Weekly Menu (7/31/11-8/6/11)

Weekly Menu (7/31/11-8/6/11)
Breakfasts: Daily choices are typically between:

• Cereal (Cinnamon Chex, Fruity Pebbles, etc.)
• Muffins (I always have my banana chip, pumpkin chip, and Udi's blueberry, lemon, and double chocolate ones in the freezer)
• Fresh Fruit and/or Smoothies (I have peaches, plums, and bananas for this week's smoothies)
• One-Eyed Sandwiches (basically, fried egg and toast in one, my older son's absolute favorite breakfast)
• My new favorite: overnight oats

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers, and fresh fruits and veggies. :)

Dinners:

Sunday:

• Chicken and Eggplant Unparmesan
• Corn on the Cob
• Green Beans
• Breadsticks (I'm going to use this recipe and pipe them out of a pastry bag, and finish them off with margarine and garlic salt on top after they are baked)
• Peach and Plum Crisp

Monday:

• Steaks
• Green Beans
• Baked Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
• Grapes and Cantalope

Tuesday:

• Mini Corn Dogs
• Oven Fries
• Fried Green Beans
• Grapes and Cantalope

Wednesday:

• Pork Tamales
• Nachos
• Salad and Carrot Sticks
• Grapes

Thursday

• Breakfast for Dinner: One-eyed Sandwiches or Pancakes
• Bacon
• Hashbrowns
• fresh fruit

Friday

• Navajo Tacos (Fry Bread topped with refried beans, seasoned beef, lettuce, tomatoes, etc)
• Fresh fruit

Saturday

• Pizza
• Salad
• Fruit from the basket that day.

Overnight Oats

I have seen quite a few variations of this around lately, and decided I had to try it.  I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal...it's a texture thing, but I want to get in my oats and flax, and this is the perfect way.  It's quick to make up the night before and breakfast is ready and waiting in the morning--I love it! The best part is you can change it up however you like...more or less milk, add in a tablespoon a cocoa to make chocolate oats, use maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey, instead of the agave, or use chia seeds instead of flax seeds...really anything goes. :)

Overnight Oats
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 cup dairy-free milk
1 tablespoon agave nectar
fresh fruit

Directions
The night before, mix together oats, flax seed, and milk in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, add in agave nectar and fresh fruit and mix together and enjoy!

This post is featured on Seasonal Sunday and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Plum Cobbler

I have been getting quite a few plums in my bountiful basket the past few weeks, and even though I love plums, sometimes I forget I have them. And so, I have a few dozen plums I need to really start consuming...so what better way to use them, then in a dessert?  I based my recipe of of this one, adapted it for our diet and made adjustments for consistency, etc.  It turned out amazing, I never realized how delicious cooked plums are...I think this may be my breakfast in the morning. :)

Plum Cobbler

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
12 fresh plums, peeled, sliced and seeded (~4 or so cups)
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup gluten free flour blend
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dairy-free margarine
1/3 cup dairy-free milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, plums, cornstarch and cinnamon. Place the fruit mixture in a 8X8 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar, flour blend, baking powder and salt. Cut the margarine in with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and egg until well combined.  It should be slightly sticky.

Spread batter over fruit. Bake in a 350°F oven for 35 minutes. Top with dairy-free ice cream.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Weekly and Allergy-Friendly Friday.

Easy Dinner Rolls

Okay, I love my regular recipe for bread/rolls, but it has too many things to measure out (yes, I'm lazy), so I set out to make a simplified bread recipe.  So far, I've only made it as dinner rolls, but I'll update you when I make bread, hamburger buns, etc.

Easy Dinner Rolls
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups gluten free flour blend
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Dissolve yeast in the warm water, add in the oil and let sit for 3-5 minutes.  In a mixing bowl mix together dry ingredients.  While mixer is running, add in the yeast mixture.  Once it is mixed together, turn mixer up on high and beat for 3 minutes.  Scoop batter into greased muffin tins and allow to rise for 30 minutes.  Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes.  During the last few minutes of cooking, top with dairy-free margarine to help with browning.

This post is featured on Allergy Friendly Friday.

Weekly Menu (7/24/11-7/30/11)

Weekly Menu (7/24/11-7/30/11)
Breakfasts: Daily choices are typically between:

• Cereal (Cinnamon Chex, Fruity Pebbles, etc.)
• Muffins (I always have my banana chip, pumpkin chip, and Udi's blueberry, lemon, and double chocolate ones in the freezer)
• Fresh Fruit and/or Smoothies (I have mangos, saucer peaches, plums, and berries for this week's smoothies)
• One-Eyed Sandwiches (basically, fried egg and toast in one, my older son's absolute favorite breakfast)

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers, and fresh fruits and veggies. :)

Dinners:

Sunday:

• Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, and butternut squash
• Rolls
• Green Salad
• Strawberries
• Plum Cobbler

Monday:

• Hamburgers (using Udi's Hamburger Buns)
• Fried Green Beans
• Oven Fries
• Cantalope

