4/1
Family Sunday
Celebrate Easter with the family with Mango-Mustard Glazed Ham in center stage. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Let a 10-pound, bone-in, spiral-sliced ham sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Place ham cut-side down in roasting pan and bake 70 minutes. Meanwhile, make a glaze in a blender by combining 1 cup cubed ripe mangoes, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 clove garlic and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Puree until smooth. Brush glaze over entire ham, return to oven; cook 20 more minutes or until the glaze is set and internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. Serve immediately.
To keep it simple, buy red-skinned potato salad (stir in some chopped fresh dill) and broccoli salad from the deli. Add carrot and celery sticks, olives and pickles, along with whole-grain bread. For dessert, buy or make a decorated Easter cake.
Plan ahead: Save enough ham and cake for Monday.
4/2
Heat-and-Eat Monday
Make Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches on Rye tonight. Spread the bread with coarse-grain mustard and add Swiss cheese. Prepare sliced polenta for a side dish according to package directions. Add a spinach salad. Slice the leftover cake for dessert.
Tip: Look for tubes of polenta in the produce section.
4/3
Slow Cooker Tuesday
A person can't have too many slow cooker recipes, and this week's wild card, Beef Stew (see recipe), goes into my "Favorites" file. Serve it with coleslaw and corn muffins (from a mix). Peaches are good for dessert.
Plan ahead: Save enough coleslaw for Thursday.
4/4
Meatless Wednesday
Keep the slow cooker nearby and feast on Vegetable Curry (see recipe) tonight. Serve it over rice. Add flatbread and pass your favorite chutney (from jar) at the table. Sliced cucumbers in plain yogurt are a good accompaniment. Make pistachio pudding with 1 percent milk for dessert and top with chopped pistachios.
4/5
Express Thursday
Buy refrigerated Barbecue Chicken and serve it on toasted whole-grain buns topped with dill pickle slices. Add pinto beans and leftover coleslaw. For dessert, try red and green grapes.
Plan ahead: Save enough barbecue chicken for Friday.
4/6
Kids Friday
Kids are always in a hurry to eat, so Chicken Tacos for dinner are right up their alley. Heat taco shells according to directions, fill them with leftover barbecue chicken and top with a little shredded lettuce, 50 percent light cheddar cheese and some salsa. Serve with oven fries (from frozen). For dessert, fresh pineapple spears are fun.
4/7
Easy Entertaining Saturday
Your guests will demand to know how you made this delicious Chicken Stroganoff (see recipe). Serve it over medium no-yolk egg noodles, with fresh snow peas, a romaine salad and whole-grain rolls rounding out the meal. For dessert, buy fruit tarts.
** ** **
Beef Stew (Tuesday)
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons flour
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups unsalted beef broth or stock
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, cut into thick wedges
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds small potatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed
1/2 pound baby carrots
In a large bowl, toss beef cubes with flour to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a Dutch oven on medium. Add beef; brown on all sides. Transfer beef to 4-quart or larger slow cooker. To Dutch oven, add wine, broth, bay leaves, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and garlic; stir and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits. Boil 2 minutes. Set aside. Add the onion, celery, potatoes, lima beans and carrots to slow cooker. Season with more salt and pepper as desired. Pour wine mixture over vegetables. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. If stew is too thin, thicken it by whisking a bit of the liquid from cooker in a small bowl with about 1 more tablespoon of flour, then whisk the smooth flour mixture into the stew. Discard bay leaves before serving. (Recipe by Kelly Brant, food editor, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.) Serves 5.
Per serving: 352 calories (percent calories from fat, 23), 24 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrate, 7 grams fiber, 9 grams fat (3.9 grams saturated fat), 63 milligrams cholesterol, 219 milligrams sodium.
** ** **
Vegetable Curry (Wednesday)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 large plum tomatoes, chopped
1 (6-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato paste
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 medium head cauliflower florets
1 (10-ounce) package frozen green peas
In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker, combine potatoes, onion, bell pepper, carrots, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, curry powder, cumin seeds, garlic powder and salt; mix well. Place cauliflower on top. Cook on low 8 to 9 hours. Gently stir in peas; increase heat to high and cook 15 more minutes, then serve. Serves 4.
Per serving: 304 calories (percent calories from fat, 5), 14 grams protein, 64 grams carbohydrate, 14 grams fiber, 2 grams fat (0.3 gram saturated fat), no cholesterol, 307 milligrams sodium.
** ** **
Chicken Stroganoff (Saturday)
4 (5-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 (14-ounce) can unsalted chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (8-ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Flatten chicken to an even thickness between two pieces of plastic wrap. Combine broth, onion, mustard, thyme, pepper, garlic and mushrooms in a large skillet and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes (mixture will appear curdled). Lay chicken in mixture; cover and simmer (poach) 15 minutes; do not boil. Remove chicken and cover; set aside and keep warm. Bring poaching liquid to a boil and cook, uncovered, 8 minutes or until reduced to about 3/4 cup. Remove from heat; let cool slightly. Stir in sour cream. Return chicken and any collected juices to skillet, turning chicken to coat. Serve chicken with sauce. Garnish each serving with parsley. Serves 4.
Per serving: 267 calories (percent calories from fat, 33), 35 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 9 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat), 111 milligrams cholesterol, 399 milligrams sodium.
About the Author
