife to “pop” them out. Add desired toppings.
Lunch ~ Mini pizzas (we use English muffins, top with a little bit of tomato sauce, toppings of choice, and cheese)
Dinner ~ Red Chicken Chili with Cornbread Muffies – when I make this, I put all of the ingredients in my crockpot on low for the day
Ingredients:
1 bag sliced white mushrooms
1 can (15.5 oz) light red kidney beans, rinse and drain
1 16 oz jar chipotle salsa
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
6 oz American ale beer (I’m going to omit this)
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons minced garlic (not dried)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons flour
Boil chicken breasts in water for 40 minutes, shred with fork.
Combine all ingredients except flour. Mix flour with just enough hot water to make a paste. Add to ingredients. Bring to a simmer and continue for 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes. Top with extra cheese and sour cream.
Notes: Since I made mine in the crockpot, I didn’t do the “paste” part. I just dumped everything in the crockpot (including the chicken breasts, which were frozen) and let it cook on low for the day. I shredded the chicken, mixed it all together, and let it cook on low for about 15 minutes before serving.
WW points = 5 per serving (makes 4-6 servings)
THURSDAY:
Breakfast ~ Scrambled eggs
Lunch ~ Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Dinner ~ Kahlua Pork – I got this recipe from a BabyCenter Crock Pot Cooking board – we had it once before and it was YUMMY (plus, there were lots of leftovers!)
Ingredients:
6-7 lb. bone in pork shoulder (I’m using a 4 lb boneless one that I have on hand)
1/2 cup soy sauce (we’re using low sodium)
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
fresh garlic
salt
2 capfuls liquid smoke
Directions: rub pork with garlic and toss it in the slow cooker with all the other ingredients. 5 hours on high, or 9 on low will create a super tender pulled pork, hawaiian barbecue tasting pork. YUMMY! I threw some rice in the rice cooker to accompany it or you can put the pork and some bbq sauce on a bun and have sandwiches
WW points = 7 per serving (makes 8 servings), add 2 points for 1/2 cup rice or 4 points for 1 cup rice
Serve w/ sliced pineapple
FRIDAY:
Breakfast ~ Oatmeal
Lunch ~ Crescent dogs – my kids love this because it has hot dogs and because they get to help out with making it!
INGREDIENTS
8 hot dogs
4 slices (3/4 oz each) American cheese, each cut into 6 strips (we just used shredded cheddar cheese)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit.
2. Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up.
3. Bake at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Dinner ~ Shepherd’s Pie (Slow cooker) – This recipe comes from the 101 Things to Do With a Slow Cooker cookbook
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 can (10 ¾ ounces) tomato soup, condensed
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) French cut green beans, drained
2 cups instant mashed potatoes, prepared
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
½ tsp. basil
In a separate bowl, combine beef, tomato soup, corn, beans, and basil. Pour mixture in the bottom of a greased 3 ½ to 5 quart slow cooker. Spread mashed potatoes on top. Cover and cook on low heat 5-6 hours. The last hour of cooking, sprinkle cheese on top of potatoes.
WW points = 9 per serving (for 4 servings)
SATURDAY:
Breakfast ~ Lemon-blueberry pancakes – This is another Taste of Home recipe
Lunch ~ Turkey-cheese roll-ups with carrot sticks, celery sticks, and ranch dip
Dinner ~ Teriyaki Turkey Burgers – This is a Taste of Home recipe that I saw on Mommy Meals! menu last week and decided to try out. I started using ground turkey for the first time about a year ago and now we’re hooked. I’m excited to try out this recipe!
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
3 green onions, chopped
4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce, divided
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 pound ground turkey (I use 93/7)
1 can (8 ounces) sliced pineapple, drained
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, onions, 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce and onion powder. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into four 3/4-in. thick patties. Using long-handled tongs, dip a paper towel in cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill patties, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear. Brush with remaining teriyaki sauce during the last 5 minutes. Grill or broil pineapple slices for 3-4 minutes on each side or until heated through. Serve burgers and pineapple on buns. Yield: 4 servings.
WW points = 8 per serving (including factoring in 3 points for the bun)
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