Tuesday:

• Pulled Pork Sandwiches (once again using Udi's Hamburger Buns)
• Onion Rings
• Relish Tray
• Peaches

Wednesday:

• Brats and Hot dogs
• Relish Tray
• Cantalope

Thursday

• Breakfast for Dinner: One-eyed Sandwiches
• Bacon
• Hashbrowns
• fresh fruit

Friday

• Grilled Pork Chops
• Baked Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Green Salad

Saturday

• BBQ Chicken
• Relish Tray
• Strawberries

Rice Paper Wraps

It's summer and I've been a slacker, actually I'm exhausted.  I'm a working mom of two little boys and I'm training for a half marathon that's here in a month...I'm pooped, so I've been slacking on the blog.  I apologize.  But, because I've been slacking, I've been trying to come up with easy lunches for myself, that don't use up bread (I tend to save that for my boys).  I went to a little Thai restaurant in town the other day, and as I was eating my fresh spring roll, it hit me that rice paper is really the best wrap.  It's sticky enough to hold everything together and it gives the wrap some chewiness, so my sandwiches are now rice paper wraps and they are delicious.

The wrap below consists of a ham slice, fresh spinach, and carrot sticks.

Weekly Menu (7/17/11-7/23/11)

Weekly Menu (7/10/11-7/16/11)
Breakfasts: Daily choices are typically between:

• Cereal (Cinnamon Chex, Fruity Pebbles, etc.)
• Muffins (I always have my banana chip, pumpkin chip, and Udi's blueberry, lemon, and double chocolate ones in the freezer)
• Fresh Fruit and/or Smoothies (I have bananas, mangos, plums, and berries for this week's smoothies)
• One-Eyed Sandwiches (basically, fried egg and toast in one, my older son's absolute favorite breakfast)
• And my latest favorite: Mushroom and Spinach Scrambled Egg Sandwich topped with Tomatoes. :)

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers, and fresh fruits and veggies. :)

Dinners:

Sunday:

• We will be at my hubby's Grandma's for dinner.  We are having a roast, steamed veggies, and mashed potatoes (I'm helping her make the potatoes).
• I'm bringing the dessert: brownies and either apple or raspberry peach crisp (or perhaps a blackberry nectarine crisp)

Monday:

• Spaghetti, because we ended up not eating it last Friday
• Breadsticks (I pipe my breadsticks out using a large ziploc bag) or Cheesy Focaccia Bread using my pizza crust recipe
• Canary melon
• Relish Tray (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
• Green Salad

Tuesday:

• Chicken and Green Chile Gorditas
• Mangoes and Pineapple
• Relish Tray

Wednesday:

• Turkey Burgers (I have some Udi's Hamburger Buns in the freezer)
• Bananas
• Green Salad
• Relish Tray

Thursday

• Tamales
• Nachos 
• Relish Tray and berries

Friday

• Pizza
• Whatever fruits and veggies we have left

Saturday

• Soup (Zuppa Toscana), Salad, and Breadsticks :)

Fig Newtons

We got figs in our Bountiful Basket this week and so I just had to make fig newtons. This recipe is actually quite versatile, you can use any type of jam as your filling, or have the cookie as a simple sugar cookie and frost it.  Or just make the fig jam and spread it on toast. :)

What I love about making jams are that they can be really easy, I only use two ingredients fruit and sugar, and it turns out. This fig jam I used my same basic recipe, but ended up cooking it for a little be shorter period of time, it thickened within 6 minutes, where some of my berries take 10-12 minutes.

Fig Newtons 
adapted from here


1/2 cup dairy free margarine
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon dairy free milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 1/2 cups gf flour blend
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fig jam (recipe below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs, one at a time. Add milk, vanilla, and nutmeg.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl combine flour blend, baking powder, and salt.  Add flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture.  The dough should be the proper consistency for rolling out, if it's too sticky add a little more flour.

To make the newtons, divide the dough into 2-3 portions.  Roll out the portions out on parchment paper (I do this so I don't have to use extra flour) So they are about 4-5 inches wide and 10" or more inches long, depending on the size of portion used.  The dough should be about 1/4" thick. Spread jam along one side of the length of the dough and carefully fold the dough over and press the edges together.  Cut in 1 1/2-2" slices.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Fig Jam

3/4 cup fresh figs (peeled and mashed)
3/4 cup sugar

Directions
Combine figs and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it boils...boil over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until it thickens. Cool and use as filling.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Real Food Weekly, and Allergy Friendly Friday.

