Cooking without almost everything

Meal Plan Week of 03/28/2011

Rebecca — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:10:54 +0000

I am a little late posting this, because the week has been hectic. This was “clean out the freezer” week. The freezer needed to be defrosted, so everything came out.

Monday – Mini-Thanksgiving, roast turkey and several side dishes (yep, clearing out the freezer)

Tuesday – Red Lentil Soup, zucchini bread

Wednesday – Pan fried tofu over greens with spicy “peanut” (sunbutter) sauce

Thursday – Spinach and feta meatballs

Friday – Church soup supper

GIVEAWAY – Ends today – Menu Mailer!

Rebecca — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:06:29 +0000

Go see Cooking Traditional Foods for an awesome menu mailer contest – it ends today!

Sorry for the late notice but I haven’t had time to post…. planning to post more this week.

Menu Plan Week of 1/17/2011

Rebecca — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:17:34 +0000

I have been really bad about posting lately. I have a new job, and I just haven’t seemed to find time. My hubby has been doing a lot of the cooking, so our meal plans aren’t especially inventive.

Monday – Tempeh stir-fry

Tuesday – Turkey Chili Pot Pie (Making gluten-free by using my own gluten free cornbread mix recipe, I’ll post it later)

Wednesday – Crockpot Chicken Makhani

Thursday – Chicken Sausage, rice, salad

Friday – Tuna Pasta

I’ll try to get back in the swing of posting!

Menu Plan – Week of 11/22/2010

Rebecca — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:41:23 +0000

We have a houseguest so I haven’t had time to blog this week. We have been getting ready for Thanksgiving.

Monday – Leftover buffet/ Fridge cleanout night (DH was picking up guest at the airport)

Tuesday – Oven Fried Chicken, asparagus, salad, mashed potatoes

Wednesday – Asian Pork Tenderloin, rice, salad

Thursday – THANKSGIVING!!
Turkey & Spelt Stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, mashed rutabaga (for those that like them), squash with pecans, green bean casserole, salad, Spelt Apple Pie, Pumpkin Tart with almond crust from Sarah’s meal planner.

Friday – Thanksgiving leftovers

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Meal Plan – Week of 11/16/2010

Rebecca — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:50:30 +0000

I have ingredients for more meals than we need this week, so I may swap out something for one of the planned meals depending on mood. It’s nice to have options.

Monday – Crockpot Ginger Beef & Carrots (I used 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1 1/2 Tbsp ginger, and it came out perfectly!)

Tuesday – Stuffed Tomatoes (my mother gave us tomatoes from her last trip to the farmer’s market, so they need to be used up)

Wednesday – Italian Sausage Risotto

Thursday – Crockpot Mustard Sauced Pork Chops and Potatoes

Friday – Broiled Salmon, Broccoli

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Rebecca — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:11:25 +0000

This is a great fall breakfast, and it’s easy to make ahead and freeze and then reheat. Supposedly adding a little flour when soaking the oats helps reduce the phytates further, so I add a little spelt flour. If you are gluten-free, you can leave it out; it doesn’t affect the recipe.

If you like the oatmeal sweeter, use the larger amount of maple syrup. I like to use less and let people add a little as desired to their oatmeal.

2 cups oats (if gluten-free, get GF certified oats)
2 Tbsp spelt flour (optional, leave out for gluten-free)
2 cups kefir
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 tsp dried cranberries or raisins
1 apple, diced
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
1/4-1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
3 Tbsp coconut oil

The night before, soak the oats and flour (if using) in the kefir. In the morning, heat the oven to 350 and put the coconut oil in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Add spices, baking powder, salt, apple, and cranberries or raisins to oat mixture. Stir well. Mix in the pumpkin, maple syrup, and eggs. Take the dish out of the oven; the coconut oil should be melted. Swirl it around the pan to grease it, then mix into oat mixture and then spread oat mixture into the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (test with knife or toothpick to make sure it comes back clean).

