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Sally Lee's 7 Day Almost HomemadeŽ Meal Planner

By Sally Lee

Week after week, millions of ordinary woman face - and lose - the challenge of making family meals humdingers instead of humdrum. This dilemma was the inspiration behind my newest contribution to your Almost Homemade Life®: the 7 Day Almost Homemade® Meal Planner.

Appearing every seven days, this patented system is available exclusively to readers of my Almost Homemade® Magazine, viewers of my syndicated television show Almost Homemade® Cooking, and registered subscribers to www.almosthomemade.com.

The 7 Day Almost Homemade® Meal Planner answers the age old question of what's for dinner by providing pre-planned gourmet menus, complete with recipes and shopping lists, allowing you to focus on more important things in life, such as the cute Cabana boy at the club, or that new tennis instructor.

Even better, the meals are designed to suit any budget, so you save enough for his tip! And by handing the pre-printed shopping list to the maid, you'll save more than enough time for your weekly massage. Make it easy to plan ahead with my Meal Planner®!

SUNDAY (Day 1):

Company Chicken à La Crème - artfully arrange one bucket of your favorite KFC® fried chicken on platter. Spoon contents of one can Campbell's® cream of mushroom soup over all. Microwave until warm. Serve with your favorite Del Monte® canned vegetable and enjoy! Don't forget plenty of Wonder® bread to sop up all that delicious, creamy gravy! Hmmm, hmmm good®!

MONDAY (Day 2):

Savory Asian Soup - place 2 packages of Ramen® noodles in large bowl with one can Del Monte® mixed vegetables, drained. Cover with boiling water. Add salt and pepper to taste. A dash of paprika makes an exciting color contrast. Before serving, garnish with parsley from your garden (if not available, substitute stray weeds). A crusty loaf of bakery French bread (reserve ½ for Wednesday) makes this meal an international feast!

TUESDAY (Day 3):

Meaty Mac au Fromage - Prepare two boxes of Kraft® macaroni and cheese following package directions. Gently fold in one package of sliced, cooked Armour® hot dogs. Serve with ½ bag of Fresh Express® salad and your choice of Kraft® dressing. Kids and adults all love this updated version of an old classic!

WEDNESDAY (Day 4):

Spaghetti Bolognese - Cook 8 ounces Creamette® spaghetti al dente in boiling water. Drain. Artfully arrange on platter. Open a jar of Ragu® spaghetti sauce and pour ½ over all. Sprinkle with fresh basil from your garden (if not available, use more weeds). Complete the meal with the remaining bagged salad and tasty croutons made from leftover French bread pan toasted with 1 teaspoon Accent® in 1 tablespoon Wesson® oil to spice up your day!

THURSDAY (Day 5):

Seafood au Gratin - Cook 8 ounces Creamette® egg noodles (Manischewitz® if you're religious) al dente in boiling water. Drain and mix with 1 can Campbell's® cream of mushroom soup, ½ cup milk and one can of Bumblebee® tuna. Place in Pyrex® casserole and sprinkle with Kraft® grated parmesan cheese and crumbs made from stale French bread. Bake or microwave in an Amana® appliance until bubbling. Everyone will beg you for the recipe at the next potluck!

FRIDAY (Day 6):

Personal Pizzas Amore - Toast 2 slices Wonder® white bread per serving. Spread with leftover Ragu® spaghetti sauce then sprinkle with more of that delicious Kraft® grated parmesan cheese. The kids love to help make these! Broil until bubbly. While waiting, boil one box of Green Giant® frozen peas until soft in Evian® water, then puree with 1 tablespoon Land O'Lakes® butter. Drizzle over pizzas just before serving for a nutritious and colorful personal touch that makes this a meal to remember!

SATURDAY (Day 7):

After slaving away in a hot kitchen all week long, you're entitled to a little R&R. A guilt-free night out with the girls is easy when you follow this simple and economical recipe for a delicious one dish meal your family can eat with a straw!

Slurpy Surprise - Take all the leftovers from days 1 through 6 and dump them into your Rival®Crockpot®. Add Skyy® vodka to cover. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Blend until smooth in food processor with one package each lemon and chocolate fudge flavors JELL-O® Instant Pudding mix. Return to Crockpot® and heat through. One sip and your family won't mind your absence at all!

About the Author: Sally continues to acknowledge the assistance of SB Shoemaker so alright already her attorney can stop sending those snippy letters. She also continues to insist that any similarity to Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade® Magazine, Semi-Homemade® Cooking, Semi-Homemade® Desserts, Semi-Homemade® Cooking with Sandra Lee, or www.semihomemade.com, is completely and absolutely coincidental and if you still think this is an issue then you obviously haven't had your head examined yet.

© 2005 S. Shoemaker All Rights Reserved

OTHER SALLY LEE ARTICLES

• You Can Have it All!

OTHER HW ARTICLES BY SB SHOEMAKER

• How to Wow in 7 Steps!

• Gabbing with the Gal of the Year

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan, a former flight instructor and air traffic controller, now spends most of her time looking for her car keys. She lives and writes in southern Wisconsin, but would much prefer to spend winters drinking and writing in the south of France. If you bothered to read this far, please contact all the publishers you know and tell them to send her money. Or you can cut out the middleperson and just send it to her directly.  Or wire it, because it isn't safe to send cash through the mail.  And ever since that incident involving the Fantasy Chippendale League, she no longer trusts the staff here at HW. Even though it was just a joke and she got her money back.

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