Weekly Menu (7/10/11-7/16/11)

Weekly Menu (7/10/11-7/16/11)
Breakfasts: Daily choices are typically between:

• Cereal (Cinnamon Chex, Fruity Pebbles, etc.)
• Muffins (I always have my banana chip, pumpkin chip, and Udi's blueberry, lemon, and double chocolate ones in the freezer)
• Fresh Fruit and/or Smoothies (I have bananas, apricots, pineapple, strawberries, figs, and spinach for this week's smoothies)
• One-Eyed Sandwiches (basically, fried egg and toast in one, my older son's absolute favorite breakfast)

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers, and fresh fruits and veggies. :)

Dinners:

Sunday:

• Cocktail Meatballs
• Basmati Rice
• Roasted Butternut Squash
• Swiss Chard and Mushroom Saute'
• Relish Tray (I always try to have fresh veggies cut up and ready to eat, this week we have carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms)

Monday:

• Chili Topped Potato Skins
• Strawberries and pear slices
• Relish Tray (I'm all about the fresh fruit and veggie, especially in the summer when I really don't want to cook). :)

Tuesday:

• English-style Battered Fish Fillets (We ended up not making this on Saturday, so I'm moving it to this week)
• Oven Fries
• Butternut Squash
• Fresh Fruit and Veggies

Wednesday:

• Pulled Pork Sandwiches (I have some pulled pork in the freezer along with Udi's Hamburger Buns)
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Carrot Sticks

Thursday

• Breakfast: Pancakes, Sausage and Eggs
• Pineapple and Bananas

Friday

• Spaghetti
• Breadsticks (I pipe my breadsticks out using a large ziploc bag) or Cheesy Focaccia Bread using my pizza crust recipe
• Fresh fruit and veggies

Saturday

• We are headed to Lagoon for my hubbies work party, dinner is provided and its always hamburgers and hot dogs, my boys eat hot dogs without buns, so we have no issues there, but I thought I'd bring a few Udi's hamburger buns in case they are in the mood for hamburgers instead.

Weekly Menu (7/3/11-7/9/11)

Weekly Menu (7/3/11-7/9/11)
Breakfasts: Daily choices are typically between:

• Cereal (Cinnamon Chex, Fruity Pebbles, etc.)
• Muffins (I always have my banana chip, pumpkin chip, and Udi's blueberry, lemon, and double chocolate ones in the freezer)
• Fresh Fruit and/or Smoothies (I have bananas, peaches, mangoes, and spinach for this week's smoothies)
• One-Eyed Sandwiches (basically, fried egg and toast in one, my older son's absolute favorite breakfast)

Lunches: Sandwiches, leftovers, and fresh fruits and veggies. :)

Dinners:

Sunday:

• Steaks
• Baked Potatoes
• Corn on the Cob
• Roasted Butternut Squash
• Fruit Salad

Monday:

• Hamburgers or Turkey Burgers (haven't decided which yet)
• Chips
• Fruit Salad
• Relish Tray (Carrots, Celery, and Broccoli)

Tuesday:

• Mini Corn Dogs and Oven Fries 
• Apples Slices and Carrot Sticks

Wednesday:

• Tamales (from the Tamale Man)
• Nachos (using Daiya cheese for me and the little one)
• Green Salad
• Fruit Salad

Thursday

• Breakfast, probably one-eyed sandwiches (really this is my older son's very favorite)
• Hash browns
• Bacon
• Bananas
• Strawberries

Friday

• Pizza
• Green Salad
• Strawberries

Saturday

• English-style Battered Fish Fillets
• Fries or onion rings
• whatever fruit and/or veggies we get that day in our Bountiful Basket or have leftover from this week.

Italian Sausage Frittata with Caserecce

When I saw this post on the Gluten-Free Goddess, I was instantly wanting a frittata, so I put it on my weekly menu and I made it tonight. What's fantastic about frittatas is that its a fantastic way to use up leftovers...literally put your leftovers into a cast iron skillet, pour egg over and bake. Love it!  I had some leftover pasta that I froze, because I could not waste it, I absolutely loved it the first time around and hoped it would thaw okay. So, I thawed it and used it in my frittata.  Also, I had some cooked italian sausage that needed to be used, so I cut that up and used it as well.  I also had some peppers and green onions that had been sitting in the fridge and really needed to be used....see where I'm going, yeah, frittatas use up leftovers and make them excellent! I served ours up with some pizza sauce, because that is basically my quick and easy way to make marinara sauce

Italian Sausage Frittata with Caserecce


8 large eggs
1/4 cup dairy-free milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
canola or olive oil
1/3 cup diced green onion
1/3 cup sliced orange bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 links Italian sausage, sliced
2 cups brown rice caserecce, cooked to al dente

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Whisk eggs with milk until frothy (I put mine in the food processor).  Season with salt, pepper, and herbs.  Set aside.

Lightly oil a 10" cast iron skillet.  Heat it over medium heat and cook the peppers for about 2 minutes, then add in the green onions and garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add the sausage and pasta and stir to gently combine everything, making sure to evenly arrange everything in the pan.

Quickly pour the egg mixture over the sausage/pasta mixture.  Using a spoon, move the pasta and sausage a bit to allow the egg mixture to seep around each piece.

After a couple minutes on the stovetop, move the skillet to the center of the oven and bake the frittata for 20 minutes or until the center is set.

Serve with marinara sauce.

This post is featured on Simply Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, The Real Food Weekly, and Allergy Friendly Friday.