This week's menus

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at youngertastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.

Sunday/Family

Prepare your own pork tenderloin roast today and serve it with store-bought chutney for an easy family feast. Accompany the pork with Potato and Pea Salad (see recipe). Serve with sesame bread sticks. For dessert, slice up a store-bought Boston cream pie.

Plan ahead: Prepare enough pork and save half the pie for Monday. To save time, cook Monday's rice today.

Monday/Heat and Eat

There's no need to heat the kitchen tonight when you prepare Strawberry-Pork Salad (see recipe). Serve the refreshing, nutritious salad with crusty bread and leftover pie.

Tuesday/Express

We tried a chicken-and-biscuits meal from our supermarket freezer for an easy, no-brainer dinner. The brand we picked up was 28 ounces per package ($3.49); you may need two packages for the family. Serve with fresh broccoli spears and squeeze a fresh lemon over the already vitamin C-packed broccoli. Serve with a packaged green salad. Frozen fat-free vanilla yogurt topped with warmed fudge sauce makes for a fine finish.

Plan ahead: Cook Wednesday's brown rice tonight to save time. Save enough yogurt for Friday.

Wednesday/Budget

No one will notice you saved money when you dish up delicious Beef and Curry Stir-Fry (see recipe). Serve the flavorful combination with a spinach salad and whole-wheat rolls. For a light dessert, fresh fruit is in order.

Tip: For small amounts of apple juice, buy baby food juice.

The kids will give you a gold star when you serve them Pizza Dogs. Serve their favorite fat-free hot dogs on buns and top with store-bought pizza sauce. Sprinkle with a little shredded pizza cheese. For kid approval, add oven fries and your own carrot and pineapple salad. The children can make their own Bumpy Pudding for dessert. Combine instant chocolate pudding with skim milk and stir in small marshmallows for the "bumps."

Friday/Meatless

Dinner will be easy tonight when you ladle out Tortelloni Soup (see recipe). Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. For dessert, make a peach sundae. Top leftover yogurt with sliced peaches and melted seedless raspberry jam.

Saturday/Entertaining

Grilled Grouper With Tomato-Papaya Salsa (see recipe) and rice is a meal any guest would welcome. Serve the savory fish and salsa with canned black beans mixed with canned corn and chopped red and green peppers. (Rinse and drain before combining.) Toss the bean and corn combo with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Serve on a platter on a bed of red-tip lettuce.

Make this easy Pear Crisp for dessert: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Drain 1 (15 1/4 -ounce) can pear halves and arrange in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with finely crumbled cinnamon graham crackers. Bake about 15 minutes or until hot.

Shopping List

What you'll need for this week's menus (consult recipes for exact amounts)

Sunday

pork tenderloin

chutney

dry white wine

olive oil

Dijon mustard

salt

pepper

red potatoes

frozen green peas

lemon

scallions

fresh dill

sesame bread sticks

Boston cream pie

Monday

cooking spray

scallions

walnuts

long-grain rice

poppy-seed dressing

salt

fresh strawberries

mixed salad greens

crusty bread

Tuesday

packaged frozen chicken and biscuits

fresh broccoli

lemon

packaged green salad

frozen fat-free vanilla yogurt

fudge sauce

Wednesday

vegetable oil

sirloin steak

onion

garlic

brown rice

slivered almonds

fresh ginger

curry powder

salt

Granny Smith apples

apple cider or apple juice

fresh spinach

whole-wheat rolls

fresh fruit

Thursday

fat-free hot dogs

hot dog buns

pizza sauce

shredded pizza cheese

frozen oven fries

ingredients for carrot and pineapple salad

instant chocolate pudding

skim milk

small marshmallows

Friday

frozen cheese tortelloni

bag of shredded carrots

yellow squash

vegetable broth

packaged fresh spinach

salad greens

garlic bread

sliced peaches

seedless raspberry jam

Saturday

limes

cilantro

olive oil

grouper fillets

salt

pepper

cooking spray

tomato

papaya

red onion

sugar

cumin

hot sauce

rice

canned black beans

canned corn with chopped red and green peppers

red-tip lettuce

canned pear halves

cinnamon graham crackers

Potato and Pea Salad (Sunday)

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: less than 15 minutes

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound small red potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup frozen green peas

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

In a small bowl, whisk together wine, olive oil, mustard and salt and pepper to taste; set vinaigrette aside. Cook potatoes in boiling water 8 to 10 minutes. Add peas to potatoes and cook 3 more minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and toss to coat. Add scallions and dill; toss. Add vinaigrette, toss and serve warm or at room temperature.

Per serving: 207 calories, 5 grams protein, 8 grams fat (percent calories from fat), 1 gram saturated fat, 28 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 335 milligrams sodium, 4 grams fiber.

Strawberry-Pork Salad (Monday)

Makes 6 servings

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 minute

Chilling time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

cooking spray

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

4 cups cooked long-grain rice

1/4 cup poppy-seed dressing

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 pound cooked pork, sliced and cut into 1/4 -inch strips

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

6 cups mixed salad greens

In a large, nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook scallions and walnuts over medium-high heat 1 minute. Add rice, dressing, salt and pork. Transfer to a large bowl; chill 30 minutes to 1 hour. Add strawberries just before serving. Place greens on a large serving platter. Spoon rice mixture over greens and serve.

Per serving: 365 calories, 21 grams protein, 13 grams fat (33 percent calories from fat), 2.9 grams saturated fat, 39 grams carbohydrate, 49 milligrams cholesterol, 311 mgs sodium, 3 grams fiber.

Beef and Curry Stir-Fry (Wednesday)

Makes 6 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: about 10 minutes plus time to cook the rice

and almonds

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 pound well-trimmed sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch- slices

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (see note)

1 teaspoon each: fresh grated ginger and curry powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 medium Granny Smith apples, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice

In a large, nonstick skillet coated with oil, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring constantly 5 to 7 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Add rice, almonds, ginger, curry powder and salt. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until flavors are blended. Just before serving, stir in apples and cider or juice.

Note: To toast almonds, place on baking sheet in 350-degree oven 5 to 7 minutes or just until the almonds begin to brown.

Per serving: 325 calories, 18 grams protein, 10 grams fat (27 percent calories from fat), 2 grams saturated fat, 42 grams carbohydrate, 37 milligrams cholesterol, 327 mgs sodium, 5 grams fiber.

Tortelloni Soup (Friday)

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time:

less than 10 minutes

Cooking time: less than 5 minutes plus time to cook the tortelloni

1 (9-ounce) package frozen cheese tortelloni

1 (10-ounce) bag shredded carrots

1 cup diced yellow squash

5 cups vegetable broth

1 (7- to 10-ounce bag fresh spinach, stems removed

Cook tortelloni according to directions. Meanwhile, in a large pot combine carrots, squash and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook until spinach wilts or 3 or 4 minutes. Add tortelloni and serve.

Per serving: 245 calories, 13 grams protein, 5 grams fat (16 percent calories from fat), 1.6 grams saturated fat, 42 grams carbohydrate, 34 milligrams cholesterol, 1,420 milligrams sodium, 6 grams fiber.

Grilled Grouper With Tomato-Papaya Salsa (Saturday)

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Marinating time: 20 minutes

FOR THE GROUPER:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 (4- to 6-ounce) grouper fillets

1/4 teaspoon each: salt and freshly ground pepper

cooking spray

FOR THE SALSA:

1 cup each: diced tomato and diced papaya

2 tablespoons diced red onion

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon each: sugar and cumin

1/8 teaspoon each: salt and freshly ground pepper

dash hot sauce

For the grouper: In a shallow dish, combine lime juice, 2 tablespoons cilantro and oil. Place grouper in dish; turn to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes; turn once. Remove fillets from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper.

Place fillets in grill basket coated with cooking spray. Coat grill rack with cooking spray and place on grill over medium-hot coals. Place basket on rack and grill, uncovered, 10 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Transfer grouper to individual serving plates and top with salsa. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro evenly over servings.

For the salsa: In a medium bowl, combine tomato, papaya, onion, cilantro, sugar, cumin, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Mix well. Spoon over fish.

Per serving (grouper): 107 calories, 21 grams protein, 2 grams fat (15 percent calories from fat), 0.4 grams saturated fat, 1 gram carbohydrate, 40 milligrams cholesterol, 192 mgs sodium, no fiber.

Per serving (salsa): 28 calories, 1 gram protein, trace fat (8 percent calories from fat), no saturated fat, 7 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 79 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.

TIP OF THE WEEK

To prevent overbrowning of thin, fat-rich cookies during baking, use insulated baking sheets, which have air sandwiched between two sheets of thin aluminum to promote even baking. (Note: Insulated sheets may require slightly longer baking times.) Second-best are shiny metal baking sheets, which reflect heat better than dark-colored bakeware.

-- Cole's Cooking A to Z

Susan Nicholson is an Atlanta-based cookbook author and registered dietitian. She can be reached by e-mail: menuplanner@mindspring.com.

Pub Date: 05/02/99