Meal Plan Week of 09/08/13-09/14/13

Good Afternoon all!

Hope you are enjoying this lovely Saturday. Here's this week's meal plan. I don't know about you but we've got an extremely busy week coming up - birthdays, soccer, wedding stuff plus the typical work nonsense we always have. I'm looking forward to some quick and easy meals this week. Never hurts to break out the crock-pot or pressure cooker when your on a time crunch! I hope you all have a fabulous and blessed weekend!

8	9	10	11	12	13	14
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
poached egg	cereal	scrambled egg	egg	scrambled egg	BDAY pancakes	egg muffins
hash brown	berries	toast	cin. Toast	w/ veggies	berries	banana
apple	egg	banana	apple	banana sandwich	banana	toast
tea	tea	tea	tea	tea	tea	tea
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
PB & Jelly	chicken salad	hummus	salad	turkey	salad	loaded
carrots	lettuce wrap	carrots	w/ veggies	lettuce wraps	hummus	salad
celery	fruit	crackers	fruit	fruit	celery	crackers
water	water	water	water	water	water	water
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
smoked chicken	spaghetti squash	Salmon	grilled chicken	chicken stew	KIDS	grilled tilapia
roasted g beans	w/ meatballs	mac & cheese	veggies	w/squash	CHOICE	veggies
corn	salad	salad	salad	salad	*out*	salad
water	water	water	water	water	water	water
Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack
smoothie	pear	smoothie	trailmix	celery	smoothie	orange
cheese stick	trailmix	fruit/nuts	cheese	apple	carrots	smoothie
cookies	pudding	apple nachos	ice cream	banana parfait	frozen yogurt	cake

Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Glaze

You know those desserts you get at restaurants that are titled “Monster  Cookie”, “7 layer Chocolate Cake”, “Death by Chocolate Cake”?? Well, this could have a title something like those. I mean who doesn’t want a “death by chocolate” cake?? I never had room for dessert when we ate out so I’ve only had a few of these items in my years. However – just because we are gluten free now, doesn’t mean we have to miss out on “dangerous” desserts like these. Here’s another one of my splurge recipes but it’s still healthy enough you don’t have to feel too guilty about eating it. I apologize for the picture; it was so good my son couldn’t even wait for me to take a picture before sneaking a bite! J

1 package of GF chocolate cake mix (you can make your own also, I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)

1 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla (2 if you used plain milk)
1 cup shredded zucchini
Glaze:
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used GF, dairy free, but any kind would work)
1 Tbsp milk (I used almond)
1 tsp coconut oil

• Mix together chocolate cake mix, milk, lemon juice, eggs and vanilla for about 30 seconds on low speed. Add in shredded zucchini and blend for another minute. P
• our cake batter into a greased 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until cake is cooked through (a toothpick inserted should come out clean).
• Let cake cool for about 10 minutes.
• While cake is cooling, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave according to package instructions. Add in milk and stir until well combined.
• Pour glaze over cooled cake and serve.
• NOTE: You can make a round cake using two round cake pans; just adjust your cooking time accordingly. This also makes create cupcakes!
• You can also make your glaze in a saucepan if you don’t use a microwave – just be sure to make sure it doesn’t scorch in the pan.

Biscuits with Browned Turkey Gravy

When I was little – well up until my new diet – my favorite breakfast food was biscuits and gravy. My mom could make the best too. She would cook up some Pillsbury buttermilk, flaky biscuits. Then she’d make homemade sausage gravy (from scratch) and pour over the warm biscuits. Oh my goodness- it was fantastic. Looking back now – I can’t believe my favorite breakfast was full of so much junk. This version is (obviously) gluten-free, lean, and made with more natural ingredients. The best part – it tastes so good, we don’t miss the old stuff!

8 biscuits (I used Bob’s Red Mill packaged mix according to their directions for a quick version)

¼ lb of turkey sausage (Here’s my homemade version)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp potato starch (or flour)
½ tsp garlic salt
½ - ¾ cup milk (I did use unsweetened almond milk)

• In a skillet over medium heat, brown turkey sausage in olive oil and crumble into small pieces.
• Once cooked, add in potato starch and garlic salt until combined with the sausage.
• Slowly add in ½ milk and cook on low heat until boiling. Continue cooking while stirring constantly until you get the desired consistency of your gravy.
• You may want to add in a little extra milk if your gravy gets too thick. Pour gravy mixture over warm biscuits and serve with some fresh fruit!
• The key here is to make your gravy in the same skillet you cooked your sausage in. This will give it the brown color and add SO much flavor.

