An ALL DAY Menu for Mother's Day

By Brenda Hyde

Mom deserves a day without cooking! Try these recipes for three great meals and an evening snack that will have her relaxing all day long, and she'll treasure the memory all YEAR long! Click Here for a printable version that you can take with you to the store and the kitchen!

BREAKFAST MENU

You can usually buy a large container of Vanilla Yogurt to use in both recipes. It's usually near the containers of sour cream in the grocery store. If there are no really ripe bananas at home, look for the bargain rack in the produce section and there might be some there-or buy the ripest ones you can find in the fruit section.

Fruity Oatmeal

Ingredients:

3/4 cups quick-cooking oats

2/3 cup warm milk

1-1/3 cups vanilla yogurt

1/2 Granny Smith (or other firm) apple

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Additional fresh fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, or peaches

Soak 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats in 2/3 cup warm milk until swollen, about 5 minutes (or overnight in the refrigerator). When ready, add about 1/4 cup additional oats (for texture). Stir in yogurt, and apple, which has been peeled, cored, and grated. Add 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds, honey and lemon juice. Mix in fresh fruit-as much as you'd like, and garnish with extra slices of apple or fruit.

Lowfat Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup margarine

3 egg whites

1 1/4 cups mashed bananas

3/4 cup Low fat vanilla yogurt

2 3/4 all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Place oven rack on lowest position. Preheat to 350 degrees. Cream together sugar and margarine. Mix in egg whites until blended. Add the banana, yogurt and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in other ingredients until just moistened. Bake in two 8" loaf pans for about an hour until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Notes: The fat content listed was 2 grams per serving, but it wasn't clear if that was for one slice or two. I left out the nuts, and LOVED it. It was very moist and everyone in our family liked it. I would never have guessed it was low fat.

LUNCHEON MENU

These are very easy recipes! You already are buying apples and pecans for the breakfast menu, so just buy enough for both. The meat in the salad can be leftover from home, or pick up a tiny bag of frozen salad shrimp. You can double these recipes for Dad to have some too. If they don't seem like something the kids would like, pick up some deli meat and sandwich bread, plus extra vegetables to cut into sticks.

Quick Luncheon Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cucumber, scrubbed and sliced thin

4 raw mushrooms, sliced

2 cups spinach or cabbage

1/2 cup salad shrimp or leftover pork or chicken

Heat broth in a medium pan on the stove. Add cucumber, mushrooms, greens, and meat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 1 1/2 quarts. Notes: You can halve this for smaller amounts. Swanson's has seasoned broth such as garlic and Italian which works great!

Fruit and Nut Salad

1 1/2 cups torn salad greens

1/4 cup cubed cooked chicken, turkey or shrimp

1 small apple, cored and sliced thin

1/4 cup seedless red grapes, cut in half

1/8 cup blue cheese or ranch dressing (regular or low fat)

Chopped walnuts or pecans for garnish

On a salad plate arrange greens, meat, apple slices and grapes. Drizzle with dressing, garnish with nuts. Makes one salad.

DINNER MENU

It doesn't get any easier than a crockpot meal and a no-bake dessert! It's very easy and everyone will love it. Pick up a loaf or two of French Bread, plus extra salad ingredients for a plain green salad with the dressing you bought for the luncheon salad.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

1 large sweet onion, sliced thin

3 pounds chicken pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

16 ounces tomato sauce

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano; crushed

1/2 tsp. dried basil; crushed

1/4 cup water

16 ounces spaghetti

Break up the crushed tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Place onions in slow cooker. On top of onions place the chicken pieces, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, herbs and water. Cover pot. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. During the last half hour, cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Serve chicken with the sauce on spaghetti which you have prepared. This is good served with garlic bread and a fresh salad. Makes enough for 4-6 people with kids and adults.

Banana Split Cake

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) box vanilla wafers

1 cup melted margarine

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

6 bananas

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Optional: chopped nuts and maraschino cherries

Place the vanilla wafers in a large resealable bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Combine the crushed wafers and melted margarine. Pat into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar together until light and fluffy. Spread over the top of the vanilla wafer crust. Spoon crushed pineapple over the cream cheese layer. Then layer sliced bananas over the pineapple. Cover with the whipped topping. Sprinkle with crushed or chopped nuts and place a cherry on each serving if you would like. Try to make this ahead of time, cover the pan and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours.

About the Author:

Brenda Hyde is a wife and mom to three kids. She's going to be printing this out for her husband and kids the week before Mother's Day to give them plenty of time to shop and cook!

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