This Week's Gluten Free Menu

[RissaRoo]

This Week's Gluten Free Menu

Well.~~Time to plan! Sarah's birthday is Sunday and Dawn's was yesterday, and of course Sunday is Father's Day...so this weekend is all about celebrating! I will be making two gluten free cakes, so look for photos and complete recipes for those later on in the week. The weather is supposed to finally be decent, so we'll be doing some grilling. Like last week, please email me or leave a comment below if you'd like the specific recipe (with measurements etc.) for anything I don't post fully. I can leave recipes in the comments area or send them to your email addy! Here are my thoughts on meals for the week:

Saturday: Birthday Barbecue! The McDowells will be coming over to celebrate Sarah and Dawn's birthdays. Sarah wants to roast hot dogs over the fire pit and play camping with all the kids, so they will be having hot dogs. Bar S brand is gluten free and cheap, Isaiah will probably just have his bun-free but Kinnikinnik has good gluten-free buns. The grown ups will have grilled hamburgers, I make mine from scratch with a dash of Worcester sauce and some Lipton Onion Soup mix. I will make a huge batch of Pickle Potato Salad (recipe will be posted this week, this is one I get requests for all the time) and we will use half of it for Sunday's family party. I will also make Cucumber and red onion salad with feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. Now for the really fun part...Dessert!!! I am planning on making a vanilla Castle Cake. I am going to go out to the specialty store for gluten free ice cream cones, and we'll have cake, ice cream and strawberries. The cake will use the gluten free cones as turrets, with cupcake baked in. Mmmmmmm! I will also...for the grownups of course...be making ZipFizz Margaritas. Regular margaritas, with a Zipfizz immune booster mixed in for a little tangy, fizzy zing.

Sunday: Father's Day and Sarah's Family Party! We will have 13 family members over, so that Sarah can celebrate with family and we can honor the dads. We'll be having Bratwurst on the grill (our local supermarket makes them from scratch in the meat department...we'll buy a variety of flavors. I checked and they're gluten free!). I will provide gluten buns for everyone else, Isaiah and I will probably go without one because brats are tasty by themselves. We'll use the second half of the Pickle Potato Salad, which will already be made. I will make a fruit salad in a watermelon basket, just fruit tossed with pineapple juice and poppy seeds. Others will be bringing appetizers, a Caesar salad, and some beer. I will be making Sangria...wine with seltzer water, oranges and lemons. It's sort of a sweetened wine punch, pretty in a glass pitcher and served very cold. And for dessert....Sarah's favorite cake, a black forest layer cake. Cherry pie filling and chocolate cream cheese frosting make this a real treat!

Monday: Leftovers. I'm NOT cooking anything that day!

Tuesday: Spaghetti and meat sauce. Tinkyada Pasta is an excellent gluten free pasta, also egg and soy free (pretty much rice, water and sea salt). I will sneak grated carrots and zucchini into the sauce as well as the hamburger meat.

Wednesday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches, tossed salad.

Thursday: Tacos! I throw a can of black beans and a can of corn into the meat to add fiber and make the hamburger go farther. The meat is seasoned with a taco seasoning mix (I use Western Family brand, which is gluten-free), some garlic and a bit of salsa. I will serve these with simple guacamole (avocados and sea salt), salsa, lettuce, cheese, black olives, chopped red onion and sour cream. We will use brown rice tortillas (Food For Life brand).

Friday: Chicken and Sausage Paella. Cook some chopped chicken breast in a skillet until brown. Throw in a chopped Hilshire Farms Kielbasa sausage, cook until browned. Throw in some onions, peas, carrots, zucchini and garlic (other vegetables if we have them, too!) and cook in the same skillet. Mix rice and chicken stock in a deep dish, add in a pinch of saffron, a can of chopped tomatoes and mix it all together with the meat and vegetables in the skillet. Bake until the rice is done. Serve with steamed broccoli.

That should cover this week. If you've got questions or want more info on a recipe, leave a comment or email me. Enjoy!