Weekly Menu (9/1/13-9/7/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• zucchini
• romaine lettuce
• green bell peppers
• broccolette
• green chiles
• corn
• bananas
• cantaloupe
• peaches
• apple pears

Our kale, spinach, bell peppers, and eggplant are going strong in the garden, so we'll be using those as well. We also have carrots and celery.

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually applesauce, mandarin oranges, or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): nothing, I'm fasting as part of my religion
• 2nd breakfast (7am):  nothing
• morning snack (9am): nothing
• lunch (11am-12pm): nothing
• afternoon snack (3pm): nothing
• dinner (5-6pm):
• Grilled chicken
• roasted red potatoes
• corn on the cob (for the family)
• Green salad
• peach crisp (raspberry peach crisp if my raspberries are ripe enough)

Monday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): apple pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): chile rellenos casserole (seriously, this has been my favorite breakfast lately)
• morning snack (9am): celery and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies, crackers (my family's new favorite cracker is this one), and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• hamburgers and hot dogs
• sliced cantaloupe
• green salad

Tuesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): apple pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): chile rellenos casserole
• morning snack (9am): carrots and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• tacos with homemade tortillas
• cantaloupe
• green salad

Wednesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): apple pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): chile rellenos casserole
• morning snack (9am): celery sticks and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner:
• spaghetti
• sauteed zucchini
• green salad
• maybe breadsticks

Thursday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): apple pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): chile rellenos casserole
• morning snack (9am):  carrots and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner: 
• honey oat pancakes
• bacon
• peaches

Friday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in!  I have the day off of work. :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): chile rellenos casserole
• morning snack (9am): medjool dates
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner:
• calzones or pizza
• green salad

Saturday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): carrots or maybe fresh raspberries if they are ripe from my garden
• lunch (11am-12pm): sandwich and veggies (I usually use my teff sandwich bread, teff biscuits, or flour tortillas as my bread)
• afternoon snack (3pm): whatever fruit I have
• dinner: 
• potato chip chicken
• oven fries
• green salad

Chana Saag Aloo (using Kale)

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Indian food.  I love the warming, aromatic spices and how it changes a simple dish into an amazing dish.  One of my favorite Indian dishes is Saag.  I already have two saag dishes on the blog (here and here), so why a third?  Well, I have tons of kale in my garden right now, so this recipe uses fresh kale, instead of frozen spinach.  And I think this one is my favorite so far. :)

Chana Saag Aloo
3 tablespoons canola oil 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely diced 
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4-5 cups a fresh kale, chopped and steamed (about 10oz)
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (or more depending on how thick you like your saag)
2 cups cubed potatoes, cooked and drained,
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 

Directions
Heat oil over medium heat; add garlic and onion.  Cook until soft.  Stir in spices and cook for a couple more minutes.  Add in the kale and stir well, cook for a couple of minutes.  Add in the coconut milk and heat on low for a few minutes, then place the mixture into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, stir in the potatoes and chickpeas and serve over rice.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, Whole Foods Friday, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Weekly Menu (8/25/13-8/31/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got (which I share with my brother):

• spinach
• romaine lettuce
• green bell peppers
• bananas
• green chilis
• tomatoes
• corn
• peaches
• zucchini
• avocado
• carrots
• apple pears

Our kale, spinach, bell peppers, and eggplant are going strong in the garden, so we'll be using those as well. We also have potatoes, celery, apples, plums, and grapes.

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually applesauce, mandarin oranges, or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): nothing, I'm sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am):  breakfast stuffed peppers
• morning snack (9am): carrots and almond butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers or a ham sandwich and lots of veggies
• afternoon snack (3pm): grapes
• dinner (5-6pm):
• Oven Fried Chicken (using GF breadcrumbs)
• mashed potatoes
• corn on the cob (for the family)
• sauteed veggies
• Green salad

Monday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): apple pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): celery and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies, crackers (my family's new favorite cracker is this one), and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• chicken pot pie (I'm trying out the cream of chicken mix from Vivian's Live Again)
• green salad

Tuesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): plum
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): carrots and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): apples and peanut butter
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• pork tamales for the family
• chile rellenos casserole
• green salad

Wednesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): grapes
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): celery sticks and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): medjool dates
• dinner:
• cauliflower alfredo (maybe topped with grilled chicken, maybe not)
• GF pasta
• green salad

Thursday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): plum
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am):  carrots
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner: 
• waffles
• bacon
• peaches

Friday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): carrots
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): celery and peanut butter
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): peach
• dinner:
• pigs in a blanket
• oven fries
• green salad

Saturday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): carrots
• lunch (11am-12pm): sandwich and veggies (I usually use my teff sandwich bread, teff biscuits, or flour tortillas as my bread)
• afternoon snack (3pm): whatever fruit I have
• dinner: 
• Calzones
• green salad

Pigs in a Blanket

So, my amazing pita bread recipe has turned into so much more.  A few weeks ago it became the base to my calzones and now we've used it to make pigs in a blanket.  This is an excellent and super easy kid friendly meal just in time for school.  It would make a great lunch or an after school snack.  And your kids can help you make it...my older son had a blast making these with me. :)

Pigs in a Blanket
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon fast-rising yeast
1 tablespoon honey (or agave)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3 cups GF flour blend
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup additional warm water
8 gluten free hot dogs
olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl mix together water, yeast, honey, oil, and vinegar.  Let sit for 5 minutes to proof.

In a stand mixer, combine flour and salt.  Add in the yeast mixture and mix on low until combined.

Add in enough additional water to make the dough sticky but stay together as a ball.  This won't be the typical gluten-free bread dough which is a thick, sticky batter.  It's does actually resemble regular bread dough, but is quite a bit sticky. I added in just under 1/4 cup to get mine to the right consistency.

Once the consistency is right, mix it on high speed for 3-5 minutes.

Place the dough on parchment paper that has been sprinkled with GF flour. Divide the dough in half. Roll out each portion one at a time into a rectangle about 1/8"-1/4" thick.  With a sharp knife, slice the dough into eight equal pieces (the pieces should be approximately 2"x 6").  Repeat with the other remaining dough.

Cut each hot dog into half and slash each half lengthwise to allow the steam to escape while the pigs are cooking.  

Roll up the hot dogs tightly in the dough and press the outer edge against the hot dog to seal it. Brush the tops with olive oil (I forgot this with mine and they didn't brown as well, so if you want them to brown on top, brush with olive oil) and place the hot dogs on a grease baking sheet. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes. 

This recipe was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, Whole Foods Friday, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Allergy Free Alaska's Gluten-Free Lunchbox Roundup: 40 Kid-Friendly & Allergy-Friendly Lunch Recipes

School is starting this week for us, how about you?  If you're needing some lunch and snack ideas, Megan at Allergy Free Alaska has compiled a great round up of 40 Kid-Friendly & Allergy-Friendly Lunch recipes (including 2 of mine).  Go check it out here.

And check out the rest of her site while you're at it...she's one of my very favorite bloggers. :)