Winter Dinner Menu and Shopping List

Wanted to share our menu for the week and maybe suggest some fresh dinner ideas.  Enjoy!

Monday- Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday- Pizza night

Wednesday- Chicken Morgan, Roasted Potatoes, Berries Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Thursday- Taco Soup

Friday- Chicken Andouille Sausage Pasta with Peppers and Creamy Tomato Sauce, Steamed Broccoli

Saturday- Out to eat night :)

Sunday- Hot Turkey Sandwiches, Creamy Rice and Mushroom Soup

Grocery List:

1 Red, 1 Orange, 1 Green pepper

3 Sweet Onions (I typically by a bag)

Bag of Fresh Spinach

4 Potatoes

1 Head of Romaine Lettuce

1 Container of Strawberries

Grapes

3 Avocados

1 Container Mushrooms

Bunch of Broccoli

Parsley

1 Package of Turkey Lunch Meat

5 Chicken Breasts (Kroger sells Free-Range, Organic)

1 Package of Chicken Andouille Sausage (I got mine from Trader Joes)

1 Lb of Ground Beef

Package of Sliced Cheddar Cheese

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Fresh Salsa

Sour Cream

Heavy Whipping Cream

Butter

Can of Kidney Beans

Frozen Corn

Carton of Chicken Broth

Can of tomatoes with Chiles

Stack of Corn Tortillas

Tortilla Chips

Loaf of Bread (Gluten Free if you use that)

Brown Rice Medley (Trader Joes) or Wild Rice

Grapeseed Oil

Apple Cider Vinegar

Poppy Seeds

Agave

1 week Menu Plan & Grocery List

WOW, has it been a busy summer!  Seems like they always are, but I enjoy being on the go.  I have been getting a little reading done, recovering from vacation and keeping up with and training our toddlers has just been a full time job if ya know what I mean!   I actually had time to post today.

So, good news, I got muscle allergy testing done and I am NOT allergic to Gluten!!!! Yay!  I won't be avoiding wheat like the plague any more, so you will notice I will have more recipes using flour (preferably organic so there is no GM wheat).  Over all won't have in our diets as much as we have had in the past.

Here is what we are cooking up over here this week:

Chicken Sausage Stir Fry served over rice (First time trying this style, it had a very mild sweet & sour taste)
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans (from our garden yay!)
Mexican-style frittata
Chicken Parmesan with homemade spaghetti sauce, served over brown rice noodles, Salad
BLTS (with tomatoes from our garden, they finally arrived), chips, fruit
Taco salad with shredded chicken
Meatball subs, fresh fruit

Family of 4 shopping list:
1/2 pound of chicken sausage
1 medium scalloped squash (or normal yellow squash)
1 head of broccoli
Brown rice
2 lbs ground beef
4 med-large potatoes
Frozen bag of green beans
Eggs
1 jalepenio pepper
cillantro
4 tomatoes
Small container fresh salsa
sour cream
4-5 Large chicken breasts, or 2 large chicken breasts and 4 legs(use the dark meat for chicken in taco salad)
Organic corn flakes (Corn is super important to by organic b/c of all the genetically modified corn out there, I recommend researching GM corn)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce or the ingredients to make homemade
1 bag of brown rice spaghetti noodles ( Trader Joes 1.99)
2 heads of romaine lettuce
Cucumber
Onion
Loaf of preferred bread (Since we aren't completely gluten free we are doing Ezekiel Bread)
Bag of trader joes chips (only 3 ingredients, potatoes, sunflower oil, salt) Lays has a Natural kind with the same ingredients, look for that
Bag of Organic corn chips (tostidos sells a natural kind 3 ingredients Organic corn, sunflower oil, salt)
8 oz. cheddar cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
Frozen bag of organic corn (Costco sells a huge bag for around 7$)
Bag of buns (Rudis & Udis brand sell gluten free or organic wheat)
Fruit for the sides for 2 meals
Ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, dried thyme, soy sauce (try to buy this organic if you can, GM soy is also something to research)
Package of beef/turkey bacon

2nd 2 Week Summer Menu Plan with Grocery List

When I have a menu planned out, I am actually excited to make dinner!  I know I have everything on hand to make whatever is planned and I don't have to think up a good meal & check for ingredients amidst the chaos that is usually happening around here.  I feel I get to enjoy my kids more and I am FOR SURE less stressed every afternoon with my action plan in hand :)

I really enjoy grocery shopping every 2 weeks.  With young kids it is much easier to get it all done in a day, and not have to make another trip to the store during the week or the next.  I sometimes go in the evening after they are asleep and my husband stays with or we go as a family.  I try to ALWAYS have a list, because it is hard to think and I inevitably forget something if I don't have it written down.

This is a 2 week menu plan, 12 meal ideas (leaving on day each week for going out to eat or leftovers).

Menu:
Enchiladas, Corn/Avacado dip with Chips
Banana Pancakes, Sausage
Chicken, Rice, Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Roast Beef, Carrots, Potatoes & onions
Grilled Fish, Broccoli, Rice
Baked Ziti, Salad
Chicken Stir Fry
Cheesy Scrambled Eggs with veggies, Fruit
Hamburgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Slaw
Greek Chicken Wraps with Pepper Olive Relish, Carrots & Hummus, Fruit
Nachos
BBQ Beef Sandwiches, Chips & Pickles


Some of these items you may already have, so be sure to scan the list and cross off whatever you have on hand.  These are only dinner items, so be sure to include your lunch & breakfast foods too!

Grocery List:
3 Lbs of ground beef (Enchiladas, Ziti, Nachos, Burgers)
8 Chicken Breasts
Dozen Eggs
Medium Roast beef
Broccoli
Cucumber (2)
Tomatoes (4)
Sweet Onion (3)
Lettuce (2-3 heads of romaine or iceberg)
1 Avocado
Mellon
Bag of frozen corn
Bag of frozen spinach
Brown rice
1-2 bags of stir fry mix (depending on how much your family eats)
6 medium potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes
Bananas
Lemons
Cillantro
Bag of slaw (Or head of cabbage & make your own)
Bag of baby carrots
Mayo, Vinegar, Salt & sugar for slaw dressing
Ketchup, Mustard, BBQ Sauce
Bag Potato Chips (We buy Lays natural, cooked in only sunflower oil)
Bag of Tortilla chips (We buy tostidos organic corn chips Natural, only sunflower oil)
Loaf of bread (Rudi's Gluten Free Wholegrain bread, once toasted - so yummy!)
Package of soft Corn tortillas (organic if possible!)
Organic whole wheat Hamburger Buns (Or gf if you can find them, I have not yet- or eat without bun )
BBQ Sauce
Large bag of shredded cheddar cheese
Medium bag of shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 14 ounce can of enchilada sauce
2 buckets of fresh salsa
Gluten Free Soy sauce, chicken broth, garlic (for stir fry sauce)
Sour cream
Feta Cheese
Penne noodles ( I get brown rice penne noodles from Trader Joes 1.99)
Jar of spaghetti sauce (365 brand from Whole Foods, Fat free has no soy bean oil or sugar in it and it tastes great, here is a great recipe to make your own & sneak in an extra veggie)
Jar of Alfredo sauce (or make your own, butter, garlic, GF flour, whipping cream, salt & Parmesan cheese, this is what I ALWAYS do)
Pickles
These last ingredients are for the greek chicken wraps, RECIPE to come soon on here!
Can pitted kalamata olives
Can or jar of french green olives with herbs de provence
Can or jar of pemiento-stuffed green olives
Can or jar of pepperoncini peppers
Jar of Capers

Spices: Chili powder, Cumin, Oregano, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Gluten Free Lunch Ideas for Kids

If you are new to doing gluten free for your whole family you may think WOW this is super overwhelming!  What are my kids going to eat?!  I know it may seem hard and that you won't be able to come up with things, but trust me it DOES get easier!  I came up with a list of lunches for kids that are big hits in our house.  I hope this helps! Click HERE fore more adult type lunches & breakfasts.

