This week's gluten-free menu :
Sunday -Pork Chops, Baked Apples, Steamed Vegetables
Monday - Pork Stir Fry
Tuesday - Waldorf Chicken Salad
Wednesday-Turkey and Squash Pasta
Thursday - Chicken and Rice Casserole
Friday - Hamburgers and Sweet Potato Fries, Salad

This week is apples week. For Sunday dinner we're having Baked Apples. Yum! I don't really have a recipe for this, but just add some cinnamon and sugar and a little butter and bake on 375 for about 50 minutes. How could you go wrong? I'm also going to make a Waldorf Chicken Salad that has apples in it. That's it for apples this week, but I'm also excited to try a Chicken and Rice Casserole. Hopefully I can post a recipe and picture later in the week when I make it. I need some easy recipes that I can make ahead and just put in the oven when I get home. Hope everyone has a great week!

This week's gluten-free menu :
Sunday -Taquitos, Veggie Plate
Monday -  Chicken, Green Beans, and Cranberry and Sweet Potato Bake
Tuesday - Chicken Cacciatore, Steamed Vegetables
Wednesday - Beef and Sweet Potato Stir Fry
Thursday - Chef Salad and Tomato Soup
Friday - Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Wedges, and Green Salad

It's soccer season for us so we are in need of some quick meals and crock pot meals for some of the nights. This week is sweet potato week. I'm glad to get back to some familiar recipes so we can focus on relaxing at night. I'm trying to make the nights a bit easier. Tuesday is a crock pot night with Chicken Cacciatore. It's just a little bit of effort in the morning but it pays off huge dividends in the evenings. For Thursday I actually found a gluten-free soup in the grocery store so I'm going to use that instead of making the soup from scratch on Thursday night. There are some really nice gluten-free soups that can be found in boxes at the grocery store these days. Hope everyone has a great week!

This week's Gluten-free Menu Swap is hosted at Mom's Plan.
Or check out OrgJunkie for more ideas about menu planning (not all gluten-free).

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Asian Beef Skewers (but using gf soy sauce and gf hoisin sauce), Bok Choi, Rice
Monday - Bok Choi Stir Fry
Tuesday - Gluten-Free Chicken Apples Sausage, Steamed Veggies, Crispy Corn Tortillas
Wednesday - Chicken Pho
Thursday Veggie Packed Pizza Wraps, Watermelon and Cucumbers
Friday - Turkey Burgers, Sweet Potato Wedges, Green Salad

I love Asian food. Thai Food, Vietnamese food, Chinese Stir-Fries. All of it. Some recipes are harder than others to achieve. One thing to remember about many Asian foods is that the recipes often use soy sauce and there is typically wheat in soy sauce so make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce. Here are some pretty easy recipes I regularly cook are :

Asian Peanut Pasta
Chicken Pho
Chicken Stir Fry
Bok Choi Stir Fry
Chicken Pho

I like a lot of other Asian recipes but some I haven't attempted to cook. I'm a bit scared to handle sushi. I figure I should probably just let the experts handle that. Like I've mentioned before we bring our own gluten-free soy sauce packets when we got out to sushi and make sure to avoid the imitation crab and fish found in some rolls which contain wheat. I love Pad Thai especially with a lot of vegetables but I haven't attempted that either.

This week's menu has been shared on The Gluten-Free Menu Swap hosted by Celiac Family and OrgJunkie.

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Chicken Masala, Saag Paneer, Brown Basmati Rice
Monday - Baked Salmon, Rice, Broccoli
Tuesday - Chicken Curry
Wednesday - Lentil Soup, Crispy Corn Tortillas
Thursday - Spiced Chicken Salad with Plums and Chickpeas
Friday - GF Pizza, Green Salad

Most Indian foods do not have flour in them so Indian food is a great food for people on a gluten-free diet to explore. I've been eating Indian food mostly since grad school when I had many Indian friends cook for me. At first I couldn't tolerate the spice but by the end of grad school I definitely liked it. As I started to look through the Indian recipes this week one thing became clear - I needed to get some new spices. One that shows up a lot in recipes is Garam Masala. In the past I tried to make my own mixture but it never came out tasting very authentic. This time I invested in a jar of Garam Masala. By invested I mean that I spent over $7 at Sprouts. The investment paid off though and my Indian dishes are definitely tasting more like the real thing. I'm looking forward to trying a few new recipes this week. The Spiced Chicken Salad looks pretty easy and healthy and the Hurry Curry from Real Simple looks good too! Hope everyone has a great week.

