Menu Plan Monday 3/26/12

Last week went well.  We veered off track a little, but not too much.  Everything was a big hit.  We did change it up, and on Wednesday, instead of trying the Tempura batter, my husband made cheeseburgers on the grill and french fries.  I wasn't feeling too well, so I said go for it!

For this week, I am trying a new recipe, and am looking forward to it.  I just love trying new recipes (though I do admit, my family gets a little scared sometimes!).

Sunday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
I love Chicken Cordon Bleu!  When I saw this recipe, I was like, YES!  Chicken Cordon Bleu, as a casserole!! Heaven!  If you haven't guessed by now, I love casseroles! :)  I might be slightly addicted to casseroles.  So for this one, I am going to be boiling a small chicken, and will also make some homemade chicken stock (which I have never done before!).  This does call for panko bread crumbs, so I will be using some store bought Gluten Free breadcrumbs instead.

Monday - Hearty Pork Stew
This is a recipe out of a Taste of Home cookbook - Casseroles, Slow Cooker & Soup.   (See, my love of casseroles is showing again!  This is actually a slow cooker stew, it will be served over gluten free pasta.  I have made it before, and my husband loved it.

Tuesday - Nachos
Oh yes, you read right.  Nachos, again!  The kids have told me they want nachos every night, forever, lol.  I told them we can have nachos until I run out of nacho cheese sauce in the freezer!  I am missing my taco salads, lol. :)

Wednesday - Buffalo Chicken Casserole
 Another week with the Buffalo Chicken Casserole.  My husband is truely addicted to buffalo chicken.  He would have this every night (he's like the kids are with their nachos!).  He's lucky it is really good, and it's a casserole!!

Thursday - Chili & Garlic Bread
 Another meal that my husband requested for this week.  The temperatures have dropped back down to seasonal normals from the 80F weather we had last week, the furnace is running again, so Chili is a great comfort meal on a cold day.

Friday - Cheddar Brats & Grandma's Mashed Potatoes
 Even if it's cold, we will be grilling some Brats.  And probably hot dogs for the kids because they don't care for Brats.  Grandma's Mashed Potatoes is a recipe that my husband's grandmother gave to me years ago.  My husband loves them, and now that Grandma is no longer with us, he is always telling me he is so glad I can carry on making these wonderful potatoes.

Saturday - Pizza & Wings
If I didn't have pizza on the menu this week, I would have one upset little boy.  He is so much like his mama, lol.  I could eat pizza all day long, and so could he. :)


Don't forget to check out the Gluten Free Menu Swap, hosted by Heather at Celiac Family this week for some great gluten free menu ideas. 

The theme this weeks is artichokes, yummy!!  I didn't have any artichoke recipes this week, but I do love artichokes!  Next week's theme is Easter!  Also stop over to OrgJunkie and see the Menu Plan Monday line-up!!  I always seem to find some great ideas between these two places!!

Menu Plan Monday - 3/19/12

Last week was very successful.  The menu plan was followed about 99%.  My Seafood Alfredo was so very good.  My daughter loved it, my son decided he liked bay scallops but not the crab or lobster, and my husband decided he doesn't like shellfish and will just stick with regular fish. :)  So, I won't be making it too often.

The Herbed Pork Roast was a huge hit as always.  There was no pork leftovers!   On Taco Tuesday, my son decided we should have Nachos instead, so we did.  He is now calling Tuesday, "Nacho Tuesday"!!

I never ended up making the potato salad, I wasn't feeling so good, having a lot of issues with my blood pressure, so my husband took over and grilled the cheeseburgers and made some french fries.  My son wanted another burger!  He loves cheeseburgers.

On Thursday, we had the Fire Grilled Cod from Schwans.  It was a little bit disappointing.  They so over-seasoned, it was hard to eat.  We won't be getting that again, for the price of it, it wasn't worth it.

We swapped out Friday and Saturday.  My son won out with having pancakes and sausage links for dinner.  So, we each had a giant pancake and some maple flavored sausage links.  Saturday, I made my Chicken Noodle soup.  It was so good!  I did have a little oopsie though, I opened the wrong side on the salt container, and instead of sprinkling in some salt, I dumped in some salt.  Thankfully, there was a lot of water in there, so it wasn't too bad.  Next time, I will be more watchful!

