Menu Plan Monday - Family Favorites Edition

Menu Plan Monday

Well, Percy is doing better- on Friday I had to take him to the Vet where he was just starting with a bout of Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). We caught it early, and not sure what caused it, it might have been some new treats we were giving him - but he hadn't had any recently so we're not sure. We'll know more when we re-check his bloodwork in a few weeks. This weekend was mostly watching him - it's amazing how much time was spent watching him, just making sure he was acting normal and asking each other if we thought he was doing better. I told hubby, and he actually said he was thinking the same thing, it's almost a good thing that I wasn't working. I was able to take Percy to the vets on Friday and take care of the phone calls without having to totally re-arrange my schedule. That has come in handy quite a few times - even if it's not quite so handy money-wise. Because of the "excitement" I got the pizza dough started a bit late and hence ate dinner late- but we still had homemade pizza. YUM! :)

For dinner Saturday I was able to pick up a turkey breast for 1/2 off - it was around $5.80 something - since it was shortdated. I roasted that using some Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning and served it with mashed potatoes and garlic sauted spinach. I used the other turkey breast (well part of it) for turkey sandwiches for tonight's dinner and the rest will be put to use for turkey noodle soup. I took Cranberry Turkey Burgers to MiL's and the recipe made 6 but I only needed 4 so I have 2 left for us for later (I may freeze or may pull out this week). I had to buy 2 packages of ground turkey to have enough meat for it, so I've got enough ground turkey to make Upside-Down Meatloaf from Saving Dinner (recipe below). I've been craving meatloaf - and this is one of my favorites. I also pulled out a hunk of beef from the freezer so I'll make a roast tomorrow and then we'll have beef for other uses too. I'm wanting beef stew so I might even make that with leftovers but we'll see. It's a 4 lb roast, so we'll have plenty of leftovers.

For more menu ideas visit: I'm an Organizing Junkie
This week is a bit different at the MPM Main site: "Here we are for Menu Plan Monday Family Favorites Edition!! You are invited to post at least one recipe or recipe link of one of your family’s favorite meals. That way we know that every link we click on this week will have a tried and true recipe for us to check out. " And here at Chez JJ - it' all Favorites pretty much. :) Recipes under the menu.

Monday: Crock Roast
Tuesday: Upside-Down Meatloaf
Wednesday: Turkey Noodle Soup
Thursday: Shredded Beefwiches (leftover Roast)
Friday: Homemade Pizza

Crock Roast
Serves 10

3 lbs rump roast, trimmed
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp thyme
1 onion, quartered
4 carrots, sliced 1" thick
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef broth

In a large skillet, brown the beef on high on all sides. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place beef in the crockpot and top with the thyme and onion. Put carrots around the side.

In the skillet that browned the beef, add the broth and red wine and cook till boiling, deglazing the pan as you go. Pour this on top of the beef.

Place lid on the crockpot and cook on high for about 4-5 hours.

Per serving: 227 calories, 7g total fat (29% calories from fat); 31g prot, 5g carb, 79mg chol, 356 mg sod

From Healthy Foods by Leanne Ely

Upside-Down Meat Loaf
Serves 6

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/4 pounds extra-lean ground beef
1 1/4 cups oats
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x6 inch loaf pan.

On the bottom of the pan, press brown sugar, then spread the ketchup over the sugar.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Make a loaf out of mixture and place it carefully on top of the sugar/ketchup mixture in the loaf pan.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until juice runs clear.

Per serving:420 calories, 19g fat (41.7% calories from fat), 25g prot, 36g carb, 3 g fiber, 129mg chol, 712 mg sod. Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch), 3 lean meat, 1/2 Veg, 0 non-fat milk, 2 fat, 1 other carb

Serving Suggestions: Serve with mashed potatoes, peas and steamed baby carrots.
From Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 10
From “The Pillsbury Cookbook” copyright 1989
This is one of the first things I fed John when we met. I had made a bunch of this while living in an apartment while at Va Tech – notice the recipe serves 10- and had frozen it. I was probably just glad to have someone else to eat it at the time. I must admit we eat it quite often now though. I've noticed that this recipe isn't in the newest version of their cookbook (it's originally under Chicken Soup with Rice with the noodles as a variation), which I find quite odd.

2 1/2 to 3 lb fry chicken, cut up
10 cups water
1/2 c chopped onion
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme leaves, crushed
6 peppercorns or 1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup uncooked egg noodles

In 5 quart Dutch oven, combine chicken and water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add onion, salt, thyme and peppercorns. Simmer covered an additional 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and peppercorns from broth; cool.

Remove chicken from bones; cut into bite-size pieces.

Skim fat from broth. [Easiest if you do the next day.] Bring broth to a boil. Stir in chicken pieces, celery, and carrots. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add egg noodles and simmer 10 minutes until noodles and vegetables are tender.

Variation: Add 1/2 cup uncooked white or brown regular rice when you add the carrots and celery. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the rice and vegetables are tender.