This week's Gluten-Free Menu Swap roundup will be hosted at CeliacFamily. Or for other ideas check out OrgJunkie (not all gluten-free).

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Schnitzel, Potato Pancakes, Vegetable Medley
Monday - Pulled Pork Sandwiches with GF Bread, Green beans
Tuesday - Simple Weeknight Chicken, Zucchini and Squash, Rice
Wednesday - Sausage and Sauerkraut, Broccoli
Thursday - Hamburgers, Home Fries, Green Salad
Friday - Chef Salad

This week is Portuguese week in the Gluten-Free Menu Swap, but don't know much on this topic so I'll be looking to other people's posts to learn about it. Recently we went to a Bavarian restaurant and I've been meaning to try to make Schnitzel, so I'm going to have German Week instead. Schnitzel doesn't seem like a very difficult meal and so it would work well for a weeknight meal. For the rest of the week, we're going to keep it simple. For most nights we're just going to have simple meat and vegetable meals.

Oktoberfest is just around the corner up so if you need ideas for gluten-free recipes I found a great article that talks about lots of great German foods.

Oktoberfest Recipes

This post includes lots of links about everything from gluten-free German appetizers, to desserts and even gluten-free beers. There are some delicious looking gluten-free cakes and desserts. Yum!

Make sure to check out the Gluten-Free Menu Swap at Celiac Family this week. Also check out OrgJunkie for other menu ideas ( not all gluten-free ).

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Tacos
Monday - Oaxacan Grilled Shrimp, Cilantro Lime Rice, Broccoli
Tuesday - Chicken Tortilla Soup
Wednesday - Beef Tamales, Green Salad
Thursday - Pollo Pibel (Recipe from the Yucatan)
Friday - Fajitas, Black Beans, Rice

This week's menu is inspired by the theme Mexican Food. I've spent most of my adult life in Texas and California and so I have a lot of Mexican influence in my cooking. My husband's family who are Texans has opened up my eyes to things like Tortilla Soup and Tamales. We regularly frequent Tex-mex restaurants and I enjoy them; however, being from the mid-west I can still only tolerate mild salsa or "weak sauce" as my husband calls it.

Here are some of the Tex-Mex / Cal-Mex recipes I regularly make:
Tacos
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Fajitas
Fish Tacos
Baked Chicken Taquitos
Chili Nachos

In California we would go to a few restaurants that are similar to the Tex-Mex restaurants, but there are also other variations that got me interested in some of the regions of Mexico. Here is a map of the different food regions of Mexico that I found :

Regional Cuisine of Mexico Map

There is a restaurant in Los Angeles that we went to a few times that specializes in Oaxacan cuisine. Oaxaca is known for its moles. I have tried a mole recipe before but this week we will try an Oaxacan Shrimp Recipe. I'm also interested in learning more about the Yucatan region. The recipes from this region have a lot of citrus flavors in them. I'm going to try a recipe this week from the Yucatan region called Pollo Pibel.

That's all I have time to explore this week but I would like to try to explore more seafood recipes in the future. We used to go to this restaurant on the west side of LA called La Serenata Gourmet. They serve all sorts of great fish entrees here and I'm definitely interested in exploring some of them.

Make sure to check out the Gluten-Free Menu Swap at Celiac Family this week. Also check out OrgJunkie for other menu ideas ( not all gluten-free ).