So, onto this weeks menu.

Sunday - Chicken Stroganoff
This is a staple in our home.  It's been a long time since we had this on the menu, so it needs to make an appearance.

Monday - Cheeseburger Macaroni
Another recipe that has become a staple here.  I am so glad that I found this one.  Everyone loves it, and it makes up for the lack of Hamburger Helper here.  We were all Hamburger Helper addicts before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I don't buy it anymore, so this one is always a hit.  (There seems to be an error at the website where I got this recipe.  My old links to it aren't working anymore either, so I am sorry about that.)

Tuesday - Nachos
When put to a vote, either Tacos or Nachos, this week Nachos won!  I think my family is becoming Nacho addicts.  And this is so simple to make, so I am all for it!  All we do is take some tortilla chips, top them with some taco seasoned meat, and then top it with Nacho cheese sauce.  Easy Peasy!  We will probably have some corn and tossed salad as well.

Wednesday - Tempura Battered Fish, Mushroom Rice
I found some gluten free tempura batter mix at Hannaford last week, so I thought I would give it a try.  I also bought some Flounder, Cod and Tilapia fillets, so I will use one of those.  And of course, we have to have mushroom rice!  That stuff is addicting!

Thursday - Creamy Penne & Ham
I am not sure where I originally found this recipe, I am thinking maybe Walmart's Facebook page?  Anyway, I haven't made it in awhile, and it was really good the last time I made it.

Friday - Pizza & Wings
I am satisfying my son's craving for pizza this week.  He's been asking when we are going to have pizza again.  The family will be eating frozen pizza, I will be making my pizza on an Udi's crust.  The wings are Schwans boneless buffalo wings, so I don't eat those, but the rest of the family will be.  I will be having a salad instead.

Saturday - Shepherd's Pie
Simple and comforting.  I make mine very simply, just ground beef, corn, mushrooms and mashed potatoes.  That is how I grew up eating it, when I see it made with other veggies or with gravy, it seems strange to me. 


This week for the Gluten Free Menu Swap, the theme is cookbook inspiration.  I didn't use a cookbook to plan this week's menu, but I do have a slight obsession/addiction with cookbooks.  I only own two gluten free cookbooks though.  I have only made one recipe from one of them (Risotto with Mushrooms and Herbs from Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.)  It was amazing though, I have actually made it twice.  My first risotto too!  I honestly still use all my old cookbooks and just convert the recipes to be gluten free friendly.

Be sure to check out the Gluten Free Menu Swap this week over at Celiacs In The House.

And don't forget about the Menu Plan line up over at Orgjunkie.com!  Not all the menus are gluten free, but you can get some great ideas!

Herbed Pork Roast

This is one of those dishes that we never have leftovers from.  The pork is so juicy and tender, it falls apart just trying to slice it up.  This is also a very often requested meal from DH and the kids.

Herbed Pork Roast

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Sea Salt (because that is all I use)
1 Tbsp minced garlic (because my press is broke, so am using the jarred stuff)
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Rosemary
1/2 cup water
Pork Roast of desired size (I used an approximately 3lb boneless pork loin)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients (except the pork and water!) in a small bowl.  Rub the mixture over the entire pork roast.  Place the roast in a large slow cooker (the one I used is a 5qt).  Add the water to the slow cooker.  Cook on low for no more than 8 hours. 

When finished, use the juices in the crock pot to make a gravy.  You won't regret it!!!

Herbed Pork Gravy

Menu Plan Monday 3/12/12

Sunday - Seafood Alfredo over Tinkyada GF Fettuccine noodles
This is going to a fun experiment!  I found some imitation crab meat and lobster meat that has no gluten in it!  So, this Alfredo will be full of crab and lobster meat, as well as some bay scallops.  I really hope this is one the kids will love.  If it is successful, I will try to keep track of the ingredients and post the recipe.

Monday - Herbed Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Since I didn't get to make this on the 3rd like I had planned, we are going to try it this week!  I will be sure to post the recipe soon.  I want to get a photo first.  The gravy that I make from this one is amazing!  DH said it is the best gravy ever!

