MMC - 30 Minute Menus April 5

Easter will be here soon! Do you have family or friends coming in this week? My family will start arriving Friday evening so I have planned a simple supper Friday and a Crab Boil for Saturday. There is just nothing more easy or fun than a crab boil for a crowd!

You will find 'cook once - eat twice' menus with the London Broil on Sunday followed by the Black and Blue Salad later in the week. I have found that if the meals using the leftovers are quite different, everyone is happy and won't be saying "Oh no, not leftovers again!" I have added Spring touches throughout the week just to get us in the mood for the Easter holidays.

The Saturday night Crab Boil menu has a couple of variations from the normal 'boil' just to keep it interesting! If the weather is nice, we will spread newspapers on the picnic table and eat outside (How's that for a fun evening?). For starters, I will serve the casual MMC At the Cheese Ball 'Party in a Bag': cheese balls, summer sausage, pear & veggie tray, salsa, garlic mustard, crackers, and nuts. I will also be serving white wine and beer along with an assortment of soft drinks.

Do you have a party in your plans? Check out the latest feature on my website - 'Party in a Bag'! The Bags are designed to help you pull your party together in 30 minutes - flat! I love to entertain but don't often have the time required to pull off a big, fancy 'do', so, over the years, I have learned a few short-cuts; I will share them with you.

If you are planning a dinner party or special Easter celebration, take a look at the Holiday and Special '30-Minute Complete Menu Plans' on my website. You will find menu ideas to help with your celebration or 'do'.

The Family Meals '30-Minute Complete Menu Plans' are developed to help with both weeknight and special dinner prep. I create Complete Menu Plans using the 30-minute menus from this blog:

• The Complete Menu Plans give you recipes and step-by-step instructions for preparing the complete meal (not just the entree as most meal plans do) in 30 minutes - flat! I even include a grocery list to save unnecessary trips to the grocery store.
• These are eComplete Menu Plans so you can purchase the menu plan now and use it for dinner tonight!
• You won't have to spend your precious time thinking of menu ideas and then looking up the recipes - I will send it all directly to you!
• You can purchase a Complete Menu Plan for the introductory price of .25 each.
• If you have found my 30-minute menus helpful, then you must check out the 30-Minute Complete Menu Plans!

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday:
London Broil (save some beef for Wednesday)
Corn, Tomato, and Blue Cheese Salad (canned corn, crumbled blue cheese; save some blue cheese for Wednesday)
Baked Potatoes (microwaved and baked to finish)
Single Layer Chocolate Cake (boxed cake mix)

Monday
Grilled Shrimp with Greek Veggie Salsa (cleaned and deveined shrimp, canned tomatoes and ripe olives)
New Potatoes
Corn on the Cob
Ice Cream with Apple Crunch Topper (purchased ice cream)

Tuesday:
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (cooked chicken if available, bottled BBQ sauce)
Buns and Condiments (purchased buns, jarred condiments)
Potato Wedges
Cole Slaw (bagged slaw mix, jarred slaw dressing)
Fruit Pizza Cookies (purchased sugar cookie dough)

Wednesday:
Black and Blue Salad (beef and blue cheese left from Sunday; bagged salad greens)
Rolls (purchased rolls)
Strawberries with Sour Cream and Brown Sugar Dippers

Thursday:
Lemony Pork Chops
Angel Hair Pasta (boxed pasta)
Fresh Broccoli Spears
Rice Krispy Treats (rice cereal, mini-marshmallows, chocolate morsels)

Friday (Good Friday):
Quick Minestrone Soup (vegetarian; dried tortellini, canned tomatoes, mixed veggies, and white beans)
Waldorf Salad
Crusty Bread (purchased bread)
Cherry Cobbler (puff pastry, canned cherry pie filling)

Saturday:
Crab Boil for a Crowd
Potato Salad (canned potatoes)
Spring Vegetable Salad (cherry tomatoes, bottled vinaigrette)
Individual Corn Puddings (canned corn)
Angel Food Torte (purchased angel food cake, instant pudding mix)

Get inspired for your weekly menus at OrgJunkie!

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family