Tuesday Twister 11/9/2010 – Abundance of Pumpkin

Rebecca — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:50:15 +0000

I have been wanting to do a few Tuesday Twister posts, but I never seem to have time on Tuesdays. Maybe I will have a Tuesday Twister Retro post where I recap some things I did over the summer.

I bought a pumpkin at the last farmer’s market of the season (I think I got about 3-4 cups from a sugar pumpkin) so we’ve been having a lot of pumpkin themed food over the last few weeks.

I made the not very TF Freeze-Ahead And Bake Pumpkin Scones, subbing Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour, and adding 3/4 tsp xantham gum. (I did them without the xantham gum the first time, but the texture was not quite right). You could sub any gluten-free blend (there are tons of recipes online, Living Without has a few, and there are the Bette Hagman mixes). I’d be interested to try them by using kefir as the liquid, but how can you soak the grains for scones? Mix up the batter and let it sit overnight? I also would be curious to see what you could do for the glaze if you wanted it besides using confectioner’s sugar. I haven’t had much success with trying to sub rapadura in something like that. Maybe maple syrup thickened with a starch? I think the maple would go nicely with the spiced pumpkin flavor.

We also had one of our fall favorites, Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce.

I used Nourished Kitchen’s Toasted Pumpkin Seeds to make “classic” (just salted) pumpkin seeds and they were the best ones I have ever made. Too bad we didn’t do a jack-o-lantern this year, so that we would have more pumpkin seeds.

And I made Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, which is one of my new favorite breakfasts.

I think I need to buy a few more pumpkins so I can cook and freeze them, before they are impossible to find.

Visit GNOWFGLINS to see what is twisting in everyone else’s kitchens this week!

Menu Plan Monday – Week of 11/8/2010

Rebecca — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:45:24 +0000

Last week, we didn’t end up having the potato leek soup (I ended up making cream of mushroom soup), so we are having it this week instead.

One thing I am going to try this week is eggplant fries. I have never had them, but someone brought leftovers to my husband’s work and he has been raving about them ever since. Eggplants were on sale this week, so I figured it was a good time to try it. The recipe I am going to try is oven-baked, they are usually deep fried. I am basically going to completely change the recipe and try it out, if it works well I will post my version. If not, maybe I will try the fried ones next time.

Monday – Potato Leek Soup, Eggplant Fries

Tuesday – Italian Sausage Pasta with Vegetables

Wednesday – Crockpot Beef Stew

Thursday – Chickpea Patties

Friday – Haven’t decided but I have a few options. In the freezer I have chicken breast, scallops, pork chops, and pork tenderloin. I guess I will just call it “Freezer Surprise” for now, and I’ll figure it out later in the week.

Speaking of freezers, can anyone recommend a good fridge toddler lock?

Meal Plan Monday – Week of 11/1/2010

Rebecca — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Monday – Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

Tuesday – Crockpot Honey Lentils

Wednesday – Asian Steak and Soba Noodles

Thursday – Potato Leek Soup

Friday – Salmon

Kale Kugel

Rebecca — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:03:39 +0000

This is based on the Spinach Kugel recipe in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, which is one of my favorite fall recipes. However, I needed to modify it to work without wheat or cow’s milk, and kale was in season at the farmer’s market, so here’s what I did. I think it would be just as good with spinach. I usually serve it with Tsimmes (recipe from the same source). It would also make a good brunch or potluck dish.

1 large bunch kale (or 2 lbs. fresh spinach)
4 oz. soft goat cheese
1 lb. goat’s milk ricotta (I make it without the butter)
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs, divided
1/2 tsp nutmeg (or more, if desired)
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
Paprika

Cut stems off kale and cut down the leaves. Cook over low heat (adding a tiny amount of water if needed) until slightly wilted (kale doesn’t wilt as much as spinach). Remove from heat and stir in the soft goat cheese until it melts. Stir in spices, 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs, the ricotta, and the eggs. Put into a greased 9×13 glass baking dish. Top with the remaining bread crumbs. Sprinkle with paprika and cover with foil.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for 10 minutes more.