Menu Plan Monday – January 4, 2010

I have a confession.  I am not one of those moms who are happy the kiddos head back to school after a vacation.  I love, love, LOVE them being home.  I love the sleeping in if we want, making special meals, hanging out time.  But, well, this morning I was a bit relieved to see everyone out the door.   Sorry, kiddos!  Why this time?  Well, we have one sad little over-worked laptop and 4 other people (namely my pre-teen, my teen, my six year-old, and MY HUSBAN

D) in the house who want said computer while everyone is home during the holidays.  Yeah, you know what that means – as the mommy it means that my computer and I have been far, far apart for the past little while.  Well, except when I would threaten to not make dinner until I had my recipe from my computer (requiring wrenching the computer from the hands of the aforementioned family members, the little cuties…)  Any-hoo, no

w that I have complete computer daytime domination (bwah-ha-ha!!!) let’s see if I can keep on keeping on with the blog now, shall we?

Um, yeah, and don’t worry, kids, I still miss you while you are at school learning math n’stuff….

Head over to Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.  The Gluten Free Menu Swap is being hosted by Asparagus Thin this week.  Her theme is “dinner and a movie”.

Monday: Back to school/Girl Scout leader meeting

Pork and veggies (kind of a coconut milk curried-type of thing) over brown rice (presoaked) (made with pork meal starter from my freezer)

Tuesday: Mom volunteer in school library/piano lessons/ski club

Juicy Turkey burgers (make second batch for the freezer), salad and steamed veggie mix

Wednesday: little girl dance/Youth group

Sausage, winter greens and bean casserole (make second for freezer), salad

Thursday: Girl Scout meeting

Chicken, chick pea, winter squash and spinach curry over quinoa

Friday:

Slow cooker Chicken Cacciatore and Spaghetti Squash

This weekend: A Czech/Bohemian take of chicken and potato dumplings (this week I am all about the comfort food because it is COLD here) so that I can use this as my “movie” theme (hee-hee):

Happy Fourth!

Happy Earth Day!

Do something green today!

Spring-time is Muppet time!

 

 

One Step into Spring

(Leo Sayer and Julie Andrews – hee, hee!)

 

(Nice hat, Kermit!)

Birthday number SIX! (Animal of the Muppets cupcakes)

My littlest sweet-pea turned six yesterday and asked for Animal (from the Muppets) cupcakes.  They turned out alright, however I thought they mostly looked like Elmo with a uni-brow and teeth…  After watching some Muppets after dinner (we have seasons 1-3!), I realized  that Animal’s nose was shaped wrong and he should have an orange lower lip by his teeth.  Oops!  Well, close enough when it’s made of chocolate cake!  The important thing was that my birthday girl liked them and they were tasty.

 

Happy birthday, hunny-bear!  Love you, ya little Wild-Thing!

 

C is for cupcake that’s good enough for me!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

May you all have a very Merry Christmas!

 

Gluten Free-zer Friday

I have a secret, a deep dark secret.  Well, okay, it’s not so much a secret, because I would tell anyone who asks:  I do not like to run.  Yes, I know my husband is some kind of stud athlete type.  Even when I was younger I never got why people thought it was fun.  I really like to XC ski or bike, or walk, none of which requires jarring pain of the joints.  Ewww!  Yeah.  If I wanted the same fabulous feeling of running, I would hook wires to my joints and plug them directly into the wall (feel the burn!).  

But I would run if I had to.  You know, if there was an elephant stampede through my kitchen (and with 3 kids and 3 dogs, sometimes it seems like that!) or if there was an insane give away on gluten free flours or dark chocolate, or cute little cupcake liners like any of these, or any of the bento boxes here (cuteness!)…  

 

AND I would run for this face:

 

My 10 year-old daughter decided she wanted to run the 5K Turkey Trot this year.  Which meant we had to train.  And stretch and everything.  And she did.  She is an amazing determined girl who even though she has to work harder than others to accomplish some things, still doesn’t give up.  Which means she usually achieves her goal when others decide things are too hard to even finish.  And she ran.  And I ran with her.  She was so proud!  And she did great!  She ran her first 5K by running for 30 to 60 seconds then walking for 60 to 90 seconds in between – the intervals worked great to have small goals to get through and kept her at a good pace.  Of course we made fun hats to wear, because what would a fun run be without an accessory?  And because Cari will want to know:  She ran her first 5K in 52.16 minutes.  (mile one:  15:53, mile two:  17:16,  mile 3:  16:20 and the last .2 miles: 3:27)  Woo!  She totally rocked!  Way to go, honey!

