This is the 31st edition of the weekly 30-minute menus for 2010. These are published on a weekly basis; I like to design the weekly menus on Thursday or Friday, grocery shop on Saturday, and start the week's menus on Sunday.
Since it is so hot! hot! hot! here in Atlanta, I decided to go international with this week's menus. Our menus are from the sun-drenched countries of Italy, South America, France, China, and Japan. No need to get beat from the heat - just have some fun and pretend you are on vacation in a far away land!
The Tempura Shrimp on Saturday is great for company. You can have a lot of fun with your table decorations, beverages, and appetizer course such as 'At the Cheese Ball' with: Cheddar Cheese Balls; Summer Sausage with Roasted Garlic Mustard; Sliced Pears and Veg Tray with Spicy Tomato Salsa; Tortilla Chips and Savory Herb Crackers; and Honey Roasted Almonds.
You will find that I use some cooking methods, mix and match, to get evening meal on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your beloved made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.
I hope you have a great week!
Sunday:
French Burgers with White Wine Sauce
Egg Noodles (purchased noodles)
Asparagus
Peach Melba Parfaits (purchased ice cream, canned peaches, jarred raspberry jam; buy extra ice cream for Wednesday and Thursday)
Monday:
Bbq Chicken Sandwiches (pre-cooked or canned chicken, bottled Bbq sauce)
Buns and Condiments (purchased buns, jarred condiments)
Oven Baked Potato Wedges
Cole Slaw (bagged slaw mix, jarred slaw dressing)
Fruit Pizza Cookies (purchased sugar cookie dough)
Tuesday:
Weeknight Minestrone Soup (vegetarian; dried tortellini, canned tomatoes, mixed veggies, and white beans)
Apple Waldorf Salad (prepared mayo)
Crusty Bread (purchased bread)
Jiffy Cherry Cobbler (puff pastry, canned cherry pie filling)
Wednesday:
Taco Nite (taco seasoning mix, purchased taco shells)
Condiment Bar (jarred salsas, bagged lettuce shreds, shredded cheese)
Guacamole & Sour Cream Topper (purchased sour cream)
Corn & Black Bean Salsa (jarred salsa, canned corn, black beans, and chilies)
Banana Splits (purchased ice cream, canned whipped cream, jarred ice cream toppings)
Thursday:
Kung Pao Chicken (chicken tenders)
Fried Rice
Melon Salad with Apricot Dressing (apricot jam, yogurt, shredded coconut)
Ginger Ice Cream and Fortune Cookies (purchased ice cream and cookies)
Friday:
Spaghetti Bolognese (boxed pasta, jarred Bolognese sauce)
Italian Medley Vegetables (frozen veggie mix)
Jam Thumbprint Cookies (jarred jam)
Saturday:
Tempura Fried Shrimp (cleaned and deveined shrimp)
Noodles with Asian Dressing (purchased noodles)
Julienne Vegetables Steamed to Perfection (bagged julienned vegetables)
Fruit Baskets (extra puff pastry sheet from Tuesday, canned whipped cream)
I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family
