GF – Three Plates Full

Meal updates from last week:
My husband and I loved the Sicilian pasta! I used rigatoni pasta for this recipe, and we topped it with fresh parm and some torn basil. We all really enjoyed the tacos, I didn’t have any turkey in the freezer, so I used ground beef instead, they turned out just as good. I picked some zucchini last week and grated two of the smaller ones into the taco meat, with the larger one I made a batch of chocolate chip zucchini muffins. This weekend we ate out on Friday night and then were invited to friends for dinner Saturday night.

This week the weather is supposed to remain HOT, so I will be trying to use the grill and make large salads. We are getting ready for back to school, so our late nights and sleeping in days are coming to a close! I still have a large zucchini left and found a recipe from @pinchofyum for gluten-free zucchini muffins. Head to her Instagram feed for the recipe.

Mexi salad from Mandy’s Gourmet Salads cookbook, I paired this salad with some sautéed shrimp. Find a similar Mexican salad recipe here. I seasoned the shrimp with some cumin, salt and chili powder these complimented the salad flavours perfectly. As I mentioned last week this cookbook is amazing (and a steal of a deal $21 on Amazon)! I will be using it three times this week for recipes.
Wolfe salad from Mandy’s cookbook, find a similar recipe for arugula and quinoa salad here. I won’t be using quinoa as it is not our favourite, instead I will use some steamed brown rice. Our salad protein will be marinaded chicken thighs. I will use the marinade from the spring roll bowl recipe from @littlebrokenblog. This is the best marinade!
I am keeping it simple tonight with some BBQ beef burgers, black bean burgers, grilled corn, baked beans and tots. I am trying a new veggie burger that came recommended from a friend. I will let you know what I think.
Spicy noodles with pork, scallions and bok choy from @cookinglight I will need to use the stove for this meal, but this is the only time this week.
We are heading to friends for dinner and I will be taking the Shanghai salad from Mandy’s. As I mentioned last week, I made this salad but used the tamari dressing instead of the dressing from the recipe. Find a similar tamari dressing recipe here.

Other than making the gluten free zucchini muffins I don’t have plans to bake. I did buy a large bag of peaches this weekend at the market, but I’m not sure if I will use them to bake, or we will just eat them fresh. Blueberries are still plentiful and very inexpensive, so there may be more muffins in my future. Grocery list 135 is back!

Stay healthy,
Sara

Meal updates from last week:
All recipes from last week were winners! I think my favourite out of the three was the chicken shawarma salad and the cashew chicken. The salad was simple, but full of flavour. The cashew chicken was delicious, it took a little more time to make as you have to cook the chicken in batches. We celebrated Valentine’s Day with heart shaped pizzas made at home with ingredients bought from the Italian Centre Shop. If you have never been there to buy Italian goodies then go as soon as possible! They sell fresh pizza dough for $2.00 per ball! As well as pre-shredded mozzarella that has been grated that day. It makes homemade pizzas so easy and delicious.

This week we are eating at home Monday-Wednesday, my husband and I are heading out of town for the weekend and the kids are with family. The weather got really cold today, so I decided that a hearty soup was in order:

Italian pasta and bean soup – Paste e Fagioli from @cooksillustrated this was so simple and full of flavour. My kids really enjoyed the soup with cheese buns for dipping. I will make this again very soon. I didn’t have any pancetta, so used bacon instead.
Zesty kale and sweet potato bowl from @cookinglight I am not sure if my kids will like this bowl?! I am going to use brown rice instead of quinoa. I know that they will like the rice, avocado and cheese but really not sure about the rest of it. I may add some corn and a dollop of sour cream to theirs.
Chicken and cabbage stir fry from @littlebrokenblog I will supplement the kids stir fry with some left over rice from the night before. I also bought a bag of PC riced broccoli and zucchini that I will use instead of the peas and carrots. I may add some shredded carrot as well.

This week is a very short recipe week, but I have been reading lots of new recipes that I am hoping to try. Here are a few on my list, so that you can get through the rest of the week. Chicken parmesan soup (all the things I love in a bowl), gluten-free turkey meatballs (I must be on an Italian kick!) and butternut squash kale salad with goat cheese and apricot vinaigrette (just add some grilled protein and you have a dinner salad). A very short grocery list 119

Happy cooking,
Sara