Five recipes that will feed your family tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

by Evelyn Tribole, RD

Between chasing kids and chasing deadlines, there never seems to be enough time in the day to cook a healthful family dinner. Never fear: To make your life a little easier, Lifetime offers five kid-friendly "master" recipes that, besides making delicious meals in their own right, provide the base ingredient for four or more additional meals you can whip up later in the week. (It's our little secret that you're serving disguised leftovers!) Here are five main dishes that can play supporting roles on your dining room table all week long.

Main Dish: Sunday Pot Roast
The leanest cut of beef is the "round" section. It's high in iron, zinc and protein.

1 (3-pound) beef top round roast, trimmed of all visible fat
3 cups vegetable juice cocktail
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon dried basil
12 small red potatoes
24 baby carrots
6 stalks celery, sliced into 1-inch pieces
» Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
» Lightly coat an unheated Dutch oven with nonstick spray. Add the meat and brown over medium-high heat. Drain and discard any drippings.
» In a medium bowl, stir together vegetable juice, Worcestershire and basil. Pour mixture over meat. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots and celery. Bake, covered, for approximately 60 minutes, or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Supporting Meals of the Week
1. Roast beef dip: Serve pieces of roast on hoagie rolls with sauce. To make sauce, reserve about 1 cup of juice after you remove the roast from the oven. Cover and chill. Discard any congealed fat, heat, and serve with sandwiches.
2. Beef-and-veggie stir-fry: Sauté beef with your favorite fresh or frozen Asian vegetables, chopped ginger, garlic and a bit of sesame oil. Serve over hot rice.
3. Shepherd's pie: Evenly layer chopped beef on the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and bake until golden.
4. Sloppy joes: Combine shredded beef with barbecue sauce and serve on whole-wheat hamburger buns.
5. Beef stroganoff: Top strips of beef and cooked egg noodles with a creamy mixture of mushrooms, onion, garlic, herbs and low-fat sour cream.

Main Dish: Hearty Black Bean Chili
Black beans are a nutritional treasure trove of fiber, protein and folic acid. This family favorite is easy to prepare — just relax while it simmers.
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
8 cups water
4 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
2 pounds dried black beans, sorted and rinsed
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
Reduced-fat pepper jack cheese, shredded
» Place oil, onions and garlic in large soup pot. Cook and stir until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add water, broth, beans, cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 2 hours.
» Spoon into soup bowls. Top with shredded jack cheese. Serve with salad and corn muffins or whole-grain dinner rolls.

Supporting Meals of the Week
1. Black bean salad: Spoon chili onto a bed of shredded lettuce. Add diced yellow and red bell peppers, snipped cilantro and chopped avocado. Top with your favorite reduced-fat Italian dressing.
2. Burritos: Roll chili, chopped tomato, shredded lettuce and reduced-fat cheese into a flour tortilla. Zap in the microwave until cheese is melted, about 1 minute.
3. Beans and rice: Prepare brown rice and serve alongside chili beans.
4. Easy tostadas: Mash the remaining chili and spread over tostada shells. Top with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and salsa.

Main Dish: Grilled Sesame Chicken Breasts
Think ahead when you barbecue, and put a week's worth of chicken breasts on the grill.
16 chicken breasts (or enough for five meals)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup chopped chives
» Cook chicken breasts over a hot grill, 5 to 8 minutes per side. (To check that they're done, cut one in the center; the meat should be white, not pink, and the juices should run clear.) Reserve 4 chicken breasts and store the remaining breasts in a shallow pan, covered, in the refrigerator.
» In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch and brown sugar. Mix until completely blended (to prevent lumping when cooking). Stir in the soy sauce and oil. Put mixture in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until bubbly. Cook and stir 1 additional minute. Stir in sesame seeds and chives. Spoon over chicken breasts.
» Serve with your favorite vegetable.

Supporting Meals of the Week
1. Chicken fajitas: Chop up chicken and vegetables and roll into tortillas.
2. Chicken parmigiana: Top grilled chicken breasts with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Heat in microwave until cheese is bubbly. Serve over angel hair pasta or spaghetti.
3. Chicken tortilla soup: Simmer chicken broth. Add shredded chicken, diced green chilis, chopped onions and cumin powder. Cook until onion is translucent. Ladle into bowls and top with reduced-fat tortilla chips and cheese.
4. Chicken Divan: Place broccoli and chopped chicken in a casserole dish. Combine curry powder and 1 can low-fat cream of mushroom soup and pour mixture over chicken and broccoli. Top with low-fat cheddar cheese and bake.

Main Dish: Roast Turkey Breast Dinner
This naturally lean source of protein is super-versatile — and not just for Thanksgiving!
4 to 5 pounds turkey breast
12 new potatoes, quartered
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon rosemary, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
» Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
» Place turkey breast in a roasting pan. Bake approximately 1 hour 45 minutes, until juices run clear and meat is no longer pink.
» Place quartered potatoes on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Drizzle evenly with olive oil, then sprinkle with rosemary and salt. Place in oven 30 minutes before turkey is finished.
» Serve with salad.

Supporting Meals of the Week
1. Turkey Tetrazzini: Place cooked spaghetti in a baking dish. Combine a can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup with milk, dry sherry, mushrooms and chopped turkey. Spread sauce over noodles, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and bake.
2. Turkey tacos: Stuff taco shells with shredded turkey and top with shredded reduced-fat cheese, chopped tomato, chopped avocado and shredded lettuce.
3. Asian turkey wraps: Mix shredded turkey, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage and enoki mushrooms with hoisin, plum or teriyaki sauce. Place spoonfuls of the mixture down the center of a flour tortilla and roll up.
4. Turkey potpie: Combine chopped turkey with a can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup, add frozen mixed vegetables and herbs, and mix thoroughly. Cover with one sheet phyllo dough, spray with nonstick spray, and bake.

Main Dish: Quickie Homemade Spaghetti
By using jarred spaghetti sauce and adding protein and veggies, you lop off prep time while upping the nutritional value.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 (6-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1 carrot, finely grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound turkey sausage
2 (26-ounce) jars marinara sauce
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
12 ounces spaghetti
» Lightly spray a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven with nonstick spray. Add olive oil, onions, pepper, mushrooms, carrot and garlic. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender, approximately 5 minutes. Add the turkey sausage; cook and stir until cooked through. Add the marinara sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 15 minutes.
» Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and top with sauce.

Supporting Meals of the Week
1. Light cheese ravioli: Purchase frozen ravioli and top with your homemade sauce.
2. Pita pizza: Top pita bread with homemade sauce and mozzarella cheese. Microwave until cheese is melted.
3. Ziti bake: Combine cooked ziti or penne pasta with homemade sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and low-fat ricotta cheese. Bake until bubbly and cheese is melted.
4. Minestrone soup: Combine homemade sauce, chicken broth, garbanzo beans, sliced carrots and leftover pasta in a large pot and simmer.

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