I used to work at a day care and for every meal we had to have a protein, 2 veggies or a fruit and a veggie & grain.  Ever since then I always keep that in the back of my mind as I make my kids meals.  I don't always do a grain but I do try to have a "living" food item (Fresh produce- not cooked) with every meal for them.  Substitute the fruits and veggies to meet your child's likes.  Also I try to use my left overs, that is when  I would serve potatoes or diced chicken.  I like to make things quickly so when you are making chicken for dinner make extra for quick dicing for lunches later in the week.

*Hot dog (no bun) sweet potatoes ( mashed or cubed), peas, watermelon
*GF Bagel(Udi's) or GF English Muffin (Trader Joes has an inexpensive one) Pizzas, salad, grapes
*Sauteed Salmon (Aldi has a FABULOUS deal on Wild Caught Salmon), broccoli, berries
*Diced Chicken, green beans, apples, raw cheese
*Quesadilla, avocados, cantaloupe
*Peanut butter (or almond butter) and Jelly Sandwich, yogurt, carrots
*Raw cheese & GF crackers, Organic corn, strawberries
*Meatballs, noodles (or mash potatoes), green beans, orange
*GF Macaroni & Cheese (Annie's has a good one, so does Trader Joes or make your own with brown rice noodles, cheese, milk, butter & salt and hide butternut squash in the sauce) with or without hot dogs , broccoli, apple
*GF lunch meat, apples & peanut butter or almond butter, cucumbers
*GF Grilled cheese sandwich, peas & carrots, banana
*GF spaghetti, salad, blueberries

**Be sure to read the labels on salad dressing, most like to use soy bean oil or vegetable oil, I would highly recommend not consuming either of those ingredients and in our house we strive to not eat anything with those in them, period.  (see THIS for an interesting article on why we shouldn't consume MOST soy products)  I have started making my own, mostly vinaigrettes.  Whole foods has a good ranch dressing in their produce section that has good oils and ingredients in it, made by Cindy's Kitchen.

Quick and Easy Breakfast & Lunch Ideas

I had a friend ask recently about quick breakfast and lunch ideas that are gluten-free.  So I have thought of a few options and wanted to share with you to help get the juices flowing.

Breakfast:

In our home we usually do cereal one day, and then eggs the next.  Maybe once a week we do a "special" breakfast meal, this would be crepes, pancakes, omelets.  (Things that take more time)  Here are a few ideas for quick breakfasts.

*Gluten Free Cereal: Like Rice Chex, GF Crispi Rice, Toasted O's with bananas, blue berries or raspberries on top.
*Lara bars (nut & fruit bars that are gluten free & most are dairy free too)
*Sliced apples with peanut butter
*Bananas with peanut butter
*Gluten free oatmeal with strawberries & cream 
*Plain Whole milk yogurt sweetened with jam, honey, agave, raw sugar layered with fruit
*GF Granola with milk (This is also fabulous served over yogurt)
*GF Scones with Jam
*GF Toast & Fruit
*GF Muffins, I have some recipes on here, or I know Udi's GF are good


Lunch:

When you prep as much as you can the night before it saves you lots of time in the morning.

*Salad with Grilled Chicken or Salmon (Caesar,Berry, Greek, Cobb)
*Quesadillas made with corn tortillas (Black beans, mushrooms, cheese, chicken, spinach - whatever you like)
*Chicken and brown rice pasta with veggies
*Cheese & (GF) crackers, carrots & hummus
*Boiled Eggs, avacado with lemon juice & salt, fruit
*Rice (or Quinoa) salad with chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic & onion
*Chicken Salad with mayo, grapes, apples & almonds on romaine lettuce leaves
*Rice cakes with peanut butter & raisins, cucumber spears
*BLTs on GF bread with chips & pickle
*GF Sandwiches, on bread or bagels, Fruit & Celery

2 Week Summer Menu Plan with Grocery list

When I first started this blog I was sooo pumped to make and post all these gourmet, from scratch meals.  I do enjoy cooking and eating like this, but I don't love all the dishes to clean and time it takes to make each.  Recently I have decided I will try a new dish, side or dessert each week that takes a little more time than usual and is unique and all my other meals will be relatively simple to throw together.

