Gluten Free Torture

Delivering a pumpkin spice gluten free cupcake (to share) and forgetting to grab the forks for the eaters.

Yummy photos

Make enough #glutenfree tortilla soup and you have the perfect lunch. 😀

So easy. I just tossed in whatever veggies were on hand. (It’s also a perfect way to hide squash from my Love. LOL!)

 

Found the perfect salmon bugers/patty at Costco. YUM. And they make great wrapped up “tacos” or whatever too. Rudy’s GF Tortillas to the resuce again.

 

Seriously – talk about opening up a rainbow in your kitchen. Too bad the CSA season is over.

 

They will miss it too.  Nothing like finding a pumpkin in a box!  Surprise!

 

A visual tour of our latest meals

Okay – so sitting down to type up a post just has not happened.  I have been sick lately – not just with a cold, but beyond normal.  I thought I had mono (nope) and am just ready to be able to take a full breath again.  I’m so tired, but life just does not stop when Mom is tired….or grades are due…or … well, you already know.

So rather than a recipe, here’s a visual tour of all the things I *thought* I was going to be able to write up, but just haven’t had a moment to catch my breath (or the physical ability to catch my breath – LOL) lately.

Which one interests you?  What are you making now that Fall is here?

Some curly pasta caught my eye. Stir-fried with garlic, chicken, and veggie? Done. And quick too.

Blanced giant collard green paddles, stuffed with ground turkey, rice and veggies and topped with enchilada sauce before baking a bit more. A veggie packed dinner punch for sure!

Last minute garlic bread. Seriously. From idea to the table in 35 minutes or so. Hot dog! It’s definitely modified, but this working woman is keeping this idea in the mix!

This Pinterest-inspired dish is great. I mixed a ton of veggies into the dish and will absolutely eat this again and again. YUM.

Breakfast burritos are so much faster now – Thank you, Rudy’s! I can make a huge batch, wrap and freeze. Then reheat in the microwave on my way out the door in the morning.

I’ve been working on a new GF bread recipe – and converting some of my favorites for the bread maker. Honestly, I’ve realized I just don’t eat that much sandwich bread any more. But I LOVE having the breadcrumbs on hand for fish, chicken, etc. 😀

Making fancy potatoes for the girls “Princess dinner” – easier with a great pair of squared-off chopsticks as cutting guides. Don’t slice all the way through, just down until about 1/3-1/2 inch. Then slightly separate the potatoes when placing in the baking dish and drizzle with butter, season to your desired levels and top with some great chopped parsley.

Currently, I have a fresh, whole pumpkin sitting on our counter.  It came with our CSA pick up.  I have delicata squash, carrots, beets, rainbow chard, purple cabbage, celeriac, etc.  Missing is the time to explore/experiment.  Most of what we eat is stir-fry as it is so easy to chop up the veggies we have on hand and munch.

But last night I made some yummy tortilla soup – another family favorite way to use a ton of veggies.

Winter is really just starting around here now.  The dark, cold mornings are upon me.  Seems like just last week the sun was shining on my way in to work and on my way home.  I think I need to learn how to make some tasty gumbo this winter.  Anyone have a recipe they recommend?  😀

Happy GF Eating All –

Kate

Gluten free weeknight meals & budgeting

So this blog post should really be a post of the numerous ways the month of September has come and is exiting before my head has been able to wrap itself around it all.  Surely I am not the only mom who finds herself witnessing myself both coming and going in the middle of the dark of night, right?

My new purse is even sporting some tag-along buddies.  I don’t think I go anywhere any more without things packed into my purse that aren’t really mine.  And despite the extra poundage, I wouldn’t really change the rest of it.

Well, maybe I’d change my sleep schedule:  to bed late (or early) and it takes me forever to fall asleep and up no later than 5AM or we are ALL off late for the day already.  A change with these hours would be helpful, but I honestly don’t see that happening anytime soon.  Teaching doesn’t end with the kids leave… or even when my kids finally crash and go to bed.  (PS…they have been in bed for 45 minutes now… and the Chicklet just asked via the monitor “Hey Mom, what’s my cake going to look like?”  “Your cake?”  “Yes, for my birthday.”  “Babe….your birthday is in May.  It’s September. We have a while to think about it, okay?” = this is the kind of thing that never ends around here….LOL)  Evidence:  apple slices + goofy face photos…despite a few attempts we don’t have ONE photo for BOTH smiling nor BOTH making a goofy face at the same time.  Egad.

