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Monday, May 25, 2009

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 5/25

We're starting this week off with a Memorial Day cookout at my grandma's house. It's a lunch cookout though, and we're usually hungry for something not-to-filling at dinnertime. So we can't avoid dinner that day! Here's my plan, including a recipe for Mini Meatloves at the end.

Monday
Homemade Pizza

Tuesday
Grilled chicken made from extra chicken we made at the end of last week.

Wednesday
Turkey breast (bought on sale two weeks ago)
A rice or noodle mix - haven't decided yet - have several on-hand to choose from
Fresh green beans

Thursday
Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore (recipe HERE - I'm using chicken breasts instead.)
Side Salad

Friday
Turkey 'n Noodles
Frozen peas

Saturday
We're headed to the first birthday party of a sweet little friend of ours!

Sunday
Mini meatloaves (affectionately called "meat muffins" by hubby) (Recipe below)
Canned corn
Homemade bread

It's a pretty simple fare this week. I'm trying to use what I have on-hand. I did have to make a quick Kroger run for a few ingredients. I did not have to buy any meat this week though, and that cuts the grocery bill way down!


Mini Meatloaves
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 6 oz. package stuffing mix
1 cup water
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Add-In (see options below)
Sauce (see options below)

Mix meat, stuffing mix, water, and choice of add-in.
Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.
Make an indentation in the center of each meatloaf. Fill with sauce.
Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through (160°). Top with cheese; continue baking 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Option 1: Add-in - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sauce – ¾ cup barbecue sauce

Option 2: Add-in – 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Sauce – ¾ cup spaghetti sauce

Option 3: Add-in – 2 tsp chili powder
Sauce – ¾ cup salsa

* These freeze and reheat very well. We usually eat 6 of them at one meal and save the other 6 for another meal. So, by cooking these once, I'm cooking the main dish for two meals.

For more great menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday sponsored by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

3 comments:

Tara said...

I've been wanting to try to make the mini-meatloaves, and love your variation ideas.

After freezing--how do you prepare/thaw/reheat?

Jennifer said...

Tara, these came from a Food & Family magazine, I think. They had the great variations worked right into the recipe. I especially like the Italian one.

I used the ones I'd frozen in a pinch for dinner one night. They went straight from the freezer to the microwave. I guess I would probably prefer to defrost in the fridge first, but when you're in a hurry, it works! They were surprisingly good from freezer to microwave. You could always add a little extra sauce or ketchup for dipping if they're a little dry. Ours were pretty good though!

Tara said...

I made these tonight (with ground turkey) and it was very yummy--a hit with everyone. Thanks so much!