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Spaghetti and Meatballs, Green Salad
Monday - Minestrone Soup, Crispy Corn Tortillas
Tuesday - Chicken Cacciatore
Wednesday -Egg Plant Rolls
Thursday - Mediterranean Salmon Salad
Friday - Gluten-Free Pizza, Carrot Sticks and Cut Green Peppers



This month in the Gluten-free menu swap International Foods is the theme for the month. What fun! I love expanding my horizons with different foods and I am excited to try some new recipes. This week the focus is on Italian food. Italian food includes one obvious food that is not gluten-free : Pasta. Luckily there are a lot of nice gluten-free options these days. My favorite is Tikiyada brown rice pasta. I look for the ones with some nutritional value. The new mainstream brands look completely stripped of any nutrients so be on the look out for that.

About This Week
I managed to make the entire week Italian themed this week. This week starts with Spaghetti and Meatballs. In my experience meatballs do just fine without breadcrumbs. I have used a mixture of rice to make them sticky and that works well, but if I keep the meatballs small they stay together for me. I just spice them up and they're yummy. Monday is Minestrone soup and Corn Tortillas. I think I might add some Italian sausage to the soup for some extra flavor and protein. Tuesday is a crock pot night. I'm going to try Chicken Cacciatore in the slow cooker. I have started making Tuesday my crock pot night because I still have some energy and excitement for getting organized at the beginning of the week and I really enjoy coming home to a cooked pot of food. Wednesday and Thursday we are going to try some new recipes. Wednesday I'm going to try an Egg Plant Roll recipe that looks good and possibly kid friendly and Thursday we're having a Mediterranean Salmon Salad which looks pretty easy. Friday we're having Pizza! Mangiamo!

Make sure to check out the menu swap at hosted at Celiac Family this week or check out the menu swap at OrgJunkie (not all gluten-free). Have a great week!

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas, Green Salad
Monday - Bok Choy Stir Fry
Tuesday - Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tenderloin
Wednesday - Turkey and Squash Pasta
Thursday -Lentil Soup, Sweet Potato Wedges, Broccoli
Friday - GF Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Steamed Cauliflower



This week we're focusing on Quick Meals. This is my specialty because I'm usually tired when I come home from work but I really try to put a healthy meal on the table every night. There are a few Pinterest Pages to check out. I have several of my fast weeknight meal recipes included on this pinterest board.

Gluten-Free Dinners on Pinterest

Also if you haven't discovered Lynn's Kitchen Adventures and her amazing gluten-free pinterest boards, please check it out. She really must spend a lot of time on her boards. My Spinach Quesadillas recipe was posted on her Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas board.

Lynn's Kitchen Adventures - Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas

About This Week's Menu
This week is all about quick and easy. The first day of school for us is tomorrow and so the past week has been busy getting our kindergartener ready and excited for school! I tried to make this week easy with a lot of quick favorites. Now is not the time to tackle new recipes. Luckily I have a lot of quick recipes on hand that I can use for times like these. On Sunday we're having Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas. This is my most pinned and visited page so it much strike a chord with people. Stir fry's are always good for quick and easy. One of my favorite vegetables to use in stir fry is baby bok choy and we're using that in Monday night's meal. Tuesday is Pulled Pork in the slow cooker. Although it is a slow using the Crock Pot is always easy and a great solution for busy work weeks. Wednesday we're having Turkey and Squash Pasta. I think the winning ingredient in this recipe is the fennel so definitely try to get that if you're going to try this recipe. Thursday we're having Lentil Soup which is definitely the fasted bean soup to make. On Friday we're going to use some of the leftover pulled-pork for sandwiches and endive wraps.

Be sure to check out the Gluten-free menu swap this week at Celiac Family.