Spicy Watermelon Mint Jam

I won’t lie-I was skeptically about this recipe initially. I have recently been using a lot of ginger in my new recipes I’m trying. My neighbor had brought over a watermelon and we couldn’t eat all of it; there was so much. I hated to see it go to waste so I gave this a try. I also have a TON of mint. All kinds – chocolate mint, spearmint, citrus mint. For some reason, mint is the only herb I have found that can and will grow anywhere. I first planted it a couple of years ago in my garden. It is now all over my yard in random places. By my house, in the back yard, in the front yard… all over. Anyway – I also hate to see it go to waste so this recipe was born. A little disclaimer: this is not just a sweet fruity jam. It has a lot of spice. We have served this with cheese and crackers. It is not bad on breakfast items, like toast, it’s just a little different!

6 cups watermelon (seedless), cut into chunks

½ cup water
½ cup watermelon juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup honey (or 2.5 cups of white sugar)
2 tsp fresh mint
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp no sugar pectin (if desired to help it “gel” up)

• In a food processor or blender, blend watermelon, ginger, mint and pepper until desired consistency. You won’t need to blend this very much as the watermelon is already soft.
• In a large stockpot combine watermelon mixture, water, watermelon juice and bring to a slow boil. Stir in lemon juice and honey. Return to boiling and add in pectin.
• Cook at a slow boil for about 5 more minutes, stirring constantly.
• Ladle jam into prepared glass jars and finish preparing jars as desired.

Turkey Breakfast Sausage

Before my restricted diet came along, we had an egg and bacon or sausage for breakfast every day.  I couldn’t tell you the last time I had sausage before today. I originally got this idea from a paleo magazine but I tweaked it quite a bit to fit our needs. The spices in this are the key ingredients. The sage and rosemary compliment each other so well and give the sausage an awesome flavor. Instead of turkey, you could easily substitute ground pork. I used very lean turkey, but you would get a little more flavor out of a little fattier meat.

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 Tbsp fresh sage finely minced
1 tsp fresh thyme finely minced
1tsp fresh rosemary finely minced
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp honey (or sugar)
1 Tbsp olive oil

• Mix together turkey, seasonings and honey until well combined. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.
• Form & flatten turkey into small (2 inch) patties.  Cook on first side for about 10 minutes and then cook on other side for about 5 more minutes or until both sides are browned. (I like mine really browned so we cooked ours a little longer. Just make sure your patties are cooked all the way through)

Cool Asian Salad

Happy Labor Day!

This is the easiest salad I’ve ever made-aside from just putting lettuce on a plate. This is a favorite of ours during the summer when we just need a quick, cool bite to eat. The dressing on here is amazing also. Feel free to add in more vegetables but this is a recipe we just like to keep it simple. This is a perfect, quick & easy dish to throw together for a holiday gathering and perfect on a hot day! You can make the dressing the day before to help the flavors come together and make quick work the day of serving!

1 bunch of romaine lettuce, chopped

2 celery stalks, diced
shredded cheese, if desired
Dressing
2 tsp rice vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sesame seeds, toasted
½ tsp garlic salt

• Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small blender (like a Magic Bullet). Blend until smooth.
• Mix together lettuce and celery. Top with cheese if desired. Then pour dressing over salad and serve. It’s that easy.

Peach Lavendar Jam

The next couple of weeks I’m trying something different. I’m going to be posting two recipes a week that involve canning-enjoy! Even though it’s quite a bit of work, I love canning. There’s something about creating something that lasts that I enjoy. I really like peach jam and I really like lavender so I thought- why not mix them?! I found some gorgeous peaches at the local farmers market and threw in some of my own lavender. This turned out great. The lavender really accents the peaches well and adds a nice little touch to the flavor. This is perfect over toast in the mornings.

6 cups peaches, peeled and diced

1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup honey (or 2.5 cups of white sugar)
2 tsp lavender, finely chopped
1 tsp no sugar pectin (if desired to help it “gel” up)

• In a food processor or blender, blend peaches until desired consistency. We like ours with a few small chunks so we blended ours quite a bit.
• Pour peaches into a large stock pot or sauce pan over medium heat. Add in water and bring to a slow boil. Stir in lemon juice and honey.
• Return to boiling and add in pectin and lavender. Cook at a slow boil for about 5 more minutes, stirring constantly.
• Ladle jam into prepared glass jars and finish preparing jars as desired.
• I boil my jars, lids and rings. Then I dry jars and ladle jam in at this point. Then I put on the seals and rings and turn jars upside down to seal. Once the lids “pop” and seal, I flip back over and let cool. This recipe made about 6 half pint jars.

Also: Here's a sneak peek of some canning recipes that will be posted soon!