7 Day Menu Planner

Meanwhile, place 1 cup garlic croutons in a resealable plastic bag; roll croutons with rolling pin or bottle until crushed. Remove roast from oven; spread surface of pork with 2 tablespoons spicy mustard and sprinkle with crouton crumbs. Return to oven; roast 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until thermometer inserted in roast reads 145 degrees. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand 3 minutes; slice.

Add your own cheese grits, green beans and biscuits. Strawberry ice cream topped with fresh strawberries is an easy dessert.

Plan ahead: Save enough pork for Tuesday and enough ice cream for Wednesday.

10/ 31

Budget Monday (Halloween)

Tonight, prepare economical Pumpkin Patch Chili (see recipe) for your little pirates and princesses. Alongside, serve a red-tip lettuce salad and cornbread (from a mix). For dessert, Ghosts in the Graveyard Cupcakes (see recipe) are scary.

Plan ahead: Save enough cupcakes for Tuesday.

11/ 1

Heat-and-Eat Tuesday

Slice the leftover pork and make Pork Sandwiches on kaiser rolls spread with honey mustard and topped with romaine. Serve with baked sweet potato wedges. Munch on leftover cupcakes for dessert.

11/ 2

Express Wednesday

Taco salad is a quick dinner. Prepare dinner according to package directions for less-sodium taco filling. Add canned reduced-sodium rinsed black beans to packaged salad greens; top with taco filling and salsa. Add corn chips on the side. Serve the filling meal with guacamole. Scoop leftover ice cream for dessert.

11/ 3

Meatless Thursday

Who would ever miss meat with this delicious Creamy Mushroom Stew (see recipe) served over no-yolk noodles? Add a spinach salad and whole-grain rolls. For dessert, pears are light.

11/ 4

Kids Friday

Kids are always in the mood for Chicken Nachos. On a large microwave platter, layer 1 (10-ounce) bag nacho-style tortilla chips, 1 to 2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese and 1 (6- to 8-ounce) package refrigerated cooked Southwestern-style chicken breast strips. Microwave on high (100 percent power) 30 to 45 seconds or until cheese melts. Top with mild pico de gallo and garnish with reduced-fat sour cream. Serve with carrot and celery sticks. Make dessert easy with grapes.

11/ 5

Easy Entertaining Saturday

Invite friends over for Scallops With Pesto Sauce. Rinse 1 pound sea scallops and pat dry with paper towels. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil on medium-high. Add scallops and cook 4 minutes, turning once, or until golden and just barely opaque at centers. Remove skillet from heat and put scallops on plates. Add 1/3 cup refrigerated basil pesto and 2 tablespoons whipping cream to skillet (keep off the heat); stir to blend. Spoon sauce onto serving plates and top with scallops.

Serve with packaged long-grain and wild rice. Add a Boston lettuce salad and crusty rolls. For dessert, buy a banana cream pie.

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THE RECIPES

Pumpkin Patch Chili (Monday)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pound ground turkey breast

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes with juice

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Dash coarse salt

1 (14-ounce) can unsalted chicken broth (see Note)

1/2 cup shredded 50 percent light cheddar cheese

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium. Add onion, both bell peppers and garlic, and cook 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in turkey and cook 5 minutes or until no longer pink; drain. Mix in tomatoes with juice, pumpkin puree, chili powder, black pepper, salt and broth. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese and sour cream. Makes 8 cups.

Note: Chili will be thick; add additional chicken broth or water to thin as desired.

Per serving: 172 calories (percent calories from fat, 30), 18 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (2.3 grams saturated fat), 50 milligrams cholesterol, 251 milligrams sodium, .

** ** **

Ghosts in the Graveyard Cupcakes (Monday)

1 package (two-layer size) white cake mix

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoons black food color, divided

2 (16-ounce) containers vanilla frosting

24 oval-shaped cookies

Chocolate sprinkles (for decoration)

Miniature chocolate chips (for decoration)

Prepare cake mix for cupcakes as directed on package, adding vanilla extract. Tint cake batter gray with 1/4 teaspoon black food color. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool cupcakes on wire rack. Tint 1 container vanilla frosting black with 1 teaspoon black food color. Frost cupcakes, reserving 1/4 cup of frosting. Spoon reserved frosting into small resealable plastic bag. Snip a small corner from bag. Pipe “RIP” onto top half of each cookie. Push tombstone cookies gently into cupcakes.

For each cupcake’s ghost, spoon remaining container of white frosting into large resealable plastic bag. Snip a corner from bag. For the body of the ghost, pipe 1/2-inch dollop next to tombstone. Pipe a smaller dollop on top, lifting while squeezing bag so that top of dollop is pointed. This is the head of the ghost. Use chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chips to decorate the ghost’s face. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Note: For easier measurement, 1/4 teaspoon food color is equal to 20 to 25 drops.

Per cupcake: 255 calories (percent calories from fat, 36), 2 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrate, no fiber, 10 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 233 milligrams sodium.

** ** **

Creamy Mushroom Stew (Thursday)

8 ounces no-yolk noodles

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups chopped onion

1 pound sliced crimini mushrooms

1 (14-ounce) can unsalted vegetable broth

3 tablespoons dry sherry

1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream

3 tablespoons quick-mixing flour

Coarse salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Cook noodles according to directions; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt butter on medium. Add onion and cook 10 minutes or until softened. Increase heat to medium-high; add mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes or until the mushrooms lose their moisture and are browned. Remove to a bowl. In the same skillet, stir in broth and sherry to deglaze the pan. Bring to boil; cook until the mixture is reduced by one-third. Reduce heat to low and return the mushrooms and onion to skillet. Remove pan from heat; mix together the sour cream and flour and blend into the mushrooms. Return skillet to stove and continue cooking over low heat, just until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon over cooked noodles and garnish with parsley. Serves 6.

Per serving: 313 calories (percent calories from fat, 30), 11 grams protein, 44 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 10 grams fat (6 grams saturated fat), 36 milligrams cholesterol, 344 milligrams sodium.