MMC 30-Minute Menus for April 26

Spring is (finally) here - yeah! The menus this week reflect the changing season with a much lighter fare which also helps the food budget. I don't think you or your family will feel deprived with these menus; there are many different flavors and nice touches to liven the meals.

May Day is this Friday so I have planned a light salad supper and invited a few friends over to celebrate the day. We will eat on the patio if the weather is nice. I'll serve an appetizer course using my Quiche Extravaganza 'Party in a Bag'. The quiche can be meatless to keep the meal vegetarian or mix-and-match to suit your family or guests. The Quiche Extravaganza also has chevre logs with red pepper jam; fruit tray of strawberries, kiwi, and star fruit with bittersweet chocolate dipping sauce; roasted garlic onion jam; bread sticks, and sesame water crackers.

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, 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:
Grilled Salmon with Dill Butter
Long Grain and Wild Rice (boxed rice)
Snow Peas
Toss Salad (bottled salad dressing)
Lemon Affogato (purchased ice cream and lemoncello liqueur or lemon-flavored soft drink)

Monday
Easy Cheeseburger Pie (baking mix, shredded cheese)
Green Beans
Tomato Wedges with Blue Cheese
Sugar Cookie Apple Crisp (prepared cookie dough, canned apple pie filling)

Tuesday:
Pork Cutlets with Mushroom Sauce (sliced mushrooms; save some pork for Thursday)
Pasta of Choice
Steamed Squash Medley
Banana Pudding Tarts (purchased graham cracker tart shells, instant banana pudding mix)

Wednesday:
Speedy Chicken Divan (cooked chicken if available, frozen broccoli and cheese mix)
White Rice
Fruit Salad with Yogurt Dressing (purchased yogurt, canned Mandarin oranges, pear slices, and pineapple)
Apple Pie a la Mode (purchased apple pie and ice cream)

Thursday:
Pork Fried Rice (Pork from Tuesday; instant brown rice, sliced mushrooms)
Asian Veggie Wraps (flour tortillas, broccoli slaw mix; save some tortillas for Saturday)
Fruit Pizza Cookies (purchased sugar cookies, canned fruit, apricot jam)

Friday (May Day):
Baby Blue Salad (vegetarian; bagged salad greens, bottled vinaigrette)
Crusty Bread
Coconut Macaroons (shredded coconut, chocolate morsels)

Saturday:
Dilled Tilapia Bundles (puff pastry)
Asian Stir-Fry (frozen stir-fry veggie mix)
Cranberry-Apple Salad
Tuilles with Ice Cream (tortillas from Thursday, purchased ice cream)

Get inspired for your weekly menus at OrgJunkie!

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