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Week 13
This week we are going to stock up on chicken in the freezer to save you prep time later. The recipe we use is best when it’s grilled, but it can be baked if you don’t have a grill.
Dinner Meal Plan Archive
Day 1
- Grilled Marinated Chicken
- Slow Simmered Green Beans
Day 2
- Barley Lentil Soup (Rate recipe)
- Green Salad
Day 3
- Burrito Casserole (Rate recipe)
- Veggie Sticks with Dip
Day 4
- Mediterranean Chicken and Pasta (Rate recipe)
- Spinach Salad
Day 5
- Mushroom Salisbury Steak (Rate recipe)
- Mashed Potatoes
- Steamed Broccoli
Day 1 Dinner Menu
Serve grilled chicken tonight, save 3 cups of chicken in the refrigerator for Day 4, and freeze the rest of the extra chicken. Plan ahead — the chicken needs to marinate all day at a minimum and preferably overnight.
- Grilled Marinated Chicken
- Slow Simmered Green Beans
Marinated Grilled Chicken
Bulk cooking chicken saves time on busy nights when you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry, and using grilled marinated chicken adds a depth of flavor not found in baked or sautéed chicken when you add it to recipes.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 tsp. garlic salt or Adobo
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Instructions
- Place marinade with chicken in a marinating container and marinate overnight.
- Grill chicken until it reaches 160° at the thickest part, or until white all the way through and juices run clear. If you do not have a grill, you can bake the chicken in the oven.
- Serve 1 portion of the chicken for dinner and chop and freeze the rest for use in soups, casseroles, and stove top meals.
Notes
Prep time includes the time spent chopping and bagging the extra chicken for the freezer.
Nutrition
Serving: 4oz. | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 942mg | Potassium: 460mg | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
Go to Marinated Grilled Chicken post
Day 2 Dinner Menu
- Barley Lentil Soup (Rate recipe)
- Green Salad
Barley Lentil Soup
This hearty legume soup with fresh vegetables is a comforting and delicious cold weather meal.
Ingredients
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated, drained, and chopped
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 4 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp oregano, dried and crumbled
- 70 oz. beef or vegetable broth, plus more for thinning as desired
- 28 oz. can whole tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 1 cup lentils
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent.
- Add next 7 ingredients and cook until bell pepper just softens (about 6 minutes).
- Mix in the broth, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, stir in barley and lentils.
- Reduce heat and simmer until barley and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 ½ hours.
- Thin soup to desired consistency with additional broth, and season with salt and pepper before serving.
Notes
For a vegetarian option, use vegetable stock in place of beef broth.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Bowl | Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1125mg | Potassium: 889mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4500IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 5mg
Go to Barley Lentil Soup postDay 3 Dinner Menu
- Burrito Casserole (Rate recipe)
- Veggie Sticks with Dip
Easy Frozen Burrito Casserole
Dress up frozen burritos with this tasty recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg frozen bean burritos, 8 count
- 10 oz 10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- ½ can of milk
- 4 oz diced green chilies
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place frozen burritos in the baking dish.
- Combine soup, milk, and green chilies, mix well and then pour over the burritos. Top with cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes or until heated though and cheese is melted.
Notes
Substitute any kind of burritos that you think would be good, and feel free to change the flavor of the cream soup (cream of chicken with chicken enchiladas, for example).
Nutrition
Serving: 1burrito | Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 676mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 328IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 255mg | Iron: 3mg
Go to Easy Frozen Burrito Casserole postDay 4 Dinner Menu
- Mediterranean Chicken and Pasta
- Spinach Salad
Mediterranean Chicken with Pasta
Balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, and grilled chicken combine to create a perfect blend of flavors, and with grilled chicken from the freezer, it is a quick and delicious meal.
Ingredients
- 16 oz shell or orecchiette pasta, cooked & rinsed
- 1 Tbsp light extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 medium red pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 2-3 tsp. dried)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled, plus extra for garnish
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Dice red pepper and onion; sauté in a tablespoon of oil.
- And chicken, tomatoes, and basil and mix well.
- In a bowl, combine cooked pasta and balsamic vinegar. Add to pan with chicken and vegetables.
- Season with salt and pepper then add feta and Parmesan cheeses.
- Toss well and serve immediately, garnishing with extra feta cheese.
Notes
- Orecchiette pasta's hearty thickness is the perfect for this dish, but not all stores carry it. If you can't find it, pasta shells are the best substitution.
- This can be made vegetarian by omitting the chicken or using your favorite plant-based substitution.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 348mg | Potassium: 562mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 895IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 3mg
Go to Mediterranean Chicken with Pasta postDay 5 Dinner Menu
- Mushroom Salisbury Steak (Rate recipe)
- Mashed Potatoes
- Steamed Broccoli
Mushroom Salisbury Steak
Fresh mushrooms and onions paired with cream of mushroom soup make Mushroom Salisbury Steak an easy stovetop meal with lots of flavor.
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup, divided
- 1 Lb ground beef
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- 1 ½ cups mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup milk
- 1 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix ¼ cup of soup, ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, and onion.
- Shape into 4 patties.
- Brown mushrooms in butter in a skillet. When mushrooms are tender, remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same skillet, brown patties (if you are using lowfat beef, you may need to brown in vegetable oil). Drain and set aside when browned.
- Add mushrooms, remaining soup, and milk to skillet; return patties to skillet. Cover and simmer on low 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through.
Nutrition
Serving: 1patty | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 724mg | Potassium: 688mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 196IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 4mg
Go to Mushroom Salisbury Steak postPin This Dinner Menu Plan:
Elsi
Thank you for the weekly menus. I’ve followed your web site for more than 10 years and was really glad to see the free menus reappear.
Cooking extra to stock the freezer is always a good idea. My problem, however, is that I sometimes fail to take into account the extra that was put into the freezer when it comes to planning meals a couple of weeks later. I’d suggest that you’d put a reminder in a future menu plan to draw the chicken breasts from this Monday from the freezer.
Mary Ann
Thanks, Elsi—it’s great to have you using the menus again. I try to make general notes for the freezer stock. Everyone is on a different cooking schedule in terms of stocking the freezer, and I’m still getting in the swing of which reminders to give. It’s good to have feedback to help me. Thanks for the reminder!