Autumn Menu Plan

Menu Plan Monday – November 12, 2018

November 12, 2018 by angelaskitchen Leave a Comment

This past week I had the great pleasure to join Mia of Plan Simple Meals on her podcast talking about Planning Food for the Holidays. It was so much fun! Let me know what you think.

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We’ve been in a bit of a comfort food place lately. The weather has been chilly enough for the snow to start sticking, so warming casseroles and homemade versions of take-out meals are making it onto the menu. My oldest daughter will be coming home on Friday for Thanksgiving break. She’s requested her favorite Thai Chicken Pizza for when she comes home, so that’s got to happen as well.

Breakfasts this week will be Mango Spinach Smoothies, Pumpkin Pie Smoothies and leftover egg bake (from Wednesday).

Monday: Tuna Noodle and Vegetable Casserole with a mixed green salad

Tuesday: Apple Cranberry Pork Chops with roasted rosemary potatoes & sweet potatoes and green beans (A double batch. One batch will be for dinner. One batch I will put into individual portions with roasted sweet potatoes and green beans. I’ll freeze these for quick meals to use as needed during the holiday season.)

Wednesday: Egg Bake with an arugula salad.

Thursday: Mongolian Beef and broccoli over cauliflower “rice” with mango slices

Friday: Thai Chicken Pizza and a salad. (A double batch of 4 pizzas. Two will be for dinner. Two will be frozen before they are baked for a meal during the holiday season.)

Next weekend I’ll be making gluten free herbed Stuffing Bread and Snickerdoodles to freeze for the holidays. I’ll make a double batch of cookies, freezing 1/3 for Thanksgiving and 2/3 for Christmas, minus the couple the kids and I need to sample. I’m calling that quality control. 🙂

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For more menu planning inspiration, check out Menu Plan Monday over at Laura’s site, Organizing Junkie.

It turns out, you still need to eat…

October 29, 2018 by angelaskitchen

“Are you done yet?” ~ Blaze, the wonder pup

Hello, there. I’ve taken so much time off from the blog, that as time has gone on it has become more and more difficult to restart things. I also felt maybe I should explain where I’ve been, which slowed me down from posting as well. Some things that happened were just the business of life, some things were other peoples’ stories to tell. And some things…. well, some things are just tough to talk about on what I always think of as my safe, delicious place.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom that kept me busy. I was up to some fun things, too, while away. I had some great job opportunities. I had 2 kids graduate from high school. I wrote a couple cookbooks (a gluten free and a slow cooker one) and a dairy free one will be out in March. My oldest graduated from college and started being a full-time Adult (notice the capital letter). I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary, which just proves that if you can find that one special someone you can annoy for the rest of your life, you’ll be set. However, in the midst of all the good things, bad things got tangled together as well. Life can be like that sometimes.

My parents have lived with us for the past 16 years and last summer my dad was diagnosed with Espophegal Cancer. In fact, I had gotten the advance copy of my first book on the same day that his cancer was confirmed. My book, which I had been dreaming about doing for who knows how long, suddenly didn’t seem important in the of scheme of things. Like I said, all the good and bad tangled up with each other. My dad’s cancer was pretty tough to treat and he did end up passing away this past March.

Yesterday I finally shook my head clear of the fog it’s been in, and decided that it was time to get myself in gear. I’m feeling the stirring of creativity again, the desire to share, the energy to put back into it again. Grief is a funny thing. It can really sap your energy on a deep level. I have suffered, what I can only describe as a grief relapse from time to time. While I know it is a perfectly normal thing to go through, when they happen they are hard on my productivity. Trying to push through grief is like moving through mud, where everything takes a little more energy, like something (or several things) has been added to my to-do list every day. Have breakfast, miss dad, get ready for the day, miss dad, send emails, miss dad, start laundry, miss dad, go to work, miss dad, pick up groceries, miss dad… Grief just takes up so much time, like having a whole other job that wants all of your attention.

