Monday, June 29, 2009

Gluten Free Menu Swap!


I'm participating for the first time in the Gluten-Free Menu Swap started by Natalie and now continued by Cheryl.

It's being hosted this week by Heather at CeliacFamily. Her ingredient choice is balsamic vinegar, and, although I don't have anything on the menu this week that uses balsamic vinegar, here is a link to a recipe that I made recently: Crockpot Garlic Balsamic Chicken.

Please go over to Heather's blog and check out all of the other Gluten Free menus posted there!

P.S. Heather's Balsamic Vinegar recipes look scrumptious!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Gluten Free Menu Plan for the Week of June 29th

Monday: GF Spaghetti and Meatballs (same meatballs as in the Meatball Subs), green salad

Tuesday: Grilled steaks with mushrooms, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli with a drizzle of lemon butter

Wednesday: GF BBQ Chicken Pizza, green salad (fresh spinach and bleu cheese crumbles)


Thursday: Crockpot Chicken with Chickpeas, grilled asparagus

Friday: Easy Fish Tacos, green salad

Saturday: leftovers (or, since it's July 4th, we may barbecue gf hot dogs and hamburgers!)

Sunday (Breakfast-for-Dinner): Breakfast Quiche, Banana-Blueberry Muffins


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Making Crockpot Chili!

I'm starting chili in the Crockpot this morning because for the next 6 weeks I'm teaching from 2 - 5 pm. I'm sure I've said this before, but Crockpots are perfect for the working person, and there are hundreds of gluten-free Crockpot recipes out there (or if they are not gluten-free, you can usually make them gf with a few substitutions!). Stephanie's blog (where I got the chili recipe) is probably the best gluten free Crockpot-only site; check it out, she just wrote a book that will be available in the fall!

OK....the chili. The full recipe is here, but pictures can be worth a thousand words (yeah, I know I don't post tons of pictures like a lot of other blogs do, but that's because I don't usually have time, or I forget, or I'm too tired or in too much of a frantic hurry or just not good at photography! Or all of the above!):

So I browned two pounds of ground beef (we've also used ground turkey before) and drained it, then threw it in the Crockpot with a can of kidney beans with the liquid from the can.


Next I start chopping veggies....you'll need five or six tomatoes, a bell pepper, 3-4 cloves of garlic and an onion for this chili. Dice everything up (smash and mince the garlic) and toss it on top of the meat and beans in the pot.

Note: usually I use a green bell pepper because it make a beautiful color contrast with the tomatoes, but this time I only had red bell peppers. Oh well.... :)




Next I add the spices and the red wine vinegar.....love the colors of the turmeric and the chili powder! I should mention that I've been spicing the chili up a bit more than the recipe I've posted on my Gluten Free Recipe Archive. Instead of 2 or 3 tsp of chili powder, I've been using 2 tablespoons, plus a couple of tsp of Old Bay Seasoning! Which makes the chili considerably hotter! It's still not too hot; most real chili heads would think it pretty wimpy. But I'm trying to get my toddlers to eat it, and this is still not overly spicy for them. But be sure to get the spice level right for your family!


Additional note: I'm currently using salt without iodine, because of my husband's dermatitis herpetiformis rash (DH for short). DH is a rash associated with celiac disease, so it's aggravated by gluten, but apparently also by a few other things, including iodine and NSAIDs such as ibubrofen. Of couse we'll go back to iodized salt after his skin clears up.

OK, so I didn't post a menu!

Well, things have been even more chaotic around here than usual, so I failed to produce a menu today. We've been flying by the seat of our pants instead. :)

We went to a conference for parents of kids with microcephaly over the weekend....my friend Holly and her family were there too. We went primarily to see a particular doctor who is an expert on our little girl's medical condition.

Then Sunday night we had Tony, Holly, and their eight kids over and I ended up making an enormous batch of gluten-free enchiladas: chicken with green sauce, beef with red sauce, and plain cheese with red sauce. They were scrumptious! The kids (and the grown-ups) all seemed to enjoy them!!

Tonight my husband made Trader Joe's frozen mini tacos for dinner, which I appreciated very much. I'm teaching a 5-day-a-week summer class in addition to my regular job....eeek! Well, I can stand it for 6 weeks, but I'm going to be really tired.

Anyway, I promise to post about some of our meals this week, as we try to make do with what we have in the pantry and the freezer....without a plan to follow!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Gluten Free Menu Plan for the Week of June 15th

True confessions: I don't always manage to follow the menu plans! I'll bet you knew that already, didn't you? :)

In any case, sometimes, depending on circumstances, I end up re-arranging the order of the dinners. Usually most meals get made, but not always on the day I planned. With 2 jobs, 2 small kids, and other issues, I just do the best I can, the same as all of you.

At the beginning of the week, this is what I'm planning to make (and yes, I did make Salmon Croquettes on Monday night):

Monday: Salmon Croquettes, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli

Tuesday: Crockpot Garlic Balsamic Chicken, gluten free noodles, green salad

Wednesday: Lemony Risotto with Asparagus and Shrimp, green salad

Thursday: Crockpot Kielbasa and Potatoes, peas with garlic and mushrooms

Friday: Crockpot Indian Coconut Curry, brown rice

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Chicken Enchiladas Verdes, green salad

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Gluten Free Menu Plan for the Week of June 8th


We're having lots of birthdays this week....my daughter Emma was 3 years old today (Sunday June 7th - I made gluten free vanilla cupcakes, half with white frosting, half with chocolate), and my husband's birthday is Tuesday June 9th. The dinner I'm making for his birthday is Italian, which is one of his favorite cuisines:

Monday: Crockpot Chicken and Brown Rice, green beans

Tuesday: Gluten Free Penne with Sausage and Ricotta, green salad

Wednesday: Crockpot Beef Mole, corn tortillas, green salad


Thursday: Grilled Lamb Chops, Parmesan Cottage Potatoes, green salad


Friday: Meatball Subs with gluten free rolls, carrot and celery sticks

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Teriyaki Chicken-Vegetable Stir Fry, brown rice