So I decided to share my working mom “Sanity Saver” meals.  I’ve been asking and posting here when I thought my world was careening off track, but seldom have I posted when I have done it right (finally) for a month.  I challenged myself this month to get the meals down and stick to them.

Next month, I am challenging myself to:

• only go to the grocery store every 10 days to 2 weeks
• STICK to my grocery budget – and SAVE every penny that I don’t spend in an account for a family trip
• stick to my meal plan (come high water or sleep exhaustion)
• stick to a reduced (extremely) budget for “eating out”

Seriously.  I’m starting at ZERO here people.  There is only room to grow, right?

Some of you are experts at all of the above (budgeting, time-management, meal-planning, saving (!), etc) but these are things I tend to stick to for a short time and then meander down some random thought-path-etc and I blow it.  We have had TWO four-day vacations/trips in the last EIGHT YEARS of our lives.  (My Love does NOT get time off from work.)  But we’ve had SO much fun on these rapid-paced trips to see family (my parents/his parents) that we want to do it more often.  And now the girls have seen an ad for Disney Land and CarsLand.

Yeap.  My budget better get in gear.  NOW.

Want to follow along on my endeavor?  Care to add your two cents/tips?  I’d love to hear them!

Okay… enough meandering.  Some of you are just here for the list of my weeknight go-to meals.  Take note:  the meals on this list HAD to be able to be prepared and ready to go in under an hour (or toddler + mom meltdown ensures).  Well, here it is:

1. fajitas (chicken or flank steak)
2. enchiladas
3. taco salad
4. one-pot rice dish (random meat/tofu, rice, veggies – a la jambalaya)
5. tarragon chicken tenders
6. Bo-jay-fan (Chinese one-pot chicken/rice/sausage/mushroom)
7. pork chops and apples
8. steamed fish + tofu
9. split pea soup (thank you crock pot)
10. jambalaya
11. quinoa salad (a la fried rice/couscous – NOTE couscous is NOT gluten free!)
12. pasta salad (schars or jovial)
13. parfait (yogurt + granola)
14. pancakes (corn ones here) or waffles (to save time, i’ve made “waffles” in a panini pan with pancake batter )
15. chicken chili
16. mongolian beef (marinate night before or immediately upon returning home for 45 min at least)
17. spaghetti (schars, jovial or homemade on the weekend)
18. lasagna (no boil/lazy method – make ahead, pop in oven)
19. pot pie (make ahead OR make muffin-sized (lunch/dinner) OR make with crescent roll dough  for last minute)
20. roasts (pork loin is our favorite as faster than whole chicken, etc)
21. meatballs and mashed/roasted potatoes
22. kebabs
23. tortilla española (potatoes, eggs, onions, seasoning) – leftovers are great lunches too
24. shrimp and grits
25. chicken marsala
26. risotto
27. lettuce wraps
28. migas
29. corned beef (crock pot or reheat after cooking on Sunday), roasted cabbage
30. curried chicken
31. beef and broccoli
32. spicy green beans and tofu
33. arroz con pollo
34. baharat chicken or lamb
35. chowder (Chinese corn, OR salmon/fish, etc – whatever you got and put it in a pot!)
36. arepa sandwiches
37. jibaro sandwiches (plantains, flank steak, etc)
38. burgers (bean or beef) (speedy buns – done in the oven while I grill/cook burger or pao-d-quejo buns – quick too!)
39. beef stroganoff but served over rice, mashed potatoes, steamed cauliflower/broccoli in lieu of noodles
40. teriyaki chicken (or whatever is on hand)
41. quiche
42. fried rice
43. ….leftovers!  (the great list ender…I try to use up leftovers for lunch, but often there is a bit more)

I hope this list helps someone else pull a menu plan together.  My trusty purple spiral bound notebook and I roam the aisles of the grocer trying to make sure I have it all together.  Maybe that will be what I share next?  Ay!  Who knows!

Hopefully now that I am getting my feet under me at school the next blog post won’t be delayed as long as this one has been.  I’m sorry – and THANK YOU for sticking with me.

Happy GF Eating 
~Kate