The fog is receding now, the work of it, anyway, and I’m settling back into a groove. I hope you’re all well, and sorry for the silence. To be honest, I had quite a bit of struggle around writing about this. When he was sick, I felt it was his story to tell, and he wanted to play it out pretty close to his chest… But now, well, even in my everyday life I find I edit much of my talk about it all. How I miss him and how much sometimes I am angry at the cancer or at him for not taking care of himself, but mainly how the whole thing was just hard. When talking about it with friends I find myself scanning their faces for signs that I should change the subject, or that I am not very fun right now, or that it is just too, too much… I do know I need to be honest with how I feel, but still worry about what the other person needs enough that I do try to keep it to myself as much as I am able. I am a person that is pretty good at sorting out my own insides anyway. But sometimes grief can have a way of leaking out, so be warned I may give in to the urge to write about it now and then. Don’t worry, I’ll try to balance it out with something delicious.

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Menu Plan Monday – October 26, 2015

October 26, 2015 by angelaskitchen

My husband found this photo on Facebook and I can’t find the source. Does anyone know who’s pic it is? I love it! It totally sums up what is happening in our yard right now. Half the chickens are just finishing up their molt while the other half are still molting up a storm. There are feathers everywhere! While they grow new fluffy feathers for the upcoming winter, chickens take a break from laying eggs. We’re getting about one egg a day right now. And, yes, I had to BUY eggs this week !

How is everyone else’s week shaping up? We’re getting into some chilly weather here and it looks like we may even get some snow this week. Yikes! Looks like our chickens early and super long molt season means they may know something about the upcoming winter that I might not be too thrilled about. I’d better get our mittens out… Anyhoo, it’s time to make some warm comfort food. And maybe bake something with cinnamon. 🙂

To bake this week: I definitely need to get some pumpkin muffins in the oven and maybe something with nice chunks of apples. Yum-yum! Our freezer is also remarkably bare of freezer meals, so I’ll be plumping that up before the holidays hit.

Monday: Sweet Spicy Turkey Chili and Blender Cornbread

Tuesday: hot dogs with spinach salad and chips

Wednesday: Cranberry Pork Roast in Slow Cooker and roasted root vegetables (red onion, carrots, turnips and potatoes)

Thursday: Apple, Veggie & Sausage Quiche, steamed broccoli and red grapes

Friday: Sesame Chicken with Bok Choy and Basic Rice

Menu Plan Monday – October 6, 2014 (with grocery list)

October 6, 2014 by angelaskitchen 1 Comment

Hello! Melissa is hosting the Gluten Free Menu Swap this week over at Mom’s Plans this week. The theme is one of my very favorite foods, sweet potatoes. Yum! Love those tasty little guys! I have them in a few recipes on the blog, such as Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas, as a filling in Buckwheat Crepes, Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes (YUM!), Beef Stew for the freezer, Chicken and Rosemary Roasted Veggies, Twice Baked Spinach Garlic Stuffed Potatoes (again with the YUM!), Slow Cooker Orange Chicken with Winter Squash and Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Fish and Spicy Sweet Potato Fries, Baked Root Vegetable Fries, Gluten & Dairy Free Sweet Potato Muffins, and the Sweet Potato Puree (with a secret ingredient!) we serve at Thanksgiving every year. I even have a tasty treat for you to make for your pups, Sweet Potato Dog Treats. My dogs can’t get enough of those bad boys! How do you serve up sweet potatoes?

On to the menu plan!

Printable grocery list for this week’s dinners (serves 6)

Monday: Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin with a mixed green salad and Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

Tuesday: French Dip Sandwiches on Noah Rolls, spinach salad and red grapes

Wednesday: Crockpot Pea Soup with Ham, Salad, Blender Corn bread and Apple Slices

Thursday: Chicken Kabobs, Seasoned Yellow Rice, Salad and Pineapple Chunks

Friday: Crustless Quiche, Homemade Turkey Sausage, Homemade GFCF Pumpkin Biscuits, mixed green salad and red grapes

Need more menu planning inspiration? Head over for Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday – November 18, 2013

November 18, 2013 by angelaskitchen 7 Comments

Do you realize it is only 1 1/2 weeks until Thanksgiving? Where did the year go? Yikes! But it is okay, we don’t have to panic. I have a handy Thanksgiving guide I’ll be following for our meal and to make the prep easier for me. I, for one, do not like to feel all harried on a holiday. I like to be able to relax and enjoy my family. That is where my guide comes in. It contains the recipes and steps I use for a delicious gluten free dairy free Thanksgiving, with a check list, time table, and a grocery list. I hope it helps make your holiday a relaxing and delicious one!

I’ll be hosting the Gluten Free Menu Swap this week. Woo-hoo! The theme is Thanksgiving Menus. I can’t wait to see what everyone is going to be cooking up for the big day. I love me some sweet potatoes… Mmmm… And pie. Lots and lots of pie (the day after Thanksgiving is known as “Pie for Breakfast Day” in our house.) Anyway, the easiest way to show you what we make for our big gluten free dairy free Thanksgiving is to give you the handy Thanksgiving guide that I put together. It has the recipes we use for our feast. Other Thanksgiving friendly deliciousness are Green Been Casserole (two ways) with Crispy Onions/Faux French’s, Veggie Tortilla Pinwheels (yummy appetizer), Celery Mashed Potatoes, Perfect Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Sweet Potato Puree with Bananas and “Buttered” Pecans, Apple Cranberry Squa s h, Spicy Thai Pumpkin Soup, and Apple Pie. My oldest daughter has been in charge of making the pumpkin pie since she was 7 years old and always bakes Impossible Pumpkin Pie to make our tummies happy. Yum! What are your family’s “Just Gotta Have It” dishes for Thanksgiving?

For some AMAZING desserts for the holiday season check out the Supergrain Dessert E-Book from Attune Foods.

Freezer cooking this week: I’ll be starting my Thanksgiving pre-prep this week by making stuffing bread from my Thanksgiving guide and gluten free pie crust. This Friday I will also be starting my annual bake-a-thon for Thanksgiving and Christmas by baking up a double batch of Ginger Snaps. I’ll be packaging 1/4 of the cookies for Thanksgiving, a 1/4 for Christmas and (after putting a few in the cookie jar) the rest will be stored in the freezer for gift giving. Cookies freeze really well, up to three months if packaged properly, so I like to take care of them ahead of time.

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The week’s breakfast options: Apple Cider Muffins or Carrot Cake Pancakes, fried or scrambled eggs (I like a bit of sautéed kale and garlic in mine), and various fruits.

The week’s lunch options: Nut or seed butter sandwiches (on banana bread or gluten free Amish Friendship Bread), Salmon & Sweet Potato Cakes, hard boiled eggs, various fruit, and veggie sticks.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Silver Dollar Pear Pancakes

Gluten Free Dairy Free Ground Turkey and Veggie Tortilla Casserole

Printable grocery list for this week’s dinners.

Monday: Silver Dollar Pear Pancakes, Homemade Turkey Sausage with fruit salad

For the freezer: Make two loaves of stuffing bread from Thanksgiving guide. Freeze one for left over turkey sandwiches on the Friday after Thanksgiving and one for stuffing.

Tuesday: Ground Turkey & Veggie Tortilla Casserole (from the freezer) with a romaine salad topped with cherry tomato, roasted peppers and Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

Wednesday: Cassoulet, steamed green beans and gluten free biscuits

For the freezer: Make gluten free pie crust. Shape into disks and freeze for when I make pies next week.

Thursday: Orange Marmalade Chicken and a mixed greens salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Friday: Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (from the freezer), a spinach salad topped with pecans, pears and Basic Viniagrette. For dessert, I’ll make a double batch of double batch of Ginger Snaps, some for dessert, the rest to freeze.

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What is everyone else serving up this week?

Kimberlee from The Peaceful Mom is cooking up Easy Chicken Stir-Fry with rice and Tropical Fruit Salad, Crock Pot Chili, Chili Cheese Fries (with leftover chili) with raw veggies and ranch dressing, Ham and Bean Soup, Pan Fried Pork Chops with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes, Black Bean Burritos with Cilantro Lime Rice, and BBQ Pork with baked beans and Broccoli Slaw Salad. For breakfast she has a tasty looking Veggie Breakfast Scramble on the menu, and for lunch, Italian Chicken Salad. Yummy!

Heather from Celiac Family has a whole bunch of awesome Thanksgiving inspiration to share, from the 2010 Thanksgiving Favorites to her Pinterest boards of yummy Thanksgiving worthy dishes. Head to her site for the links. So delicious! I can’t wait to browse. 🙂 For dinner this week she is dishing up Hamburgers with Sweet Potato Fries and Steamed Broccoli, Roasted Chicken with Red Potato and Green Bean Salad, Mexican Chicken Pizza (swoon!), Teriyaki Chicken Tenders with Sautéed Broccolini, and Baked Salmon with a Balsamic Glaze with Yellow Rice and Acorn Squash. Wow!

