Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Wednesday, July 09, 2008

7 day meal planner: Trisha Yearwood shares meatloaf recipe

By Susan Nicholson | Universal Press Syndicate

Sunday (Family)

Surprise the family with this delicious Mustard Chicken with Greens (see recipe). The bright grape tomatoes added to the plate, along with roasted red potatoes, make a colorful presentation. Add baguettes. Buy a Boston Cream Pie for dessert.

PLAN AHEAD: Save enough pie for Monday.

SHOPPING LIST: boneless, skinless chicken breasts, flour, olive oil, grape tomatoes, garlic, fat-free chicken broth, grainy Dijon mustard, fat-free or reduced-fat sour cream, chives for garnish if desired, watercress or baby spinach leaves, red potatoes, baguettes, Boston cream pie.

Monday (Meatless)

For a no-meat dinner, make Roasted Red Pepper and Jalapeno Cheese Sandwiches. Layer roasted red peppers (from a jar), 50 percent reduced-fat jalapeno cheese and avocado slices on a hot grilled whole-grain roll. Serve with a spinach salad. Leftover pie is dessert.

SHOPPING LIST: jar roasted red peppers, 50 percent reduced-fat jalapeno cheese, avocados, whole-grain rolls, fresh spinach.

Tuesday (Budget)

Georgia girl and country singer Trisha Yearwood knows how to make a mean meatloaf (see recipe). Serve Trisha’s creation with mashed potatoes, tiny green peas (frozen), a mixed green salad and biscuits. For dessert, make instant butterscotch pudding with 1 percent milk.

PLAN AHEAD: Save enough meatloaf and make extra mashed potatoes for Wednesday.

SHOPPING LIST: 95 percent lean ground beef, saltine or whole-grain crackers, egg, ketchup, prepared (yellow) mustard, salt, pepper, onion, potatoes to mash, frozen tiny green peas, salad greens, biscuits, instant butterscotch pudding mix, 1 percent milk.

Wednesday (Heat and Eat)

Yesterday’s meatloaf is today’s meatloaf sandwiches. We asked Trisha how she made her sandwiches, and her reply was, “I just put a little mayo, sometimes cheese, and a little salt and pepper on white or wheat bread.” We usually add lettuce to ours.

Accompany the sandwiches with potato patties using the leftover mashed potatoes. Mix the potatoes with a beaten egg; coat the patties with flour and brown in a little canola oil until heated through. Add a romaine salad. For dessert, fresh strawberries are light.

SHOPPING LIST: low-fat mayonnaise, any cheese, salt, pepper, white or wheat bread, lettuce, egg, flour, canola oil, romaine, fresh strawberries.

Thursday (Express)

For a quick meal, Tuna-White Bean Salad fills the bill. Toss drained canned light tuna (packed in water), rinsed canned white beans and chopped red onion with a package of baby spinach leaves and some bottled vinaigrette dressing. Serve with a bowl of minestrone soup and Italian bread. Sliced cantaloupe makes a refreshing dessert.

SHOPPING LIST: canned water-packed light tuna, canned white beans, red onion, packaged baby spinach,

vinaigrette dressing, minestrone soup, Italian bread, cantaloupe.

Friday (Kids)

Let the kids help prepare Piglets in Blankets with Dipping Sauce (see recipe). Serve the fun food with green beans. Frozen fruit pops are another kid-favorite. Peel a banana and cut in half crosswise. Insert an ice cream stick in the cut end. Dip banana into melted chocolate, roll in chopped nuts and freeze one hour.

SHOPPING LIST: reduced-fat or regular crescent roll dough, meatless breakfast links (such as Boca), honey, Dijon mustard, green beans, bananas, chocolate syrup, chopped nuts.

Saturday (Easy Entertaining)

Serve your guests your own grilled cod and grilled vegetables. Add orzo salad to the plate. Cook 8 ounces orzo according to directions; drain and cool. Cut kernels from 1 ear cooked corn-on-the-cob. Combine orzo, corn, juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped black olives, 2 tablespoons each chopped fresh cilantro and fresh parsley,

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; toss to mix. Serve with a Boston lettuce salad and whole-wheat rolls.

Guests will feel special when you serve them banana crepes for dessert. Carefully lay 1 package (8 to 10 crepes) on serving plates. Slice 3 ripe bananas into diagonals and place slices down center of each crepe. Top with banana pudding (cover bananas). Gently fold in sides of each crepe to form a “burrito.” Place seam side down and add a dollop of light whipped cream. Serve chilled.

TIP: Look for crepes in the produce section.

SHOPPING LIST: cod and assorted vegetables to grill, orzo, corn-on-the-cob, lemon, extra-virgin olive oil, black olives, fresh cilantro and parsley, salt, pepper, Boston lettuce, whole-wheat rolls, crepes, bananas, banana pudding, light whipped cream.

Mustard Chicken with Greens

4 (5- to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 pint grape tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 cup fat-free chicken broth

3 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons fat-free or reduced-fat sour cream

Snipped chives for garnish if desired

1 bunch watercress or 4 cups baby spinach leaves

Flatten chicken to an even thickness (about 1/2 inch). Put flour in a large plastic bag; add chicken and shake to coat, removing excess flour. Set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add tomatoes; cook 3 or

4 minutes or until some begin to soften. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove to bowl.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in the same skillet on medium. Cook chicken 5 to 6 minutes per side or until no longer pink (160 degrees). Remove to plate; cover. Add broth to skillet, stirring to dissolve browned bits. Whisk in mustard and sour cream. Simmer until slightly thickened; add chives. Place chicken on watercress or spinach leaves; spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with tomatoes.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 279 calories, 37 grams protein, 7 grams fat (21 percent calories from fat), 1 gram saturated fat, 17 grams carbohydrate, 84 milligrams cholesterol, 421 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

Meatloaf

2 pounds 95 percent lean ground beef

20 crumbled saltine or whole-grain crackers (I used whole-grain)

1 lightly beaten egg

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared (yellow) mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 finely chopped medium onion

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, lightly mix beef, crackers, egg, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper and onion. Divide evenly and shape into 2 loaves. Place loaves, side by side crosswise, in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish lined with nonstick foil. Bake one hour or until browned, or until internal temperature is 160 degrees. Remove from oven; transfer to a platter, tent with foil and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. (Adapted from “Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen,” Trisha Yearwood; Clarkson Potter, $29.95).

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 202 calories, 26 grams protein, 7 grams fat

(32 percent calories from fat), 2.5 grams saturated fat, 9 grams carbohydrate, 89 milligrams cholesterol, 566 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.

Piglets in Blankets with Dipping Sauce

1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat or regular crescent roll dough

16 meatless breakfast links (such as Boca)

3/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll dough; divide along perforations into triangles. Cut each triangle in half to form 2 triangles. Wrap one dough triangle around center of each breakfast link, starting at wide end of triangle. Arrange wrapped links on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until browned. Combine honey and mustard. Serve with piglets. (Adapted from Cooking Light magazine.)

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 277 calories, 11 grams protein, 8 grams fat (25 percent calories from fat), 1.5 grams saturated fat, 44 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 718 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

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