7 Day Menu Planner

Serve with roasted red potatoes, green beans, mixed salad greens and sourdough bread. Make or buy a blueberry cobbler and top it with a smidge of vanilla ice cream.

Plan ahead: Save enough pork and cobbler for Monday.

6/ 12

Heat-and-Eat Monday

Use the leftover pork in Pork and Mushroom Quesadillas (see recipe). Serve with a leaf lettuce salad. Top the leftover cobbler with light whipped cream for dessert.

6/ 13

Kids Tuesday

Let the kids celebrate with (any) Burger Night. They might want to add cheese along with their favorite trimmings. How about some corn-on-the-cob and baby carrots, too? Make s'mores in the microwave for dessert.

6/ 14

Meatless Wednesday

Make a no-meat night special with Penne With Fresh Tomato-Arugula Sauce (see recipe). Add whole-grain bread. Sprinkle fresh strawberries with powdered sugar for dessert.

6/ 15

Budget Thursday

For a festive dinner, try Baked Beans-Tuna Chef Salad. Divide among 4 dinner plates: 1 (12-ounce) bunch romaine, torn into 1/2-inch pieces. On top, arrange 2 to 4 hard-cooked eggs (cut into 6 pieces each), 2 (5-ounce) cans drained and flaked albacore tuna, 1 cup halved grape tomatoes, 1 (16-ounce) can reduced-sodium vegetarian baked beans (such as Bush's). Drizzle with 4 tablespoons Italian dressing (or another kind). Serve with crusty bread. Sprinkle fresh peaches with nutmeg for an easy dessert.

6/ 16

Express Friday

Make Garden BLTs for a quick meal. Spread 8 slices whole-grain toast with low-fat mayonnaise. For each sandwich, layer 1 slice toast with 2 slices cooked bacon, 2 slices tomatoes, 8 thin slices cucumber, 1 thin slice sweet onion, 1 medium lettuce leaf, and coarse salt and pepper to taste. Top with remaining toast. Cut in half on the diagonal.

Serve with hash-browned potatoes (refrigerated). Fresh blueberries with light whipped cream satisfy your sweet tooth.

6/ 17

Easy Entertaining Saturday

Extend an invitation to special friends for Arroz Con Pollo (see recipe). Serve it with a red-tip lettuce salad and baguettes. A simple dessert of meringue cookies and raspberry sorbet is a perfect ending.

** ** **

THE RECIPES

Pork and Mushroom Quesadillas (Monday)

12 ounces cooked (leftover) pork, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

6 ounces fresh sliced crimini mushrooms

1/3 cup sliced green onions

4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese

4 (9- to 10-inch) fat-free flour tortillas

Stack pork slices and cut crosswise in half, then cut each stack lengthwise into matchstick-size pieces; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add mushrooms and onions; stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until softened. Remove from skillet; add pork and stir-fry 1 minute. Remove pork and wipe skillet with paper towels.

To assemble, sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over half of each tortilla. Top each with pork and mushroom mixture. Sprinkle each with another 2 tablespoons cheese. Fold in half, pressing gently. Add 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Cook quesadillas, 2 at a time, on medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden and cheese is melted, turning once. Remove quesadillas from skillet; loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and quesadillas. Cut quesadillas into wedges and serve. Makes 4 quesadillas.

Per quesadilla: 452 calories (percent calories from fat, 34), 37 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 17 grams fat (6.8 grams saturated fat), 88 milligrams cholesterol, 569 milligrams sodium.

** ** **

Penne With Fresh Tomato-Arugula Sauce (Wednesday)

12 ounces penne pasta

1 pound diced tomatoes (about 2 cups)

3 cups arugula, cut into strips

1/2 cup fresh basil, cut into strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano in thin shavings (about 3 ounces) (see Note)

Cook pasta according to directions; drain.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine tomatoes, arugula, basil, oil, vinegar, garlic and salt. Add cooked pasta to bowl and toss. Top with cheese shavings and serve. Serves 6.

Note: To make cheese shavings, pull a vegetable peeler across a wedge of cheese.

Per serving: 325 calories (percent calories from fat, 26), 13 grams protein, 47 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 9 grams fat (3.1 grams saturated fat), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 398 milligrams sodium.

** ** **

Arroz Con Pollo (Saturday)

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch strips

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 cup rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14-ounce) can unsalted chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron or turmeric

1 1/2 cups frozen tiny green peas, thawed

1/4 cup sliced Spanish olives with pimientos

Mix salt, paprika and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium. Add chicken; cook 5 to 6 minutes per side or until golden. Remove chicken from skillet. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Add bell pepper and onion; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Stir in rice and garlic. Continue to cook about 1 minute. Stir in broth and saffron. Bring to boil. Return chicken to skillet; cover. Reduce heat to low and cook 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in peas; cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with olives and serve. Serves 12.

Per serving: (light meat): 208 calories (percent calories from fat, 19), 25 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 4 grams fat (0.7 gram saturated fat), 68 milligrams cholesterol, 369 milligrams sodium.

Per serving (dark meat): 222 calories (percent calories from fat, 32), 20 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 8 grams fat (1.9 grams saturated fat), 102 milligrams cholesterol, 312 milligrams sodium.