Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Tuna Loaf Italiano

2 - 6 1/2 ounce cans water packed tuna, drained
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 - 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Prehat oven to 350
Lightly oil a 4 x 8 inch loaf pan
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Press mixture into prepared pan.
Bake 45 minutes.
Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plate.
Good cold the next day.

Monday - Creamy Tomato soup

3 servings
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds fresh, ripe Italian tomatoes, chopped (about 6 cups)
8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
1 cup soy milk
Salt and black and red pepper to taste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, basil, or dill, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, sauté the onions in the olive oil until they are soft, then add the fresh tomatoes and stir until the mixture boils.

2. Remove the dried tomatoes from their soaking water and chop them coarsely. Add them and their soaking water to the pot and cook, stirring to prevent sticking.

3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the soy milk and season to taste with salt and black and red pepper.

4. Serve in bowls with the chopped green herbs as garnish.

Nutritional benefits: Monounsaturated fat; micronutrients, including lycopene from tomatoes and isoflavones from soy.


Nutritional Information:

Per serving:
196 calories
8 g total fat (1 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
30 g carbohydrate
7 g protein
8 g fiber
250 mg sodium

Tuesday - Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
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1 cups cooked potatoes, mashed but not peeled
1/2 lbs. firm tofu, mashed
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. basil
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Paprika


Instructions:
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Mix together the potatoes, tofu, and soy sauce. Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Mix the onion and garlic into the potato mixture, and add the parsley, basil, and black pepper. Spread into an oiled 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for approx 25 minutes.


Wednesday - Corn Potato Chowder

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 stalks finely diced celery
* 1 large finely diced onion
* 1 finely diced green pepper
* 1 package of frozen whole kernel corn (16 oz.)
* 1 or 2 cups of peeled, diced, 1/2-inch raw potatoes
* 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh parsley
* 1 cup of water
* 1/4 teaspoons salt
* black pepper to taste
* 1/4 teaspoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 2 cups skim milk


Directions:

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan.
2. Add celery, onion, and green pepper and sauté for 2 minutes.
3. Add corn, potatoes, water, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium; and cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. Place 1/2 cup milk in a jar with tight fitting lid. Add flour and shake vigorously.
5. Add gradually to cooked vegetables and add remaining milk.
6. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
7. Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Yield: 4 Servings--Serving Size: 1 cup
Nutrition at a glance
Servings Per Recipe: 4 amount per serving
Calories 186
Total Fat 5 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 205 mg

Thursday - Vegetable Casserole Pie

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

1 c. Fresh or frozen corn
1c. Onion, chopped
1c. Green pepper strips
1 c. water
1 c. zucchini, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 c. roasted sweet red pepper, chopped
1 c. shredded nofat or soy cheddar cheese
2/3 c. cornmeal
1 c. nonfat or soy milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
salt to taste
pepper to taste
chili powder to taste
Instructions:

In a medium sauce pan, combine corn, onion, green pepper and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not drain.
In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
Add undrained cooked vegetables to cornmeal mixture. Mix well; turn into a greased 1 quart casserole or square baking pan.
Bake uncovered in a 350F oven for 45-50 minutes.
Cook's Notes
Garnish with more shredded cheese before serving if you like.

Add some diced chiles for some extra zing.

Friday - Tofu Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust

Ingredients:

1 pound firm tofu, drained and pressed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 peeled/diced cooked carrots
2 stalks of diced cooked celery
1 cup cooked green beans cut into 1" pieces
1 cup cooked green peas
1 cup cooked brocolli spears, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup cooked chopped onions
1 tablespoon of fresh minced parsley
2 tablespoons + 1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons + 2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup ~milk (I use rice milk, no reason you couldn't use soy, just use plain)
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup cold mashed sweet potatoes

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After you've cooked all your veggies, put them into a casserole dish with the tofu and the parsley. (Browning the tofu is good, but optional) Heat the 2 tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the 3 tbsp flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Gradually add milk and stock, whisking until smooth. Bring sauce to a boil, stirring, then remove from heat. Add 1/4 tsp salt and the pepper. Pour sauce over tofu and veggies in casserole dish. Reserve.
Combine the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, remaining 1/4 tsp salt with a fork. Add the 1/4 cup oil, mix until resembles small crumbs. Add sweet potatoes until blended. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness, shaping to the size of the casserole dish (a deep dish pie pan is good too). Place crust over casserole dish or pie pan making sure you seal it in well. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Additional comments:

This is a favourite with my family, and goes over well with guests, even though its tofu. It's adapted from 365 Ways to Cook Tofu and Other Meat Alternatives. They only had carrots and onions for veggies though, and its so much better with TONS of veggies.+ Make subs for stuff you like.

Saturday - Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:
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1 Eggplant- sliced into 3/4-1 inch slices
1 egg
8 ounces skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
Pasta Sauce
olive oil


Instructions:
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Preheat your oven to 345 degrees

In a skillet, pour enough olive oil to cover bottom and heat on medium. Brown each side of your eggplant slices. (Eggplant tends to soak up oil so you can use more or less)

While the sides are browning, get a big bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and egg. Mix with a spoon until its even distributed.

In a 9x13 baking dish, pour a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom. Line your eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish and then put a layer of your mixture on top of the eggplant. Add another layer of pasta sauce. Repeat process until all of your ingredients are used up just make sure your last layer is pasta sauce.

Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the sauce begins to bubble.

Take out of oven and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top


Additional comments:
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I normally dont layer eggplant on top of eachother, i just smoosh them all into the baking dish so i'll have around 8 slices of eggplant with the cheese mixture and pasta sauce on top.

Also, play around with the cheeses and get a taste you enjoy. I dont enjoy parmesan as much so i'll substitute it for more mozzarella.

Makes around 8 servings