Day Three hundred and sixty



School lunch for tomorrow: Gluten-free crackers, fresh mozzarella, edamame, almonds, and apple.

Day Three hundred and fifty-five

Dinner: Brown rice penne with homemade pesto with cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella (this is seriously one of my favorite dinners), sliced chicken breast, and green beans.   When making the pasta, add the cheese and tomatoes into the pot when the pasta is very warm, it all marries and the flavors heightens. 

Per a request, here's the pesto 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.

Gluten-free cornbread (recipe: Gluten-free on a shoestring).  This was two days before Thanksgiving, so I was already in cooking mode.  I made a double batch of this- one for my daughter to bring to school for her Thanksgiving feast, and another to use in the stuffing for the turkey.

Day Three hundred and thirty-eight

Breakfast: Chocolate strawberry flax-seed crepes.  I was thrilled to take the crepe recipe I've been using (Sneaky Chef) and find it translated perfectly with the artisan gluten-free flour blend.

Dinner: Brown rice pasta marinara, sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, green beans, and fruit salad.

Lunch for tomorrow: Leftover pasta with chicken sausage mixed in, green beans, fruit salad, and fresh mozzarella cheese.  My daughter's lunch doesn't often consist of dinner leftovers, but when it does, boy is it easy to assemble!

Day Three hundred and thirty-four

Lunch: Deli turkey and cheese on gluten-free bread, cucumbers and spinach with ranch, and apple slices.

Three-bean turkey chili (with shredded zucchini and butternut squash puree) topped with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and avocado.  I made a triple batch of this- one was donated to a charity function a friend was running that evening, and another went into the freezer for future use.

Lunch for tomorrow: Turkey on gluten-free bread, fresh mozzarella, spinach with dip, grapes, and pirate's booty.

Day three hundred and eight

Chocolate chip cookies (almond flour; Recipe: Elana).  These were neat-- really nutty and chewy, almost like a PB cup flavor.

Fresh mozzarella and farmer's market tomatoes.

Dinner: Asian chicken meatballs, brown rice (with pureed cauliflower; Double Delicious), steamed broccoli, and pineapple.

Homemade vanilla ice cream with chocolate chip cookies. All of this gluten-free business is hard work.  We deserved a treat.  ;)

Day three hundred and four

Another gluten-free first: PIZZA!!  I would not, could not live without pizza.  Perfecting the best gluten-free crust is a project still in progress, and this was our first attempt.  It was pretty tasty, but I'm not sure how authentically "Italian" it tasted.  I'll get there sooner or later...

Before going into the oven: Pizza crust made with almond flour (recipe: Elana).

Dinner: Pizza (almond flour crust) with chicken, fresh mozzarella, and broccoli.  My daughters prefer their broccoli on the side rather than as a topping, so I don't put it on half of the pizza.  The crust had a nice crunch to it, so overall we were satisfied with dinner.

Day Two hundred and ninety-eight

Lunch: Fresh mozzarella, sweet potato crackers, green beans and red peppers, and clementine slices.



Dinner: Turkey hot dogs on gluten-free buns, corn on the cob, cantaloupe, and steamed veggies.

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 seventy-two

A quick lunch: Hard-boiled eggs, whole wheat bread, fresh mozzarella, spinach, baby carrots, and strawberries.

Dinner: Cheddar BLTs (with turkey bacon, on whole wheat).  I am proud to say that this was my first BLT... so tasty! Thanks to Jill for the idea!

Day Two hundred and seventy

Dinner: Tortellini salad (fresh mozzarella, zucchini, our own garden tomatoes and basil, and a splash of olive oil).

A Day in the life of "a year in the life of a kitchen" (Day Two hundred and nineteen)

This was a day with an insane amount of cooking. In addition to making breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I had to make food to bring to my daughter's school for an event, we baked a bread, and then I decided to make ice pops with my little one. Whew. Here's a peak at our day (and please excuse the spacing-- blogger won't let me alter it no matter what I try!)

First, we began with a broccoli and cheese quiche, which went to school with my daughter for teacher appreciation day:

Since the oven was already on, I decided to make some egg cups (eggs, diced turkey bacon leftover from Mother's Day, broccoli, and red peppers). Two went into my daughter's lunchbox, and the rest stayed home for our lunch:

Next we went grocery shopping, and came home with lots of fresh vegetables, so I decided to make: lunch-- A veggie and pita chip platter with low fat vegetable dip:

Then we made ice pops, based on an idea I saw in BJ's member magazine. Starting with 5 oz. dixie cups and popsicle sticks (both purchased just for this occasion):
We blended three cups of fresh fruit:

One tbsp. of sugar, and one tsp. of lemon juice:


To make our ice pop mixture:


It went into the freezer:

And three hours later, out came after-dinner ice pops!

Next we baked a loaf of potato bread (half whole grain) which would later accompany dinner:

My husband came home, and offered to filet and brown the chicken breasts:

At dinner-time, the bread was sliced:

And finally, we ate dinner: Grilled chicken with fresh mozzarella, baby spinach, and grape tomatoes on potato bread, honeydew, and fresh vegetables with dip.

Then I put my feet up!

Day Two hundred and seventeen

Tortellini salad (fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, and olive oil).

Dinner: Tortellini salad, steamed broccoli, and fresh honeydew.

Day One hundred and ninety-four

Picnic lunch at the park: French bread, sliced chicken, fresh mozzarella, cheddar cheese, strawberries, steamed carrots, sliced apple, and (missing from the picture) yesterday's whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies.

Dinner: Turkey cheese burgers on whole grain sandwich thins, bruscetta, green beans, and cantaloupe.

Day One hundred and ninety-three

Lots of cooking in our house today...

Breakfast: Pear apricot oatmeal (recipe: Real Simple)

Before: Pizza dough (half whole wheat)

After: Risen dough

Pizza one: Half buffalo chicken pizza, half pizza marghertia, with fresh mozzarella

Pizza two: Chicken spinach alfredo with fresh mozzarella

Dinner: Homemade pizza, cantaloupe, and steamed veggies

Whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies