Weekly Menu (1/22/12-1/28/12)

Weekly Menu (1/22/12-1/28/12)

Sunday:

Breakfast: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lunch: 

• Ham sandwiches 
• Chips
• Orange Slices
• Carrot sticks and Almond Butter

Dinner:

• General Tso's Chicken
• Fried Rice
• Wilted Bok Choy with Soy Sauce and Cashews 
• Potstickers

Monday:

Breakfast: Cereal and Bananas

Lunch:  

• School Lunch:
• Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich
• Chips
• Apple Slices
• Fruit Snack
• Milk

Dinner:  

• Tacos
• Carrots and Almond Butter
• Apple Slices

Tuesday: 

Breakfast: Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Lunch:

• School Lunch:
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• Half of a banana
• Chips
• Fruit Snack 
• Milk

Dinner: 

• Oven Fried Chicken
• Roasted Veggies w/lemon and herbs (probably potatoes, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli)
• Salad
• Orange Slices

Wednesday:

Breakfast: 

•  Cereal and Overnight Oats

Lunch:

• School Lunch:
• Pepperoni and Cheese on Schar Crispbread
• Carrots
• chips
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie 
• Milk

Dinner:

• Pork Tamales
• Nachos
• Rice and Beans
• Carrots and Almond Butter

Thursday:

Breakfast: 

• Cereal and Milk

Lunch: 

• School Lunch:
• Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich
• Chips
• Half of a banana
• Milk
• Fruit Snack

Dinner:

• French Toast
  
• Bacon
• Apple Slices
• Hashbrowns

Friday: 

Breakfast:

• Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lunch: 

• School Lunch:
• Pepperoni and Cheese on Schar Crispbread
• Chips
• Orange Slices 
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Milk

Dinner:

• Chicken Nuggets
• Oven Fries
• Salad and Carrot Sticks

Saturday

Breakfast:

• Cereal

Lunch: (It's my older son's birthday party, so this will be for 6 crazy little boys)

• Chicken Nuggets
• Tater Tots
• Apple Slices
• Ants on a log (Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins)
• Cupcakes

Dinner:

• Chili
• Fritos
• Salad

Biscuits and Gravy...Chocolate Gravy

I'm on a chocolate kick.  I love chocolate and I love that Valentine's Day is coming up, because that gives me the excuse to eat more chocolate. I saw this recipe on pinterest and knew I had to convert it, I wanted to make a biscuit recipe anyway, and topping it with chocolate gravy sounded even better...and it was, it was heavenly, I think I want this for breakfast every morning.  Probably won't happen, but I'll definitely have it every once in a while. :)  The biscuits are excellent on their own, so they are a quick and easy side for dinners, so I definitely will be making these a lot. I also entered this into the Fork and Beans Bake-off contest. :)

 

Biscuits
2 cups GF flour blend
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) dairy-free margarine
~1 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add lemon juice to the coconut milk and set aside. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.  Add margarine and cut into the flour with a pastry blender (or a fork) until pea-sized crumbs form.  Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the soured milk (start with 3/4 cup of the milk).  Mix with a rubber spatula until ingredients are combined (if your dough is too stiff, add 1-2 more tbsp. buttermilk).  The dough should be sticky, but you should still be able to work with it, so not too sticky.  Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Smooth the dough out and pat it out until it's to 1" thickness.

Cut out biscuits with a sharp biscuit cutter. And place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 -20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the biscuit tops with melted margarine.  Serve warm, topped with chocolate gravy.

Chocolate Gravy
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons GF flour blend
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups So Delcious Coconut milk
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) dairy-free margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan whisk together the dry ingredients.  Pour in the milk and whisk vigorously to combine.  Heat over medium-high until the mixture bubbles.  Turn heat down to medium and stir until mixture has thickened to a gravy consistency.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Let cool slightly then transfer to a gravy boat. Serve warm over biscuits, or over ice cream, or brownies, or well, anything for that matter.

This post is featured on Allergy Friendly Friday.

Weekly Menu (1/15/12-1/21/12)

Weekly Menu (1/15/12-1/21/12)

Sunday:

Breakfast: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lunch: 

• Ham sandwiches 
• Chips
• Clementines
• Carrot sticks and Almond Butter

Dinner:

• Chicken and Eggplant UnParmesan
• Pasta
• Breadsticks
• Strawberries
• Salad and Baby Carrots

Monday:

Breakfast: Cereal and Bananas

Lunch:  

• No School! So, lunch at home...
• Chicken Nuggets
  
• Tater Tots
• Watermelon
• Milk

Dinner:  

• Slow Cooker Jambalaya
• Rolls
• Carrots and Almond Butter
• Strawberry Kiwi Salad

Tuesday: 

Breakfast: Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins and clementines

Lunch:

• School Lunch:
• Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich
• Half of a banana
• Chips
• Fruit Snack 
• Milk

Dinner: 

• Lemon Garlic Chicken
• Roasted Veggies w/lemon and herbs (probably potatoes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, cauliflower, and broccoli)
• Salad

Wednesday:

Breakfast: 

•  Cereal and Overnight Oats

Lunch:

• School Lunch:
• Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• Carrots
• chips
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie 
• Milk

Dinner:

• Pork Tamales
• Nachos
• Rice and Beans
• Carrots and Almond Butter

Thursday:

Breakfast: 

• Cereal and Milk

Lunch: 

• School Lunch:
• Pepperoni and Cheese on Schar Crispbread
• Chips
• Half of a banana
• Milk
• Fruit Snack

Dinner:

• Pancakes
  
• Sausage
• Clementines
• Hashbrowns

Friday: 

Breakfast:

• Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lunch: 

• School Lunch:
• Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich
• Chips
• Clementine  
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Milk

Dinner:

• Pulled Pork sandwiches using Udi's hamburger buns
• Oven Fries
• Salad and Carrot Sticks

Saturday

Breakfast:

• Cereal

Lunch:

• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (Daiya for the Dairy-Free folks)
• Cashews
• Chips 
• Carrots and Almond Butter

Dinner: 

• Tinfoil (or Hobo) Dinners
• Salad

Yeast Doughnuts

I love doughnuts (or donuts, however you want to spell it), and I'm really happy that I can buy some pretty good ones, like the kinnikinnick ones, but I miss yeast raised doughnuts, a classic glazed one, or a jelly filled one, ones rolled in sugar...um, I could go on and on.  So I set out to make my one, and I failed at least once, but today I succeeded and I have eaten way to many of these little gems, but I don't care. :) I based my recipe on this one and modified it for our diet.

Yeast Doughnuts
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar, separated
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 cup warm So Delicious Original Coconut Milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dairy-free margarine, cut up
Canola Oil for frying
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Sugar Glaze
1/2-3/4 cup jam or jelly, optional

Directions:
The night before you want donuts do the following:

In a small bowl, whisk together yeast, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.

In a food processor or stand mixer, combine flour, milk, egg, egg yolk, salt, yeast mixture, and remaining sugar. Cover and process until combined. Add margarine; cover and process until combined (dough will be sticky, of course).

Place dough in lightly greased bowl; cover and chill in refrigerator overnight (8 to 12 hours).

In the morning, do the following:

On a well-floured surface, roll (or pat, that's what I do) dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2 inch round cutter, cut dough. Reroll as necessary. Arrange dough rounds on parchment paper. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes or until nearly double in size.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep saucepan to 365 degrees F. In a bowl, place 1/3 cup sugar; set aside. Prepare the sugar glaze or any other toppings for the doughnuts and set aside. Place the jelly in a decorating bag fitted with a long thin tip; set aside.

Fry doughnuts, three at a time, in the oil about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. (I found it is easiest to place the donuts in the oil by using the parchment paper it is already on...you turn the paper over right over the oil and the doughnuts drop right in.) Remove doughnuts using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. While warm, dip each donut in sugar to coat, or in the glaze...depending on your preference.

For jelly filled doughnuts:

Holding each doughnut, poke a hole in one side of doughnut. Pipe the jelly through the opening. Repeat on opposite side of doughnut. Serve warm. Makes about 12-14 doughnuts.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

Chocolate Soup topped with Raspberry Whipped Cream

So, there's this contest that is happening over at Fork and Beans that's all about Valentine's Day.  The recipes need to be gluten-free and vegan, the more allergy-friendly the better...that's easy-peasy for me. :)  So, here's my submission...Chocolate Soup.  I've also listed one topping idea to add to the soup, Raspberry Whipped Cream, and it was divine, and I ate way too much of it, and no, I don't regret it. :)

 

Can I just say, holy cow!  It turned out amazing.  It's thicker and richer than Hot Chocolate, hence the soup name.  And it's exactly what I needed, or at least, what I think I needed. ;)  This would be awesome for a dessert party or get together of some sort.  Everyone can bring a topping or mix-in to share, line all the toppings up and you have a Chocolate Soup Bar...he he, doesn't that just sound delicious?

Chocolate Soup
5 cups So Delicious Original Coconut Milk Beverage
1 (10 oz) package Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate mini chips
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup tapioca starch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water

Directions:
Combine the coconut milk, chocolate chips and sugar in a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and just begins to come to a boil.  Add in the vanilla and the tapioca starch slurry.  Stir until the mixture thickens and is smooth.  Remove from heat and ladle into bowls.  The fun part is to add the mix-ins and toppings.  Top with fresh fruit, crushed gluten-free cookies, chocolate chips, homemade vegan marshmallows, chopped nuts, if tolerated, or Raspberry Whipped Cream (recipe below, if nuts are tolerated).



Raspberry Whipped Cream

Mimic Creme Healthy Top Whipping Cream, whipped according to package directions
10 oz raspberries, mashed

Directions:
Fold mashed raspberries into the whipped cream until combined, add a generous dollop to the top of the chocolate soup.

This post is also featured on Allergy Friendly Friday.