SUNDAY: For today’s family feast, prepare Leg of Lamb With Lemon Sauce (see recipe).
On the side, serve roasted red potatoes and fresh baby carrots.
Add a bibb lettuce salad and whole-grain rolls to round out the meal. For your finale, Cherry Dream will get everyone’s attention. Cut 1 (10-ounce) angel food cake into cubes; sprinkle cubes on bottom of a 9-by-9-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, fold 1◊cups frozen whipped topping (thawed) into 1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling.
Spoon mixture evenly over cubes. Let chill, covered, several hours or overnight. Garnish each serving with a sprig of mint.
Plan ahead: Prepare the dessert the day before. Save enough lamb, any baby carrots and enough dessert for Monday.
MONDAY: Warm the leftover lamb and serve with any mashed potatoes. Buy or make brown gravy. Add any leftover carrots to frozen mixed vegetables to brighten the plate; season with a little butter. Serve with crusty rolls. Offer leftover Cherry Dream for dessert.
TUESDAY: With a few store bought ingredients, you can have Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage With Apples and Ham in no time. We loved it. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 medium Granny Smith apples (cored and cut into ½ -inch wedges); cook 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon allspice; cook 4 minutes. Add 1 (16-ounce) jar drained sweet and sour red cabbage (such as Aunt Nellie’s) and 1 (8-ounce) package cooked diced ham. Cook and stir until hot. Serve with pickled beets (also Aunt Nellie’s) and rye bread. Gingersnaps are a quick dessert.
WEDNESDAY: The kids will be happy to eat Tortilla Bake (see recipe). On the side, add stuffed celery (with Neufchatel cream cheese) spoon crushed pineapple over ice cream for a smooth dessert.
Plan ahead: Save enough ice cream for Saturday.
THURSDAY: My friend Valerie Phillips, a Salt Lake City journalist, has included many of her favorite economical soup and stew recipes in her new book, Soup’s On! They include this Chickpea and Spinach Soup (see recipe). Add a romaine salad and cheese toast (any shredded cheese on whole-grain English muffins) To the meal. For dessert, make your own baked apples.
FRIDAY: Jazz up frozen veggie burgers with sliced red onion, Dijon mustard and goat cheese on a crusty French roll. Add oven fries and french-cut green beans. Make Peach Crisp for dessert.
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Place 2 (29-ounce) cans sliced peaches (drained) in a shallow 2-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; mix well. Add 2 tablespoons butter and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over peaches. Bake 30 minutes or until golden.
Plan ahead: Save enough crisp for Saturday.
SATURDAY: Our guests really enjoyed this Parmesan Broiled Grouper. Place 1 pound grouper filet (cut into 4 portions) in a single layer in a 7-by-11-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix together ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1 ½ teaspoons softened butter, 1 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 medium garlic clove (minced), 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt and a dash of hot sauce; spread over filets. Broil fish 6 inches from heat for 10 to 11 minutes (according to thickness) or until it is lightly browned and flakes with fork.
Serve fish with couscous and your own broiled tomatoes.
Add a mixed green salad and baguettes. For dessert, warm the leftover peach crisp and top with leftover ice cream.
THE RECIPES
Leg of Lamb With Lemon Sauce
1 (4- to 5-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat, rolled and tied
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¾ cup water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
¾ cup fresh lemon juice Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Place lamb on a rack in shallow roasting pan. Rub lamb with rosemary and lemon pepper. Roast 20 to 25 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 145 to 150 degrees for medium-rare.
Meanwhile, in a small pan, combine cornstarch and sugar.
Stir in water and garlic. Cook and stir over low heat for 3 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in lemon peel and lemon juice.
Brush roast with lemon glaze several times during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Remove roast from oven; tent with foil and let stand 15 minutes. Slice and serve.
Makes 14 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 167 calories, 24 g protein, 7 g fat, 2 g carbohydrate, 74 mg cholesterol, 57 mg sodium and no fiber.
Dietary exchanges: 3 lean meat.
Tortilla Bake
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
1 (16-ounce) jar thick and chunky salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
½ cup raisins
½ cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
12 soft-taco size flour tortillas
¾ cup sour cream
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook ground chicken or turkey on medium-high 6 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink;
stir frequently. Drain. Add salsa, 1 ¼ cups of the cheese, the raisins and olives; mix well. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on medium or until heated, stirring constantly.
Spoon 1/3 cup mixture down center of each tortilla. Fold tortilla over and secure with a wooden pick. Place on a large ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges of tortilla are golden. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet.
To serve: Remove picks and garnish each tortilla with remaining cheese and sour cream.
Makes 12 tortillas.
Nutrition information: Each serving (prepared with reduced fat cheese and sour cream) contains approximately 236 calories, 15 g protein, 8 g fat, 25 g carbohydrate, 46 mg cholesterol, 633 mg sodium and 1 g fiber.
Dietary exchanges: 1 starch, ½ fruit, 2 lean meat.
Chickpea and Spinach Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
2 (15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 cups fresh spinach leaves
Heat oil in a Dutch oven on medium-high; add onion and green pepper. Cook and stir 10 minutes or until softened. Add broth, tomatoes, chickpeas, bay leaf, basil, garlic powder, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a gentle boil; cook 10 minutes or until onion and peppers are completely soft and flavors blended.
Meanwhile, pack 1 cup spinach leaves into a large bowl. With shears, snip leaves into strips. Repeat with other leaves or leave intact. Remove soup from heat; stir in leaves. Let stand 3 minutes before serving.
Makes about 9 cups.
Nutrition information: Each serving (prepared with reduced sodium tomatoes and beans) contains approximately 145 calories, 7 g protein, 3 g fat, 24 g carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 631 mg sodium and 5 g fiber.
Dietary exchanges: 1 ½ starch, 1 vegetable, ½ lean meat.
Adapted from Soup’s On! Valerie Phillips (Covenant Communications Inc., 2012) Susan Nicholson is an Atlanta-based cookbook author and registered dietitian. She can be reached by email: [email protected]
Food, Pages 33 on 03/05/2014