Weekly Menu 5/11+

Saturday		lasagna soup
Sunday		ranch chicken rice spinach
Monday		sloppy joes carrots
Tuesday		chicken parmesan buttered noodles zucchini
Wednesday		shake and bake pork chops broccoli rice casserole
Thursday		chicken fried rice egg rolls orange slices
Friday		filet-o-fish tater tots broccoli

Saturday

Lasagna Soup (Austin Statesman)

Have fun with this recipe. In almost every grocery store, you'll find a number of dried pastas that mimic the squiggly edges of traditional lasagna noodles. I used one called galletti that I found at World Market. Everyone has a favorite way to make lasagna, and if your go-to recipe calls for cottage cheese, mix some of it in the cheese topping. Like to add green bell peppers or other vegetables in the sauce or among the lasagna layers? Saute them with the onions at the beginning. (Don't add delicate ingredients such as spinach or kale until closer to the end.)

You can cook the pasta in the soup mixture, but I prefer cooking it separately so I don't accidentally overcook the pasta. It also makes it easier to store and reheat leftovers. If you cook the pasta in the soup, the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid and get mushy if you don't eat it right away.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. ground beef or ground Italian sausage (or a mix of both)

2 cups chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. dried oregano or Italian seasoning mix

2 Tbsp. tomato paste (As a substitute for tomato paste, you can use tomato powder, which is available at places such as Savory Spice Shop.)

1 24-oz. jar tomato sauce (you can use homemade, if desired)

1 can diced tomatoes

5 cups chicken stock

8 oz. mafalda, gigli, ricciarelle, galletti or fusilli pasta

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For garnish:

1 cup ricotta

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

Basil pesto or finely chopped basil leaves

Grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot over medium heat, heat olive oil and brown meat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add onions, garlic, oregano or seasoning mix and continue cooking for another 8 to 10 minutes, until onions start to soften. Add tomato paste or powder, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and then add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 25 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

While the soup is simmering, bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions on the package, and then drain the water. While the pasta and soup are cooking, combine the ricotta, mozzarella and salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, use a ladle to fill individual soup bowls about half full with the soup mixture and then add a portion of the cooked pasta. Top with a hefty dollop of the cheese mixture and a smaller spoonful of the basil pesto, or, if using, some of the chopped basil leaves. Dust with a sprinkle or a few shavings of Parmesan cheese and serve. Serves four to six.

EZ Chocolate Mousse

1 ½ c milk

1/3 c chocolate chips

1 box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding

6 oz Greek Fat Free yogurt

1 ½ c frozen (thawed) cool whip

In a small bowl combine ¼ c milk chocolate chips.  Heat in microwave until milk is hot and chocolate is melted; about 45 seconds at 80% power in my microwave.  Combine remaining milk and pudding mix until well blended.  Add yogurt until combined.  Add melted chocolate chips until combined.  Fold in cool whip.  Place in serving cups if desired; we like to eat it out of the big bowl, but hey that’s just us.

Sunday

Cook extra chicken tonight for Thursday’s Fried Rice

Ranch Chicken (Menus4Moms)

2 lbs. chicken pieces, your choice

2 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix

Empty Ranch dressing envelopes into a bowl and mix well. You may add bread crumbs to the dressing if you would like more of a coating to your chicken. After rinsing and drying chicken, dredge chicken pieces in the dressing mix. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and place coated chicken in it. Bake 45 minutes at 325°F or until done.

Rice

Spinach

Monday

Sloppy Joes

Carrots

Tuesday

Chicken Parmesan

Butter Noodles

Zucchini

Wednesday

Shake and Bake Pork Chops

Broccoli Rice Casserole (Marla)

2 cups cooked rice
1 pkg Frozen Chopped Broccoli (cooked according to directions)
½ cup diced onions
½ cup diced celery
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cut into very small cubes
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ cup breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Cook rice and broccoli according to directions.  Sauté onion and celery in butter until softened.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until the hot rice mostly melts the Velveeta.

Pour into a greased 2-qt Casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs.  Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Thursday

Chicken Fried Rice

3 c cooked rice, calrose works best for this dish

4 eggs

2T oil

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 c frozen mixed veggies,  thawed

2 c cooked chicken

3T soy sauce

2T ketchup

In skillet cook 4 beaten eggs in the oil, slice eggs and reserve.  Sauté celery, onion and pepper in same skillet; cook 6 minutes.  Stir in rice, mixed veggies and chicken let it brown a bit and add more oil as needed.  Finish with soy sauce and ketchup. 

Egg Rolls

Orange slices

Friday

Filet-o-Fish

Tater Tots

Broccoli