SUNDAY: For the family-day feast, Ham With Apple Raisin Sauce (see recipe) is perfect. Serve it with Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Peel 3 (8-ounce) sweet potatoes; cut into 8 wedges and halve crosswise. Toss with a little olive oil; season with coarse salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes, turn once and bake until brown and tender. Serve with Baked Vidalia Onions. Trim tops and bottoms, leaving enough of the roots to hold onions together; cut an "X" in center of tops. Cover and microwave on 100 percent power for 6 minutes per pound. Let stand 3 minutes. Drizzle with butter and serve. Add dinner rolls. For dessert, top angel food cake with pineapple sherbet.
Plan ahead: Save enough cake for Monday.
MONDAY: Celebrate Memorial Day and grilling season with your favorite grilled steak. Corn-on-the-cob and coleslaw will make this a "here comes summer" meal. For dessert, top the leftover cake with blueberries and strawberries for a red-white-and-blue kind of day.
Plan ahead: Save enough coleslaw for Tuesday.
TUESDAY: Buy refrigerated or frozen salmon patties (cook according to package directions) for a quick meal. Garnish with tartar sauce, if desired. Serve with oven fries, leftover coleslaw and whole-grain rolls. For dessert, scoop strawberry ice cream.
Plan ahead: Save enough ice cream for Friday.
WEDNESDAY: "Low price, high flavor" is a good way to describe Spinach and Black-Eyed Pea Salad. Cook 4 strips of bacon until crisp; drain and crumble. Combine 1 pound fresh spinach leaves, 2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas (rinsed), 2 medium tomatoes (cut into wedges) and 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion; toss with 1/4 cup vinaigrette dressing. Sprinkle with the bacon. Serve with deli soup. Make cornbread from a mix. For dessert, peanut butter cookies add some interest.
THURSDAY: Enjoy Whole-Wheat Fusilli With Spicy Escarole, Tomatoes and Olives (see recipe). Add garlic bread. For dessert, pear halves garnished with ricotta cheese is simple.
FRIDAY: You don't have to be a kid to enjoy Tex-Mex Quesadillas. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. Place 2 whole-grain tortillas on each sheet. Combine 11/4 cups canned, rinsed black beans, 1 cup shredded carrots and 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Divide the mixture among the tortillas. Press a second tortilla on top of each quesadilla. Bake 10 minutes or until quesadillas are crisp and lightly browned. Carefully turn and bake 5 more minutes. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges. Garnish with sour cream and salsa. Serve with rice. Add celery sticks to dip into light ranch dressing. Teach the kids how to make their own ice cream sandwiches with soft chocolate cookies and leftover ice cream.
SATURDAY: Your guests will enjoy Grilled Chicken With Couscous and Peas (see recipe). Serve the pretty dish with a Cucumber and Beet Salad. Thinly slice a seeded cucumber. Toss with drained pickled beets and low-fat yogurt to coat. Add sourdough rolls. For dessert, Tropical Ambrosia is heavenly. In a medium serving bowl, toss together 2 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks and 1 tablespoon sugar; let stand 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves; stir occasionally. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut and 1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts.
THE RECIPES
Ham With Apple Raisin Sauce
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (2- to 3-pound) boneless, fully cooked ham
Whole cloves for garnish, if desired
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Shake flour into a 14-by-20-inch oven bag (such as Reynolds); stand bag in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add apple, apple juice, raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon to the bag. Squeeze bag to blend in flour. Lightly score surface of ham in a diamond pattern; garnish with cloves if desired. Place ham in bag (trim open end of bag if too large). Close bag with nylon tie; cut 6 (1/2-inch) slits in top. Bake about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 140 degrees. Stir sauce before serving.
Makes 8 to 12 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 191 calories, 27 g protein, 4 g fat, 13 g carbohydrate, 69 mg cholesterol, 962 mg sodium and 1 g fiber.
Dietary exchanges: 1 fruit, 3 lean meat.
Whole-Wheat Fusilli With Spicy Escarole, Tomatoes and Olives
1 1/2 pounds escarole, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Pinch crushed red pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup kalamata olives (or other ripe olive), chopped
1 pound whole-wheat fusilli
1/2 cup Pecorino-Romano cheese, freshly grated
Cook escarole in boiling water 7 to 9 minutes or until the thick stems are tender. Remove with a slotted spoon. (Reserve the cooking water for the pasta.)
In a large skillet, cook the garlic and red pepper in 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat 5 minutes or until garlic is golden. Stir in tomatoes and olives; cook 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Stir in escarole and cook 5 minutes; add a little water if the sauce seems dry.
Meanwhile, return the reserved escarole cooking water to a boil. Add pasta; cook according to package directions; drain. Add the pasta to the sauce and turn heat to high; toss pasta. Add cheese and toss again. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and serve immediately.
Makes 8 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 322 calories, 11 g protein, 11 g fat, 49 g carbohydrate, 3 mg cholesterol, 218 mg sodium and 10 g fiber.
Dietary exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 fat.
Adapted from The Italian Vegetable Cookbook by Michele Scicolone (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Grilled Chicken With Couscous and Peas
1/4 cup apricot or peach preserves
1 tablespoon coarse-grain or Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons ground ginger, divided use
Garlic-flavored cooking spray
1 to 11/2 pounds chicken cutlets
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided use
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen petite green peas
1 cup couscous
2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
Heat a skillet or stovetop grill pan on medium-high.
Mix preserves, mustard and 1 teaspoon ginger; reserve half.
Coat both sides of chicken with cooking spray. Season chicken with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook chicken 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Brush with glaze; turn and continue cooking 4 to 5 more minutes or until cooked through; brush with more glaze. Remove to plate; cover with foil.
Meanwhile, bring broth, peas, remaining ginger and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to boil; stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork. Transfer chicken to plates; spoon glaze over each piece. Serve with couscous. Garnish with almonds.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 400 calories, 33 g protein, 5 g fat, 53 g carbohydrate, 73 mg cholesterol, 705 mg sodium and 4 g fiber.
Dietary exchanges: 21/2 starch, 1 other carbohydrate, 3 lean meat.
Susan Nicholson is an Atlanta-based cookbook author and registered dietitian. She can be reached by email:
Food on 05/21/2014