Last week I was chatting with my sister in law Heidi (check out her fun new blog: http://dearlylovedmist.blogspot.com - she is a very interesting and creative writer) about meal planning.  We were agreeing that when you take time to plan a menu and come up with a grocery list it makes things run a lot smoother.  I literally LOVE having my meals planned out.  It is so nice to know what I am making and that I have all the ingredients on hand.  It sure beats being stressed out around 4 or 5 pm trying to rack my brain about what I can throw together, while the kids are just starting to get extra ancy...."Oh daddy where are you?! "  I heard a lady speak once at my moms group she said "Ladies there is hope for 5 o'clock!"  It was the first time I realized I am not the only mom who struggles around that time of day.  Anyways, Heidi was telling me she had just come up with a week's worth of meals with a grocery list, so we decided I would come up with a menu too and swap lists.  It worked out great, we only had to come up with 1/2 the meals for a 2 week plan.  I thought I would share some meal ideas with you to just help meal panning easier for your family.

Just so you know the grocery list is for dinner items only.  You will have to figure in breakfast, lunch, dessert & snack items.  Also my sis in law is SO not gluten free--YES she frequently practices BYOG- Bring your own gluten to our family get togethers :)-- so I have modified the list a little to meet our families needs, so feel free to be creative and change for your likes/dislikes/allergies.

There are 12 Meals listed (leaving one night a week for going out or left overs)  You may have some of the items on hand already, be sure to cross them off the list.

Meals:

Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread
Chicken Fajitas, Chips, Corn Guacamole
Pancakes, Sausage
Taco Salad
Grilled Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Carrots
Omelettes (Spinach & Mushroom), Fruit
Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Cucumber & Onion Salad, Cantelope
Toast & Fruit
Chicken Penne Alfredo, Broccoli
Hot dogs, Potato Salad, Fruit
Flank Steak, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans
Chicken Quesadillas, Chips, Salsa


Grocery List For a Family of 4 (2 Adults, 2 Small kids):
11 Chicken breasts (About 5 lbs of meat) ( I do 1 breast per adult, 1 per 2 kids for main dish chicken like grilled.  For meals where the chicken is shredded I do 1 breast for 2 people)
1 lb Ground Beef
1 lb flank steak
1 Dozen Eggs
1 Package of Hot Dogs
1 Package of Beef or Turkey Sausage
1 Package Spaghetti Brown Rice Noodles
1 Package Penne Brown Rice Noodles
1 Loaf of Gluten-Free Bread
1 Package of Gluten-Free Bagels
1 Package Corn Tortillas
1 Package Hot Dog Buns-If you are doing gluten-free you don't need these :)
Gluten-Free Pancake Mix
Bag of Tortilla Chips
3 Heads of Romaine Package
Bag of fresh Spinach
2 Cucumbers
3 Onions
2 Peppers (Green or Colored)
2 Avacados
Tomatoes
5 lb bag of Potatoes
3 Sweet Potatoes
Bag of baby Carrots
Small container of Mushrooms
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Bag of Oranges or Apples
3 Fresh broccoli crowns
Fresh Garlic
Can Refried Beans
Can of Black Beans
Jar of Spaghetti Sauce (Found one at Whole Foods- 365 brand fat free, has no sugar or soy-bean oil YAY!)
2 tubs of fresh Salsa
Frozen Corn
Frozen Green Beans
2 bags of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Tub of Sour Cream
Grapeseed Oil Mayo
Mustard
Chili Powder
Vinegar
Olive Oil & Grapeseed Oil
Jar of Alfredo Sauce (I make my own, whipping cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic, butter, gf flour, salt)
Peanut Butter
Jam
Honey

Spring Brunch

Recently I hosted a small spring brunch.  I have a girl friend whose mom lives out of town, so when her mother is here I try to see her.  I LOVE doing play dates with my friends regularly, but I don't often think of the moms of my friends.  This was the perfect opportunity to host a play date with younger moms & a few seasoned ones.  It was a relaxed morning of chatting and watching the kids play together.

