This week’s 7-day menu planner has recipe for Brunswick Stew and more

PLAN AHEAD: Save enough beef and cobbler for Monday.

MONDAY (Heat and Eat)

Use Sunday’s leftover beef for Thai Beef Salad. Whisk together 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons minced jalapeno pepper and 1/2 teaspoon each minced garlic and coarse salt. Add thinly sliced leftover steak, 4 cups fresh bean sprouts, 1 1/2 cups each thinly sliced red bell pepper and seeded cucumber and 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (chopped); toss to mix. Line serving platter with 8 cups lettuce; spoon salad on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Serve with any deli soup and crusty rolls. For dessert, heat the leftover cobbler and add a small scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on the side.

PLAN AHEAD: Cook Tuesday’s brown rice today.

TUESDAY (Meatless)

Chunky Vegetarian Chili will hit the spot on a cold evening and is perfect for a no-meat dinner. Serve with a Spinach Salad with egg wedges and cornbread (from a mix). Stir sliced bananas into Banana Pudding for dessert.

WEDNESDAY (Kids)

Kids will like the sound, as well as the taste, of Pizza Dogs. Cut diagonal slashes in 8 less-sodium, less-fat hot dogs and cook them according to directions. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup pizza sauce. Serve the hot dogs on whole-grain buns and top with pizza sauce and shredded 50% light cheddar cheese. Add baked chips and deli Carrot Salad. Dessert is tropical fruit.

THURSDAY (Budget)

I adapted a family recipe for Brunswick Stew to the microwave and never looked back. Serve the Virginia (and Georgia) favorite with a Romaine Salad with red onion rings and biscuits. For dessert, peaches and Oatmeal Cookies sound good.

PLAN AHEAD: Save enough cookies for Friday.

FRIDAY (Express)

Make Meatball Sandwiches on a hoagie roll for a quick meal. Buy the meatballs already prepared, top with no-salt-added or regular marinara sauce and add freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with peas and carrots (frozen). Munch on leftover cookies for dessert.

SATURDAY (Easy Entertaining)

Your guests will like the flavor of Dilled Halibut with Vegetables, and you’ll like the simplicity. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Coat 4 pieces of foil (12x18 inches) with cooking spray. Center several lemon slices on each sheet. Place 4 (4- to 6-ounce) halibut fillets on lemons. Sprinkle halibut with coarse salt and pepper. Combine 1/2 each medium zucchini and yellow squash (cut into thin strips), 1 medium carrot and 1 medium onion (cut into thin strips). Divide vegetables and top each fillet with mixture. Sprinkle each portion with 3/4 teaspoon fresh dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried. Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and ends to seal, leaving room for heat to circulate. Bake 15-18 minutes on a cookie sheet. When ready to serve, open packet away from your face to allow steam to escape. Serve the colorful entree with roasted red potatoes, mixed greens and whole-grain rolls. Buy a cheesecake for dessert.

BROILED STEAK WITH CHEESY POLENTA AND PASTA SAUCE (Sunday)

Makes 6 servings

Preparation time: about 10 minutes

Cooking time: less than 15 minutes for polenta; 16-21 minutes for steak

For the polenta:

1 2/3 cups water

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 cup each shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 cup no-salt-added or regular red pasta sauce

For the steak:

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon each coarse salt and coarse grind black pepper

1 boneless beef top-sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick (about 1 1/2 pounds)

In a 1-quart baking dish, combine water, cornmeal and salt. Cover and microwave on high (100 percent power) 6-8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of each cheese. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Microwave, uncovered, on medium (50 percent power) 1 or 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Heat sauce; set aside. Meanwhile, combine Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper; press onto steak. Place steak on rack in broiler pan so surface is 3-4 inches from heat. Broil 16-21 minutes for medium-rare to medium, turning once. Carve steak. Serve with polenta and sauce.

Per serving: 233 calories, 25 grams protein, 7 grams fat (29% calories from fat), 2.7 grams saturated fat, 17 grams carbohydrate, 62 milligrams cholesterol, 472 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

Carb count: 1

CHUNKY VEGETARIAN CHILI (Tuesday)

Makes 8 servings

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: about 16 minutes

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (14.5-ounce) can reduced-sodium Mexican-style or plain diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15-ounce) can reduced-sodium kidney beans, rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can reduced-sodium pinto or pink beans, rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed

1 cup frozen or reduced-sodium canned whole-kernel corn, rinsed

4 cups cooked brown rice

Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute bell pepper, onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chili powder and cumin; heat 1 minute. Add tomatoes, beans and corn; stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender. Serve with rice.

Per serving: 311 calories, 13 grams protein, 4 grams fat (10% calories from fat), 0.5 gram saturated fat, 62 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 288 milligrams sodium, 14 grams fiber.

Carb count: 4

BRUNSWICK STEW (Thursday)

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

1 (16-ounce) package frozen succotash, thawed

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 (14-ounce) can unsalted chicken broth

2 cups cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, coarsely chopped

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added undrained diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Coarse salt to taste

1/4 cup dehydrated potatoes

In a 3-quart microwave baking dish, place succotash and cover. Cook on high (100 percent power) 4 minutes and drain. Put the chopped onion in a microwave-safe 1-cup measure; cover and cook on high 1 minute. Drain and add to the succotash. Add the chicken broth, cooked chicken, tomatoes with juice, sugar, black and cayenne pepper and salt; mix well. Cover and cook on high 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. (From now on, you may leave the dish covered for a thinner stew or uncovered for a thicker stew.) Stir in the dehydrated potatoes to thicken and cook on medium (50 percent power) for 10 minutes. Stir once or twice.

Per serving: 308 calories, 28 grams protein, 4 grams fat (10% calories from fat), 0.9 gram saturated fat, 41 grams carbohydrate, 60 milligrams cholesterol, 178 milligrams sodium, 6 grams fiber.

Carb count: 2 1/2