Nutritionals: Cal 160, pro 20g, carb 10g, fat 5 g, chol 60 mg, fib 1g, sod 590, pot, 220mg, cal 2%, iron 6%


Shredded Beefwiches (Pot Roast #2)

With any luck, you have quite a bit of beef left (let's assume about 2 lbs). Shred the beef with 2 forks and heat on the stove top. Serve on crusty rolls with a little cheese and sauteed onions and some sauce for dipping We like horseradish on ours. A large salad would go perfect with this sandwich supper.

From The Frantic Family Cookbook by Leanne Ely

Chez JJ's Pizza
(Using WW Basic Pizza Dough with Variations and Chez JJ's Pizza Sauce so you don't have to hunt for the recipes)

Basic Pizza Dough
Makes 2 (12 inch) pizza crusts (6 servings each)
From Weight Watchers Pizza,Pizza: 150 deliciously dazzling ways to make everyone's favorite pie

This dough makes enough for two pizzas, so you can freeze half the dough for another day. If you freeze it, thaw it in the refrigerator over night or on the counter for 1 1/2 hours. Unlike other bread dough, pizza dough only needs to rise only once. After rising, simply punch it down, then let it rest for 15 minutes before rolling or stretching to the desired shape. If you like you can let the dough rest in a floured zip-close freezer bag in the refrigerator overnight. You'll find it easiest to roll out or stretch bread dough when it's at room temperature.

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 F)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Combine the water and sugar in a 2-cup measuring just. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oil.

Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, scrape the yeast mixture through the feed tube; pulse until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. If necessary, turn the dough onto a lightly flour surface and knead briefly until smooth and elastic.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; put the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, then cut in half. Refrigerate or freeze in floured zip-close [I have better luck with a bit of oil in the bag instead of flour- about a tsp and spread around the bag] freezer bags at this point or use as directed in the recipe.

Per serving (1/12 of dough): 174 cal, 2 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 mg chol, 292 mg sod, 34 g carb, 1 g fib, 5 g prot, 7 mg calc, POINTS: 3

TIP: if mixing by hand: To make bread by hand, combine the water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl; set aside until foamy. Stir in the oil, flour and salt until the dough starts to gather around the spoon. Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface; knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Variations:
Cornmeal Pizza Dough: Pizzas with a Mexican influence are terrific made on a cornmeal crust. Substitute 1 cup cornmeal for 1 cup of the all-purpose flour.
Per serving: (1/12 of the dough): 178 cal, 2 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 mg chol. 292 mg sod, 35 g carb, 2 g fib, 5 g prot, 5 mg calc, POINTS: 3

Semolina Pizza Dough: Using part semolina flour makes a crispier-crusted pizza. If you can't find semolina flour, use farina cereal. Substitute 1 1/2 cups semolina flour for 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour.
Per serving (1/12 of the dough): 192 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 mg chol, 292 mg sod, 38 g carb, 2 g fib, 6 g prot, 8 mg calc, POINTS 4

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough: Whole-wheat flour makes a higher-fiber, more nutritious crust. Substitute 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour for 1 1/4 cups of the all-purpose flour.
Per serving (1/12 of the dough): 177 cal, 2 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 mg chol, 292 mg sod, 34 g carb, 3 g fib, 6 g pro, 5 mg calc, POINTS 3

Chez JJ's Pizza Sauce
This is mostly a mixture of a Cooking Light Marinara sauce for the freezer and one on the web that is supposed to be like Papa John's Sauce. I call it Chez JJ's Pizza Sauce now. :) This makes a little more than enough sauce for 2 pizzas depending on how much sauce you like on your pizzas. We like about 1/2 cup of sauce per 12" pizza.

15 oz crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed fennel [gives a bit of a sausage-like flavor]
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes until thickened. Let cool. You can freeze. You can also double/triple as needed.

To make a pizza:
Preheat oven to 450. Roll dough into a 12" circle. Prick with a fork and place onto oven stone. Par-bake for 4 minutes. If you don't have a stone, place on pan and par-bake on bottom rack of oven instead. Remove from oven - and if it has bubbled up a bit, I usually press down with a towel or my pizza peel and let cool a bit before topping on a wire rack.

For each pizza top with 1/2 cup of sauce (if not using homemade I will just use jarred spaghetti sauce), 3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese (or 3 oz Italian cheese blend) and then with 17 turkey pepperoni slices and any other toppings (thin sliced onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc). Don't put a whole lot of toppings on because too many will make the pizza soggy. The sprinkle about 2 Tbsp of shredded Parmesan on top.

Bake for about 9 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown and the edges are browning (it's going to be 12-15 minutes total including the par-baking).

Take out and let cool for about 3-5 minutes so the cheese won't slide off when you go to cut it. Eat and enjoy.

It's going to be about 5 points per slice depending on if you add any more pointy things to the pizza when you top it. Now, if you eat two pieces, it's not 10 points for both, it's going to be 11, just to warn you, and it's going to be 16.5 points for 3. So watch how many you eat.