Menu Planning Monday: My menu for the week of 8/29

HAPPY MONDAY! This week is “bearable” for me because I know that I have a three day weekend just around the corner 🙂

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.

SUNDAY:

Breakfast ~ Waffles

Lunch ~ Chili cheese dogs

Dinner ~ Bourbon chicken – Keli shared this recipe awhile back in a Menu Planning Monday post on her blog. Our family loves it!

Ingredients:
1 1/2-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1-2 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 c. apple juice (in the comments section on Recipezaar, some people substituted pineapple juice or orange juice – we tried pineapple juice this time because I had some left from my teriyaki chicken last week and it was good!)
1/3 c. light brown sugar
2 T ketchup
1 T cider vinegar (in the comments section on Recipezaar, some people substituted balsamic vinger or did half and half – I tried half and half and it was good!)
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. soy sauce

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken. Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well dissolved. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

NOTES: On Recipezaar, some people mixed cornstarch and water and added it at the end to thicken the sauce. We also doubled the sauce recipe because the sauce is just soo yummy! We serve this with rice and steamed broccoli.

WW points = 7 points per serving (add 2 points for 1/2 c. rice or 4 points for 1 cup)

MONDAY:

Breakfast ~ Toaster strudel

Dinner ~ Rice meatballs – This is a recipe from my mother in law. I’m going to make the meatballs before I go to work so all I have to do is cook them when I get home!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked minute rice
1 lb ground beef (I use 93/7)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 t. grated onion
2 t. salt (I cut this in half)
1/8 t marjoram
dash pepper
2 1/2 cups tomato juice (or two 8 oz cans tomato sauce mixed with 1/2 cup water)
1/2 t sugar

Combine rice and all other ingredients except tomato juice and sugar. Form balls and arrange in skillet. Pour tomato juice & sugar over meatballs. Bring to boil. Reduce heat & simmer uncovered 15 minutes.
Sides = green beans and green salad

WW points = 7 points/serving

TUESDAY:

Breakfast ~ Scrambled eggs & bacon

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)

WEDNESDAY:

Breakfast ~ Cold cereal

Dinner ~ Cheesy rigatoni bake – this recipe came from this cookbook: Girlfriends on the Go: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Make-Ahead Meals (it can be frozen although I have never tried it that way)

Ingredients:
1 16 oz pkg rigatoni noodles
2 Tbsp butter or margarine (we use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. milk
1/4 c. water
4 eggs, beaten
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (we use fat free or reduced fat cheese)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt until smooth. Gradually add milk and water. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Add beaten eggs. Spoon into a greased 9X13 pan. Top with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Spoon white sauce over top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
(I prepare this in the morning and refrigerate. I just pop it in the oven when I get home).

WW points = 10 points per serving, serve with green salad and a “green” veggie (broccoli or green beans)

THURSDAY:

Breakfast ~ Waffles

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 and broccoli

FRIDAY:

Breakfast ~ Omelettes – I got an “omelet maker” for next to nothing at Walgreens after Thanksgiving – all you do is add a mixture of eggs and toppings and let it cook!

Dinner ~ Enchilada casserole – This is a recipe that my sister came up with. She uses canned chicken when she makes it. I came up with a little bit of a variation.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (shredded) – or 1 can chicken
1 large can red enchilada sauce
corn tortillas
shredded cheese – I use reduced fat

Directions: (this is what I do) – I put my chicken and the enchilada sauce in the crockpot the night before and then shred it when I get up in the morning. If you are using canned chicken, you can just shred it as you are making the casserole. I spread some of the chicken/sauce mixture along the bottom of the casserole dish so it doesn’t stick. Break corn tortillas into four pieces and layer across the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread a layer of the chicken/sauce mixture and cheese. Add another layer of corn tortillas. Continue until you are out of the chicken/sauce mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

WW points = 8 points per serving (for 4 servings) – serve w/ green salad and grapes

SATURDAY:

Breakfast ~ Pop Up Pancakes – This is a “new” recipe for us that I took from Make & Takes (I love this blog!) – it’s another one that’s easy to do if you need a quick breakfast fix.

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 ~ Grilled cheese sandwiches w/ tomato soup

Dinner ~ Cheesy ham pasta bake – This recipe originally comes from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Cheesy Ham and Pasta Bake – Inspired by Tiffanee at One Crazy Cookie

1 lb. whole wheat penne pasta
2 C extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 C diced ham
8oz. mushrooms, sliced
4 T white wheat flour
3 C milk* (divided)
1/4 tsp. pepper.

Begin by boiling the pasta according to package directions. Then, mix together 1 C milk and flour in a large measuring cup. Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms in a large skillet with a little olive oil, if necessary. When mushrooms are cooked, remove from the pan and toss with diced ham. In the same skillet, pour the milk mixture into the pan. Stir constantly, adding additional milk to reach desired thickness (I ended up adding ~1C milk to the mixture) while warming the mixture so that it thickens. Simmer about 3 minutes. Add in the ham and mushroom mix, and simmer until ham warms. Then, add in 3/4 of the shredded cheese. Spread the pasta into a 9×13 glass baking dish. Pour the cheesy sauce over the pasta. Stir to coat. Then, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Stick the dish into a warm oven… about 300 degrees, for 10 minutes, until the cheese on the top melts.
Dinner ~

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!