Magic Meal Planner

Click the ‘Recipes’ category to find cooking instructions for items in the menus below. 

Weekend

Do the shopping.

Prep for week: Make chicken stock & a pot of vegetable soup for a dinner & lunches this week

Sunday prep for next day: Put beans in to soak, cook cabbage

Monday

In the a.m.: Rinse soaked beans and put with ham in the crock pot with enough water to cover about 1 inch. Cook all day on medium.

Brown beans in crock pot w/ ham
Stewed tomatoes
Boiled Cabbage

Notes: Freeze left over beans for future use; already cooked beans will save a lot of time next time you need them in a recipe

Prep for next day: Dethaw meat

Tuesday

Hamburgers
Vegetable soup

Wednesday

Fish Chowder
Fresh spinach sauted in butter

Prep for next day: Assemble ziti and put in fridge

Thursday

Baked Ziti
Salad w/ homemade dressing

Notes: Double the recipe and make 2 pans of ziti and freeze one for the next time you need a quick meal

Friday

Barbecue chicken thighs
Corn on the cob
Sauted green beans w/ garlic & onions

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups chopped onion

4 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

4 cups diced potatoes

2 pounds cod, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

1/8 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM, or to taste

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

1 cup clam juice

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk

1. In a large stockpot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Saute onions, mushrooms and celery in butter until tender.
2. Add chicken stock and potatoes; simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add fish, and simmer another 10 minutes.
4. Season to taste with Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix together clam juice and flour until smooth; stir into soup. Remove from heat, and stir in evaporated milk. Serve.

1 large can whole tomatoes

Day old bread crumbs

1/2 - 1 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter

1. Rub a casserole dish with some of the butter
2. Put tomatoes in a casserole dish and crush the tomatoes
3. Stir in a handful or two of day old bread crumbs, enough to absorb some of the liquid but not leave it too dry
4. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar and taste. If too acid for your preference, add more sugar
5. Use the rest of the butter to dot the top of the tomatoes
6. Bake in 400 degree oven until lightly browned on top

Large bag of fresh spinach

1/2 - 1 stick of butter

Sea salt

1. Put butter in pan large enough to hold all the spinach (spinach will cook way down, so can stuff it in if needed)
2. Melt butter and put in spinach. Stir to coat butter on spinach
3. Cook on low-medium, stirring frequently, until spinach cooks down to desired texture
4. Add salt to taste

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced onion

1 cup fresh mushrooms (or 2 4.5 oz. cans)

1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 pound ziti pasta

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook sausage with celery, onion, and mushrooms (unless using canned mushrooms- save those for later) until sausage is evenly browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess grease, and set aside.
2. In another skillet over medium-low heat, combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, and oregano. Simmer while preparing pasta.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a 3 quart baking dish, layer ziti, mushrooms, sausage, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. Repeat layers, and top with grated Parmesan.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned and bubbly.

Chicken thighs (enough for 1 or 2 per person)

Barbecue sauce

1. Put chicken in baking dish or large baking pan, skin side up (only leave skin if using free-range, hormone free chicken)
2. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned but not quite done
3. Pour barbecue sauce over and bake for another 10-15 until sauce begins to caramelize)

Click the ‘Recipes’ category to find cooking instructions for items in the menus below.

Saturday, September 1

Do the shopping. Eat Out!

Sunday, September 2

Roasted herb chicken w/ savory sauce
Green beans & red potatoes

Prep for week:

1. Make soup for Monday’s dinner (& some lunches)
2. If you don’t have any on hand already, make salsa - this takes very little time to put together, but it needs several days to sit before it’s ready to eat, so be sure to start this today; or you can buy regular salsa from the grocery store (not nearly as good!)

Monday, September 3

Homemade vegetable soup
Grilled cheese sandwiches

Prep for next day: Chop pizza vegetables & meats; grate cheese

Tuesday, September 4

Homemade pizza on the pizza stone
Tossed salad w/ homemade dressing

Prep for next day: Put meat in the fridge to dethaw, chop vegetables for meatloaf

Wednesday, September 5

In the a.m.: Mix up meat loaf and put in crock pot. Cook all day on low.

Meatloaf in crock pot
Baked potatoes
Steamed brocolli

Thursday, September 6

Salmon cakes
Mashed potatoes
Sauted zucchini

Friday, September 7

Chicken quesadillas
Homemade salsa (or purchase from grocery store)
Sour cream

This recipe taken from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon

4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
2 small onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup chopped chile pepper, hot or mild
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (optional)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
juice of 2 lemons
1 TB sea salt
4 TB whey, if not available, use an additional 1 TB salt
1/4 cup filtered water.

1. To peel tomatoes, dip in boiling water for about 5 seconds. Skin will come off easily. To remove seeds, cut along the “equator” of the tomato, squeeze out the seeds.
2. Dice up tomatoes, and combine with all the other ingredients, and place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar.
3. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or large spoon, adding more water if necessary to cover the vegetables. The top of the salsa mixture should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar.
4. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to the refrigerator.

Make several jars if you have plenty of tomatoes, as this salsa is wonderful. The same Salsa can be made using canned tomatoes in the winter time.

1 or 2 cans red or pink salmon (1 can makes about 5 cakes) — buy the best quality salmon you can afford

1 egg per can

Large handful of crackers or day old bread crumbs per can

Olive oil

1. Mix salmon, egg, and bread together in a bowl; shape into patties
2. Heat olive oil in skillet (cast iron works best)
3. Fry patties on medium-high until nicely browned on both sides

Pizza sauce:

1 can tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tsp sugar

Fresh or dried basil

Fresh or dried oregano

2-4 cloves garlic, mashed

Sea salt & pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender; buzz until smooth. Makes 3 cups.

Pizza dough: To save time, I buy frozen pizza dough from the grocery store, or I use biscuits or croissants, or some other ready made bread. If you like, you can make your own dough. See recipe here.

Toppings:

Large block mozzarella cheese, shredded

Fresh chopped vegetables of choice (onion, green or red pepper, black olives, mushrooms, artichokes, broccoli, etc)

Cooked, chopped meats of choice (ham, pepperoni, ground beef, chicken, etc)

Assemble pizza:

For a fun variation with kids, give them each their own ball of dough and let them make their own individual pizzas.  Just put them all together on the pizza stone to bake.

1. Roll out dough on pizza stone
2. Spread sauce across dough
3. Sprinkle on vegetables & meats & cheese
4. Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately