Weekly Menu (3/11/12-3/17/12)

This week for breakfast: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Homemade Yogurt, smoothies (I have kale, oranges, bananas, and mangoes, along with some acai in the freezer) and Cereal

This week for school lunches: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, bananas, Orange slices, fruit snacks, chips, milk

This week for dinner: 

Sunday:

• Tiny Spicy Chicken
• Basmati Rice
• Roasted Asparagus
• Asian Cucumber Salad
• Carrot Sticks and Almond Butter

Monday: I have to work all evening, again (This is happening way too often, I really just want to be home with my family!)...hence yet another quick dinner...

• Tomato Soup 
• Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (we use Daiya cheese)
• Salad
• carrot and celery sticks with peanut and/or almond butter 

Tuesday: I may be working late again this night, so another quick dinner...

• Pork Tamales (we have dozens of these frozen, so it's just reheating them)
• Rice and Beans
• Nachos (with Daiya cheese)
• Salad and carrot sticks

Wednesday:

• Chicken and Green Chili Gorditas
• Basmati Rice
• Seasoned black beans
• Fresh pineapple

Thursday:

• Pancakes
• Sausage
• Scrambled Eggs
• Bananas and Pineapple

Friday: 

• Brats and Hot Dogs
• Oven Fries
• Salad
• Carrots and Celery Sticks with Almond Butter

Saturday: Happy St. Patrick's Day! (We plan on having Shamrock Shakes and Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies to celebrate, as well)

• Corned Beef (it's the only time of year that I get to enjoy it...my hubby is not a fan)
• Roasted new potatoes and cabbage
• Homemade Rolls
• Salad
• Carrots and Almond Butter

Do-Si-Dos

It's Girl Scout cookie time.  My niece is a girl scout, so I support her and get a few boxes of cookies for my hubby.  My boys are good sports about it, probably because I make huge batches of cookies for them. :) I made Tagalongs this past weekend...yeah, they didn't even make it a week before they were devoured.

 My boys then noticed their dad eating some do-si-dos and asked what type of cookies they were and if I could make some.  To which I replied, of course I can...and I did.  They turned out amazingly well and are really easy to make.  This does make a lot, so keep that in mind.  I froze half of mine, so we can enjoy them later.

Do-si-dos
1 cup dairy-free margarine
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups GF flour blend
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick cooking gluten free oats

filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. With a stand mixer, combine margarine, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture.  Stir in the oats.

Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes (8 for smaller cookies, 10 minutes for larger cookies).  Let cool on tray for 5 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a cooling rack.

While cookies cool, make the filling by combine the powdered sugar, peanut butter, margarine and vanilla together until smooth.  Spread on the bottom of one half and sandwich together with another cookie.

Makes about 4 dozen sandwich cookies.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Allergy Friendly Monday.

Enchilada Casserole

Do you ever have those days where life is just too busy. I've had those a lot lately.  I've been working way too many 12+ hour days at work, plus trying to be a mom and a wife....yeah, I struggle with getting food on the table those days.  So, if you ever feel like not making much of an effort for dinner this is the meal for you. It's super easy and fantastic.

Enchilada Casserole (or busy day enchiladas)
2-3 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken (or pork or beef)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups enchilada sauce (homemade or store bought)
10 corn tortillas
1/2 cup (or more) daiya cheddar cheese shreds

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.  In a shallow dish place ~1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce.  In a bowl mix together the chicken, beans, and the remaining enchilada sauce.

Take a tortilla and dip it in the sauce in the shallow dish, lightly covering both sides.  Place the tortilla onto the grease baking dish. Cover with a few tablespoons for the chicken mixture and sprinkle with cheese.  Coat another tortilla with enchilada sauce and place over the first one, and repeat the layering of the chicken and cheese.  Do this until you have the casserole stacked with 5 tortillas.  After the final tortilla sprinkle the top with cheese.  Then make a second casserole repeating the above process with the remaining tortillas, chicken, and cheese.

Bake uncovered at 375F for 15-20, or until heated through. Slice and serve with rice. 

Weekly Menu (3/4/12-3/10/12)

This week for breakfast: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Homemade Yogurt, and Cereal

This week for school lunches: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Bananas, Orange slices, bananas, fruit snacks, chips, milk

 

This week for dinner: 

Sunday:

• Steak
• Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Veggies (cauliflower, brussel sprouts, eggplant and broccoli)
• Homemade rolls
• Salad

Monday: I have to work all evening, again...hence the quick dinner...

• Chili (I make a huge batch and freeze it in portions)
• Baked Potatoes (I wrap them in foil and cook them on low all day in the crock pot)
• Fritos
• Salad
• carrot and celery sticks with peanut and/or almond butter 

Tuesday:

• Enchilada Casserole
• Rice and Beans
• Nachos (with Daiya cheese)
• Salad and carrot sticks

Wednesday:

• Hawaiian Grilled Chicken (for soy-free use coconut aminos)
• Basmati Rice
• Sliced Mangoes and Kiwi

Thursday:

• French Toast
• Bacon
• Hashbrowns 
• Bananas

Friday: 

• Corn Dogs
• Oven Fries
• Salad
• Carrots and Celery Sticks with Almond Butter

Saturday:

• Barbecue Chicken
• Roasted new potatoes
• Salad
• Carrots and Almond Butter

Adopt a Blogger: Cassidy from Cooking Gluten (& Dairy) Free

I'm taking part in Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger again. If you’re not familiar, Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger is a monthly event created by Sea at Book of Yum to help us gluten-free bloggers get to know each other and recreate each others recipes.  This month it is hosted by Sea herself. This month, I adopted Cassidy from Cooking Gluten (& Dairy) Free.

I chose Cassidy, because, like me, her family is gluten and dairy-free.  I love going to blogs that I can look at every single recipe and not have to think how I would have to adapt it, so it was a lot of fun browsing recipes...and it was really hard to decide which one I wanted to spotlight.

I finally decided to try her cinnamon rolls for a couple of reasons. One, they looked absolutely delicious. Two, they are grain-free.  And three, the filling--she puts xanthan gum in to keep it from leaking out all of the place, and that really intrigued me.

These cinnamon rolls turned out amazing. The filling was incredible...really these are, I think, the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made.  They definitely take time to make, but it's worth it.  I definitely will be keeping her recipe handy to make again. Go check out her recipe for the cinnamon rolls and while you're there check out the rest of her blog, too, it's excellent!