Thursday, December 23, 2010

MMC 30-Minute Menus for December 26, 2010

Happy New Year to YOU! I hope your Christmas was glorious in every way. During this 'in between' week, I have selected menus that help us unwind from the busy holidays.

The Boxing Day menu of Quick Seafood Bouillabaisse is just perfect for the day following the feasting of Christmas. It is light but fancy enough for guests that you may have. Serve it with hot bread and you have a grand start to the week. Let the kids help make the ice cream sandwiches for an extra-special fun treat.

The New Year's Eve dinner of French Onion Soup is a family tradition for us. We often have guests for dinner prior to going out to a party or two and this dinner is easy, company-fare, and light so there is room for any reveling goodies that will come later in the evening. For the appetizer course, I will serve the MomsMealConnection Quiche Extravaganza 'Party in a Bag': Chevre Logs with Red Pepper Jelly; Quiche Variety with Roasted Garlic Onion Jam; Strawberries, Kiwi, and Star Fruit with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce; Breadsticks and Sesame Water Crackers. This appetizer course will be an awesome start to to the New Year plus it sets the vegetarian theme of the dinner.

To follow some traditions for New Year's Day, I am serving the Quick Pork Curry. I am serving it with LoMein noodles but rice is just as tasty. You can add your traditional dishes to this simple meal for your New Year's Day feast of flavors.

Do you have a party in your plans? If so, 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 family gathering, 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.
  • 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: Boxing Day
Quick Seafood Bouillabaisse (cleaned and deveined shrimp, jarred picante sauce, and canned crab, clams, mixed vegetables, and tomatoes)
Rolls or Baguette of Choice
Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (ice cream between purchased jumbo cookies; purchase extra ice cream for Tuesday and Thursday)

Monday:
Corny Chicken (boxed cornbread stuffing mix, chicken tenders; purchase extra tenders for Thursday)
Steamed Zucchini
Gingerbread with Whipped Cream (boxed gingerbread mix)

Tuesday:
Beef & Brie Panini (beef from Christmas Day)
Bread and Condiments (prepared horseradish sauce and Dijon-style mustard)
Tex-Mex Salad (canned black beans, corn, tomatoes, pimento, and ripe olives)
Tapioca Apples over Ice Cream (tapioca pearls, purchased ice cream)

Wednesday:
Build-Your-Own Grilled Pizza (vegetarian; purchased pizza crust, jarred pasta sauce, shredded cheeses and favorite toppings)
Lettuce Wedges (jarred salad dressing)
Grilled Pears with Honey Glaze

Thursday:
Kung Pao Chicken (chicken tenders)
Fried Rice
Melon Salad with Apricot Dressing (apricot jam, yogurt, shredded coconut)
Gingered Ice Cream with Fortune Cookies (purchased ice cream and cookies)

Friday: New Year's Eve
French Onion Soup (vegetarian version)
Mixed Green Winter Salad (bagged mixed baby greens, canned Mandarin orange sections, dried cranberries, purchased spiced pecans; save some salad greens for Saturday)
Cheesecake Filled Pears with Fresh Raspberries (canned pears, instant pudding mix; save some pears for Saturday or purchase extra)

Saturday: New Year's Day
Quick Pork Curry
LoMein Noodles
Pear Salad (use any remaining pears from Friday or canned pears, bagged baby greens, bottled balsamic dressing)
Coconut-Pecan Fingers with Strawberries (using white bread and canned sweetened condensed milk)

Get inspired for your weekly menus at OrgJunkie!

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

1 comment:

Shawnee said...

Thanks for sharing - this is my first visit to your blog and I'll be back!

Shawnee
http://shawneett.blogspot.com