Menu Plan, September 1-7

Here’s what the 144 family will be dining on this week:

Monday

Breakfast- waffles with bananas, berries

Dinner-left-over grilled chicken from fajita party in stir fry chicken and vegetables

Tuesday

Breakfast-scrambled egg whites and cheese, toast, yogurt smoothies

Dinner–  Chicken and shrimp quesadillas (just grilled chicken and shrimp for mom plus some spinach) broccoli, pineapple

Wednesday

Breakfast- cereal, yogurt

Kid dinner: soy corn dogs, berries

Thursday

Breakfast- smoothie popsicles

Dinner-Maple-brined pork chops, apples

Friday

Breakfast-Chocolate chip pancakes

Kid dinner-Pick your leftover night

(Grownup date night)

Saturday

Dinner-Baked Ziti (Carbs for the endurance I’ll need the next day!), breadsticks, salad, broccoli

Recipe Baked Ziti (8 servings)

12 oz uncooked ziti

2 tsp olive oil

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1/3 pound raw lean ground beef

1 tsp each: dried oregano, thyme, rosemary

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

28 oz canned crushed tomatoes

1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a spoon as it cooks, about 3 to 5 minutes; drain off any fat and set pan back over medium heat.

Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper; stir to coat beef. Cook until herbs become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spoon a small amount of beef-tomato mixture into bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish (just enough to cover surface); top with half of cooked ziti. Next, layer with half of remaining beef-tomato sauce and half of mozzarella cheese. Layer with remaining ziti and then top with remaining beef-tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Sunday

Ride day for Mom!

Mom’s breakfast- peanut butter sandwich with bananas, honey

Dinner-Hamburgers, corn on the cob, cut fruit

Looking for more meal-planning ideas? You can check out about 300 others at Menu Plan Monday…