A year in the life of a (gluten free) kitchen

Monday, September 12, 2011

MIA

I do apologize for the long hiatus in posting. We've been dealing with some family health issues, and I've needed to do a good amount of research and retooling. We're at the very beginnings of becoming a gluten-free family, and I promise to share the journey here. Things should be up and running again soon!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Day Two hundred and eighty-seven

Butternut squash puree: Frozen in muffin tins, and stored in a ziploc bag in the freezer. This will go into chili, burgers, pasta, etc.

Zucchini bread: No summer is complete without it.

Dinner: Spinach cheddar omelets, turkey bacon, zucchini bread, and fresh strawberries.

Day Two hundred and eighty-six

We had a family BBQ at our house the other day. My sister and her husband are in town, so it was my parents, grandparents, sister and husband, and my family. A fun time, and full belly, were had by all. ;)

Grilled veggies: Zucchini, yellow squash, and grape tomatoes, brushed first with white wine, and roasted on skewers on the grill.

Roasted red potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and rosemary from the garden. These cook in packages of tin foil on the grill.

Cheeseburgers: Both turkey and beef.

Sauteed onions: My husband can't eat a burger without them.

My husband's burger: He was very proud of it.

Dinner: Cheeseburgers, corn, roasted potatoes, grilled veggies, and cantaloupe.

Day Two hundred and eighty-five

Breakfast: Challah french toast, and fresh strawberries. This was a meal made by my husband, and it was very nice to wake up to. :)

I found a juicy zucchini hiding in the garden, and decided to bread and bake it. Mmmm.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Day Two hundred and eighty-four

Breakfast: Oatmeal mango banana muffins (whole grain). My daughter brought home this recipe from a "fruit of the month" activity in school. My husband called these "the perfect muffins to go with my coffee," which is means a lot from him.

Dinner: A Husband-planned-meal: BBQed chicken, tater tots, steamed veggies, cherries, and cucumbers from the garden. I was just thrilled that I got a night of from cooking!

Day Two hundred and eighty-three

Dinner: Leftovers of last night's chicken tetrazzini, along with a salad. Our cucumbers have been coming up rapidly from the garden, so we'll use any excuse for a salad. :)

Day Two hundred and eighty-two

Lunch: Cream of broccoli soup (an extra jar from the freezer) with steamed veggies mixed in.

Dinner: Chicken tetrazzini (crockpot) over whole grain spaghetti, sugar snap peas, cantaloupe, and grapes. I made a double batch of the tetrazzini in the crockpot, and froze it for a future dinner. That makes me happier than the initial meal itself!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Day Two hundred and eighty-one

Buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake (Alexandra's kitchen). I made a few changes- half whole wheat pastry flour, half applesauce instead of all oil, and I made an oat-topping to sprinkle on the top before baking. This is an awesome recipe, and it makes so much that we eat it for two days. Mmm.

Breakfast: Blueberry breakfast cake and fresh peaches.

Basil and walnuts in the food processor, about to be...

Pesto! I love, love, love that I picked the basil leaves right off the plant and within 20 minutes we were eating them as dinner. This pasta salad was "wacky mac shapes" (I let my daughter pick it out at the store) with homemade pesto, chunks of fresh mozzarella, and a handful of grape tomatoes from the garden. This was YUM.

Dinner: Pesto pasta salad and fresh strawberries. Btw, here's my recipe. In a food processor, combine 2 c. well-packed basil leaves and 1/4 c. chopped nuts (pine nuts or walnuts). Pulse till shredded, then add 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 c. olive oil, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp. ground pepper, and pulse again. Add 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese, and pulse until smooth, pushing down as needed. If you’d like to freeze this in a jar for later use, don’t add the cheese until it’s been thawed and you’re ready to serve it.

Day Two hundred and eighty

Breakfast: Cream of wheat with cinnamon and fresh strawberries.

Dinner: Baked salmon in a basil-olive oil marinade, "spinach brownies" (allrecipes.com; forever thanks to Julie!), and fruit salad.

Day Two hundred and seventy-nine

Breakfast: Ciabatta roll, hard-boiled egg, and strawberries.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Day Two hundred and seventy-eight

Dinner: Turkey sloppy joes (with diced apple, pureed butternut squash, and shredded zucchini) on ciabatta rolls, with steamed vegetables and fresh pineapple. This meal came right out of the freezer, and I'd made a double batch of sloppy joes a while back and froze a bag of it. Tonight I stirred in shredded zucchini and it was ready to go. Usually I made whole wheat rolls to go with this, but we were out all day, so there wasn't time.

Turkey sloppy joes:

1 diced apple
1 lb. lean turkey
1/2 small green pepper, diced (I usually omit this)
1 c tomato sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsbp white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup pureed orange vegetable- (butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, or carrot all work well).

Saute meat, onions, apple, and pepper 8 mins, or till brown. Drain. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and break up meat w/wooden spoon. Simmer on med-low, uncovered, 10 mins, stir occasionally.

Serves 4-6 people, serve over buns, eng. muffins, etc.

Day Two hundred and seventy-seven

Dinner: Four-cheese ravioli in a marinara sauce, baby spinach and carrots, and cantaloupe. We'd just traveled back from visiting friends, and needed a quick meal before getting the kids to bed early. I'll use any excuse to cook ravioli!

Day Two hundred and seventy-six

Whole wheat banana chocolate chip muffins (recipe: Weelicious). We were traveling to a friend's the next day, so I made a double batch and we brought them with us to share.