Sometimes a get together can seem like a lot of work.  Don't be afraid to ask your guests to bring something to add to the table, a favorite recipe or a simple side (depending on if they like to cook).  This makes prep sooo much easier.  Since I am doing gluten free I offered to do the bread, or in this case the carrot cup-cakes and also the crust-less quiche.

I did the brunch right before Easter, so it was easter themed.  A little decorating with eggs & spring colors of pink and green.

Since there were lots of kids running around I wanted to be sure to include them in the brunch fun.  For me as a mom, sitting around the table with moms swapping stories is my kind of fun, but not the kiddos.  My son and I planned an Easter egg hunt.  We put jelly beans in plastic eggs (He LOVED helping!!) and then hid them all over the yard.  It was so fun, I think he loved setting it up and hiding the eggs even more than actual hunt.  We sent out his friends to find the eggs with paper lunch bags, simple, easy fun!

Here is our simple, gluten-free menu:

Broccoli Spinach Quiche

Cherry Scones with Cherry Butter

Fruit Salad

Carrot Cup-Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Coffee, Hot Tea & Water

I hope this sparks some ideas for you to host your own brunch. 

Weekly Dinner Menu

Monday - Chicken Stir Fry

Tuesday - BLT's with Sweet Potato fries

Wednesday - Birthday party for my nephew, Mexican food!  Brining homemade Chunky Guacamole

Thursday - Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf, Green Beans

Friday - Chicken Parmesan

Saturday - Beef Kabobs (Kafta) with Cucumber-Tomato-Hummus Salad

Sunday - Hurry-Up Black Bean Soup

A week of Dinner Ideas

Monday - Crock Pot Chicken with Spicy Lemon Glaze with Greek Salad & Quinoa

Tuesday- Hard Tacos with Homemade Chili Bean Beef, Chips & Salsa

Wednesday- Omelettes, Fruit Salad & Toast

Thursday- BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries

Friday- Cheesy Lemon Buttered Salmon with Broccoli

Saturday- Family Dinner at In-laws

Sunday- Spring Braise with Chicken

Spring Dinner Menu

Monday - Chicken Stir-fry

Tuesday - Beef & Black Bean Nachos with all the "fixins"

Wednesday - Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots

Thursday - Meatballs, Grandmother's Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Friday- Family Meal at my In-laws

Saturday - Potluck at friends house

Sunday - Chicken served over Rice Noodles with a Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Sauce, Cucumber Feta Salad

Dinner Menus for Spring

Monday - Bacon Macaroni & Cheese & Broccoli (This was on the menu for last week, but we ended up going out, so I moved it to this week )

Tuesday - Filipino style Chicken with sauteed veggies and rice noodles

Wednesday - Taco Salad with Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Thursday - Fried Fish & Chips with Coleslaw

Friday - Out to eat

Saturday - Potato Gnocchi with a Creamy Parmesan - Tomato sauce & Salad

Sunday - Mushroom & Sun-dried Tomato Frittata with Fruit Salad

Winter Dinner Menu for a Week

Monday - Creamy tomato basil soup with grilled 3 cheese sandwiches

Tuesday - Thai Express

Wednesday - Grilled salmon seved with cillantro lemon dressing, garlic smashed potatoes and green beans

Thursday - Chicken tacos with homemade chips & guacamole

Friday - Break!  We're going to a dinner auction, proceeds to benefit Haiti missions trip

Saturday - Homemade macaroni and cheese with broccoli

Sunday - Salmon chowder with salad

Dinner Menu for a Winter Week

Monday- Chicken Curry in a Hurry

Tuesday- Lemon Buttered Perch, Garlic Roasted Potatoes, Ceasar Salad

Wednesday- Brown Rice Noodle Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce, Gluten-free Popovers (new recipe!), Garlic Steamed Broccoli

Thursday- Chicken Noodle Soup with Brown Rice Noodles & Gluten-free Corn Bread

Friday- Pizza night!  (Gluten free crust of course)

Saturday- Chicken Quesadillas with Corn Tortillas, Homemade Tortilla Chips, Salsa & Guacamole

Sunday- Fried Fish, Sweet Potato Fries, Steamed Green Beans