Tuesday - Tacos or Nachos
Tuesday is always "Taco Tuesday" here.  I think the kids (and DH too!) would really go crazy if we did not have tacos on Tuesday.  But, they decided they like Nachos as well.  So, it will depend on what the kids want for this night.

Wednesday - Cheeseburgers (on GF Chebe rolls), Potato Salad
I have made these rolls....oh my, I have no idea how many times, let's just say I love them!!  I have tried Udi's Hotdog and Hamburger buns, not impressed.  So, instead of wrapping my burger in a big piece of lettuce (which is good by the way), I will be making the Chebe rolls for this one.  My potato salad is just a throw together thing, I have no recipe for it.  DH says I use too much mustard.  I tell DH that I love mustard, lol.

Thursday - Fire Grilled Italian Cod, Rice, Broccoli

Fire Grilled Italian Cod.  Photo from Schwans.com

A new thing from Schwans!  I love cod, so am very excited to try this.  DH and the kids love fish as well, so I have high hopes for this one!  This one also meets their "LiveSmart" guidelines.  I am working on incorporating fish into our meals more often, and eating less red meat.  So far the idea actually got smiles from the family.

Friday -Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
This one is going to be another experiment.  I have never made homemade Chicken Noodle soup before.  I am still debating on which kind of noodles to use.  I really wish I could find GF egg noddles!!

Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner
My 7 year old son, Hunter, requested this one.  He was so excited when I made pancakes for dinner a few weeks ago.  He's been asking for them ever since!!  I use Pamela's Baking Mix for my pancakes, delicious!  So, I am thinking we will be having pancakes and sausage links or bacon, maybe some eggs.  Time will tell!

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Be sure to check out the Gluten Free Menu Swap for more Gluten Free menu ideas!

Also, check out the Menu Plan Monday blog over at Organizing Junkie, not all the menus are gluten free, but there are some.  And, if you see something you like, convert it to gluten free!! :)

Menu Plan Monday - 3/5/12

Last week was great.  Everything went pretty much as planned, and very little complaints.  I did a lot of cooking and baking and have learned more about gluten free cooking.

The only change was on Saturday.  Instead of cooking the pork roast, I made Cheesy Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna.  Oh my, this was so good!  It was a recipe my friend showed me on Pinterest.  The only problem with it was my box of lasagna noodles says not to precook them.  I have never precooked them when I make my regular lasagna.  Well, for this new lasagna, they are going to have to be precooked, we ended up taking the top layer of noodles off, and even the rest of the noodles weren't cooked all the way.  I will be making it again sometime, I will make sure I post my results.  But, the filling was amazing.  My friend and I both agreed it would also make a delicious hot dip for tortillas!

 So, for this week.....

Sunday - Pizza & Wings
Monday - Parmesan Fried Chicken, Garlic Noodles
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Brats/Hot Dogs, French Fries
Thursday - Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Friday - Oven Baked Chicken, Mushroom Rice
Saturday - Southwest Cheese Soup, Tossed Salad, Turkey Sandwiches

Check out other Gluten Free menus at the Gluten Free Menu Swap!

Three Cheese Penne & Sausage

I found this recipe in an old Taste of Home mini cookbook.  I did a little tweaking and am very happy with the results.  My husband said this one is a keeper. :)

Ingredients:

1 (16oz) package GF penne pasta (I used Sam Mills Corn penne)
3 Italian sausage links (about 3/4 of a pound)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp black pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 cups (16oz) small-curd cottage cheese
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 cup (4oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and place in a bowl.
3. In a skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink in the center, drain and slice into thin slices.
4. In a saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in the flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper until smooth.  Gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for about 2 minutes, or until the milk starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Pour over the pasta and stir to coat.
5. In a bowl, combine the egg, cottage cheese, parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.
6. Spoon half of the pasta mixture into a deep, greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish.  (You could also use a 9x13 baking dish.)
7. Top with all of the cottage cheese mixture.
8. Add all of the sausage to the remaining pasta, spoon over the top of the cottage cheese mixture.
9. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
10. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.