(Belated) Gluten Free Menu for Week of April 5th

Yes, here I am again....late with a menu. :(

My excuse is that I'm still under the weather due to multiple serious medical conditions, plus I'm in the middle of an anger/denial/grief/bargaining/etc cycle right now because I'm losing my job.

I'm losing it slowly, by inches...I can't decide if this is more painful or less painful than if I had been suddenly fired one day.

I'm losing my job because I'm sick and can no longer be in the office long enough (for a sufficient number of consecutive hours/days, that is) to complete the large, complex projects that I used to be assigned.

As a result, I'm very very sad.

But it doesn't matter if I'm sad or not, because life goes on, kiddos and hubby need to eat, and therefore I must cook!! It does sort of get my mind off other things.....

As you know, this past Sunday was Easter, and for Easter dinner we had a glazed ham, potato-cauliflower gratin, and honey-spiced carrots, with my grain-free biscuits.

On Monday (yesterday) I made chili. This chili was originally posted as a Crockpot recipe based on a recipe from the lovely Crockpot Lady, Stephanie. But for some time now I've been making the Obama family chili recipe in a Dutch oven on the stove, with very good results. My husband says he likes it better on the stove for some reason. I've now posted my stovetop version on my other blog (Gluten Free Recipe Archive); if you've made the original Crockpot version you will notice that the spice level has increased, but my 3- and 4-year-old kids still eat it. I make a very large pot of chili because I have an 8-quart Dutch oven and we love to have lots of leftovers for lunches, etc., but obviously you can cut the recipe in half and still have more than enough to feed several people.

Even though it's Tuesday, I'm telling you what we had for dinner on Sunday and Monday because I plan to use the leftovers from those meals to make our Tuesday and Wednesday night dinners.

Easter Sunday: Glazed ham, potato-cauliflower gratin, honey-spiced carrots, grain-free biscuits

Monday: Stovetop Chili, corn chips, green salad

Tuesday: Potato-Cauliflower-Cheese Soup w/Ham: add a mixture of milk and vegetable or chicken broth to the leftover potato-cauliflower gratin until it is the appropriate consistency, then add leftover diced ham. Heat through and stir gently but do not boil! Serve with grain-free biscuits.

Wednesday: Twice-Baked Chili-Stuffed Potatoes: cut hot baked potatoes in half, and scoop out the insides, leaving a shell approximately 1/4 inch thick. Mash the potato insides with a little butter and milk or cream, and add a handful or two of shredded cheddar cheese to the mixture. Salt and pepper to taste, of course. Fill the potato shells about 2/3 full of heated leftover Stovetop Chili, then top with mashed potato cheese topping. Return to the oven to bake for 15 or 20 minutes, until heated through and the tops begin to brown a bit. This works great with lots of different fillings, by the way!

Thursday: Mexican Lasagna, salad

Friday: Chicken Stroganoff (Kay), served over basmati rice or cauliflower "rice" (NOTE: Kay's Chicken Stroganoff is NOT gluten free, but you can make it gluten free by substituting sweet rice flour for her "all purpose flour" and making sure that your chicken broth and seasonings are all gluten free.)

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Broiled lamb chops, mashed potatoes or faux cauliflower "mashed potatoes", steamed broccoli

We are in the process of becoming more and more frugal right now, trying to find ways to cut our spending as much as possible......because of the job situation, and also because it is good to be frugal!