   

 

Head over to MJ’s for Freezer Food Friday and see what she’s putting in her freezer!  If you have a gluten free recipe that you would like to share, post it on your site and link it here.  Then leave me a comment below and I will add you to the Gluten Free-zer Friday roundup.  Thanks! 

 

My contribution today is a recipe from my dad.  When I was growing up he was the king of making meatloaf and chili.  Mmmm…  and he still likes to experiment.  He likes print off recipes he sees and share them with me and we keep each other up to date with the local food adds.  This is a recipe he found at a local news site (Kare 11) but altered, because, like me he can’t leave a recipe alone!  I wonder where I got that from?

 

Sweet, Hot and Spicy Turkey Three Bean Chili

(from Kare 11 by Chef Linda Binion with adaptions by my dad)  My dad makes this in a crock pot (after pre-browning the meat).  He just lets it go until the veggies are tender and the flavors blended well through out.  He will freeze portions into containers to bring to work, or to have for meals at home.  

 

Sweet, Hot and Spicy Turkey Three Been Chili

1 tbsp. olive oil 1 large onion diced 2 lbs. of Ground Lean Turkey Meat    (or use cut up left over turkey) 2 large green bell pepper chopped 1 small can of diced tomatoes 1 medium can of jalapeno peppers (depending how hot you want it), chopped 1 can 14.5 oz. of tomato sauce 2 cans 14.5 oz oven roasted diced tomatoes  1 can of Red Beans – Drained 1 can of Garbanzo Beans – Drained     1 can of Black Beans – Drained 2 cups tomato juice or V8 Salt and Pepper 1 1/2 tbsp. Chili Powder 1 1/2 tbsp. Chili Flakes 1 1/2 tbsp. Chipotel Cinnamon Mix (my dad used McCormick’s Grill Mates Cinnamon Chipotle Rub) (McCormick Allergen statement) 1/4 cup honey

Place onions and peppers in a heavy pot with olive oil and stir until mixture has soften. Remove vegetables and add ground turkey and brown thoroughly. After meat has browned add salt and pepper and all the other spices. Mix thoroughly.   Drain and rinse the beans and add to meat mixture and then add tomato sauce, tomatoes, jalapenos and cover and simmer for about 25 minutes. Add brown sugar at the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Serve with tofu sour cream and green onions, if desired. Chef Linda Binion   To Freeze:  Cool chili completely, then package into freezer safe containers.  To serve, thaw, heat and serve with a salad and tortilla chips or gluten corn bread.     Participating in Gluten Free-zer Friday: 1. If you would like to participate, simply email your post link or leave a comment below and I will add you to the roundup. 2. Link back to this post on the post with the recipe you have linked.

Horchata de Almendra

 

Totally tasty!  For other yummy Spanish recipes check this page, which is where we found this recipe.  We made this with raw almonds, soaking them overnight before starting the recipe.  Oh, and we used MUCH less sugar.  We just used enough for our taste.  Agave also has worked well because it dissolves in cold liquid (again, to taste).  Mmmmm… creamy.  

 

 

Horchata de Almendra (Almond Horchata)
Recipe submitted by Dean Derhak

Real Horchata from Valencia is made with Chufa (Tiger Nut). Unfortuantely, Chufa is not available (that I know of) in America.

A suitable substitute for the Chufas are Almonds, which give the Horchata the same texture and similiar taste. Horchata is not a dairy product and contains little fat, so it is often refered to as “the drink of the gods” for it’s rich but lowfat flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo (1 pound) Almonds
1/2 kilo (1 pound) Sugar
1 Lemon
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Pinch of Salt
2.5 liters Water (warm)

• The first step is to remove the skins from the almonds. The best way to do this is to simply buy them already skinless. If none are available, you will have to boil the skins off. Put the almonds in a pot of boiling water and let sit until the skins become very soft. With time, the skins will dissolve or slide off easily when stirred. Boiling the almonds is a pain. It is much easier to just buy them without skins.
• Crush or otherwise pulverise the almonds into a coarse powder. If you boiled your almonds to get the skins off, then smash them (or put them in a strong blender while adding some water) into a mush.
• In a large bowl/container add the 2.5 liters of water with a pinch of salt. Slice and add the lemon.
• Now mix in the almond powder (or mush). Cover the container and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
• When the two hours are up, add the sugar and cinnamon stick. Stir until sugar is completely dissovled.
• Strain the liquid with a fine cloth. This removes all of the larger particles of almond. Strain until texture is smooth (twice should do it).
• Enjoy!

Keep the drink in your fridge and it will stay good for at least five days.

For a truly divine experience, put some in your freezer until it is an icey slush!

I’ve tried this recipe myself, with delicious results!
dderhak@xmission.com

I may have had too much coffee today…