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Turkey Chili,Corn Muffins, Broccoli
Monday - Pork Souvlaki with Yogurt Sauce, Greek Salad, Rice
Tuesday - Baked Salmon, Green Salad, Crispy Corn Tortillas
Wednesday - Almond Chicken Pesto
Thursday - Hamburgers, Sweet Potato Wedges, Broccoli
Friday - Chili Nachos


About This Week's Menu
I'm to start the week by making a big pot of turkey chili. I went a little over board last week with how much meat I purchased so I froze some of it and I'll be using it this week. I have a lot of leftover turkey that I'm going to use for Turkey Chili. After I make some of the turkey I'm going to freeze some of it to use on Friday. On Tuesday we're having Pork Souvlaki which sounds hard but looks pretty easy to make. It's just pork marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano and then grilled. I have a few pieces of pork left from last week so I'll use it this way and serve it with a Greek Salad. Salmon is always really easy and fast so I'll make that on Wednesday. I'll need to buy a bit more chicken but I have a bottle of gluten-free pesto that I found at Aldi's, and since my basil is looking a little frazzled, it will work out well and it will make the preparation easier. I also found some organic ground beef at Aldi's. Yay! I scoop up those quality products whenever I see them there. We're going to make some Hamburgers with the ground beef on Thursday. Friday will be a relaxed night with Chili Nachos.

This Week's Theme
This month the themes for The Gluten-Free Menu Swap all have to do with getting ready for school. This week the theme is after school snacks. Some healthy school snacks can be Ants on a Log, Hummus and Carrots, Frozen Fruit, Apples and Hard Cheese, Yogurt, Granola, Popcorn, or Fruit and Nuts Bars like Kind Bars or Laurabars.

Here is a gallery slideshow showing some Heathful Gluten-Free Snacks:
6 Healthful Gluten-Free Snack Ideas

It's a great idea to think about it ahead of time because now I've noticed that my son has his own ideas of what to eat and a lot of those ideas are items that include a lot of sugar. Hopefully we can get into some healthy habits.

For more ideas of gluten-free snacks and gluten-free menu planning check out the round up at Celiac Family or for other menu planning ideas check out OrgJunkie (not all gluten-free).

This week's gluten-free menu:

Sunday - Pork Chops , Broccoli, Potatoes
Monday - Simple Weeknight Chicken, Spinach, Rice
Tuesday - Beef Stew , Green Salad, Crispy Corn Tortillas
Wednesday - Pork Stir Fry
Thursday - Turkey Burgers, Sweet Potato Wedges, Broccoli
Friday - Chicken Nuggets , Zucchini, Home Fries


About This Week's Menu
Last week the Jambalaya in the crock pot worked well, so I'm going to use the crock pot again this week. This time I'm going to use it for the Beef Stew. It's always a great feeling to come home and realize that you already took care of the cooking for the night! The rest of the week consists of more meat than usual. Lots of protein has been requested this week.

Gluten-Free Lunch Ideas
This week the topic for the Gluten-Free Menu Swap is Gluten-Free Lunches. We cook enough around our house that there are usually a lot of good leftovers that we heat up for lunch. That might be difficult at most schools though. Sandwiches can always be made with gluten-free bread, however in my experience, gluten-free bread gets old and so to keep it interesting gluten-free rice wraps can be used. You can always make your wrap interesting by making a theme like a Greek Wrap or a Hummus Wrap with your favorite meats and vegetables. Here are a couple of wraps that I've tried :

California Wrap
Hummus and Veggie Wrap

If you are really set on good sandwich bread you can always make your own fresh sandwich bread. Gluten-free sandwich bread is really yummy when it's super fresh. My friend has a bread machine with a gluten-free option! She just used Pamela's bread mix and clicks the gluten-free button. Pretty cool! This one has a gluten-free setting and I think this is the one she has :



My experiences with gluten-free bread are just trying different recipes and baking them in the oven but her solution sounds easier! I kind of gave up on making my own bread once I compared it to the bread that Udi's and Rudi's was making but I should try again. It's always nice to have variety and homemade breads can have whatever spices and flavors you want.

For more ideas heck out The Gluten-Free Menu Swap hosted at Celiac Family or check out The Monday Menu Swap at OrgJunkie (not all gluten-free).