Lori from Gluten Free Week has Fajita Bowls, Chicken and Bok Choi Stir Fry, Chicken and Black Bean Tostada, Salmon and Broccoli and Cranberry Sauce, Red Beans and Rice, Chicken Tikka Masala and Dal on her menu this week. Go tasty!

Elisabeth from the Girl Who Couldn’t Eat Anything has a wonderful sounding menu of Breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs with veggies), Corn Chowder with coconut bacon, Sweet & Sour Stir Fry (with shrimp instead of chicken), Broccoli & Rice from Happy Herbivore, and Smoothie & popcorn night. Mmmmm!!!!

Amanda at Gluten Free Detroit Metro has a delicious sounding Thanksgiving planned with Oven Roasted Turkey, Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling (GF Bread & Stock), Garlic & Lemon Green Beans, Candied Yams, Cranberry Relish, am amazing looking Pumpkin Roll and Apple Tarts. For dinner this week she’ll be serving Chicken Chili, Cilantro Lime Shrimp over pasta, Cranberry & Orange Pancakes and Bacon, Meatless Chickpea Taco’s, and Cranberry Beef Roast over Mashed Potatoes.

This is being shared at Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.

Menu Monday – November 11, 2013

November 11, 2013 by angelaskitchen 2 Comments

Sorry I am getting this up so late this week. I am one tired momma… I had the fun of being in Tacoma this past weekend for the Gluten-Free Health & Wellness Experience for Attune Foods (love the Quinoa & Chia cereal). I met all kinds of really lovely people, saw some adorable little kiddos munching out on gluten free tastiness, and so wished I was closer to the speaker area because they had a wonderful lineup on Saturday. I was across from the Flying Apron Bakery (gluten free whole grain and vegan. The pumpkin muffins were amazing!) and GF Harvest (some of the best gluten free oats you will ever get) and next to Rudi’s who were featuring their gluten free Fiesta Tortillas (Yum!). That wasn’t what made me tired, because I get so energized chatting with people and talking gluten free with others passionate about it is inspiring. I am a sleepy-bear because I flew out at 11 p.m. Seattle time (1 a.m. ours) on Saturday night, then had a 4 hour layover in Chicago before finally getting home at 10 a.m. Sunday. (Please excuse me if I yawn a lot today…. zzzzz…)

Totally worth the overnight travel, though, because I missed my kiddos. This is how my youngest greeted me, the crazy little pickle. 🙂 My husband thinks she takes after me, for some reason…

Melissa of Mom’s Plans is hosting the Gluten Free Menu Swap this week. She picked Freezer Meals as the theme. Ya know I like that! You can find all my freezer meals on the big freezer meal tab at the top. I will be relying on freezer meals this week pretty much this exclusively this crazy week. On the weekend I will be doing a quick freezer inventory of what meals I have on hand. I want to know what I have on hand before heading into the holiday season. After that I’ll make a plan on what I am making ahead for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like to have quite a bit of my big holiday meals made ahead of time so that I can simply toss them into the slow cooker or oven, allowing me to relax and visit much more during the holidays. It makes for a much more relaxing holiday for the main cook! 🙂 Next week will be the start of my prep for the holidays, so keep an eye out for that!

Freezer cooking plan for the week: I will be serving meals from my freezer this week and doing a quick check this weekend to see what I need to make to have on hand for the upcoming holidays.

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The week’s breakfast options: Apple Cider Muffins or Carrot Cake Pancakes, fried or scrambled eggs (I like a bit of sautéed kale and garlic in mine), and various fruits.

The week’s lunch options: Nut or seed butter sandwiches (on banana bread or gluten free Amish Friendship Bread), Salmon & Sweet Potato Cakes, hard boiled eggs, various fruit, and veggie sticks.

Monday: Slow Cooker Pulled Italian Chicken and Kale (from the freezer) with Gluten Free Bavarian Pretzel Sandwich Rolls (I have some in the freezer), Baked Root Vegetable Fries

Tuesday: Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (from the freezer) over baked sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Enchilada Meatballs (from the freezer) with Spinach Salad

Thursday: Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore (from the freezer-yay!), Seasoned Green Beans (from the freezer), and mixed greens salad with Basic Vinaigrette

Friday: Asian Pork Roast in slow cooker (from the freezer) and Napa Cabbage Slaw

This is being shared at Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.

Menu Monday – October 28, 2013

October 28, 2013 by angelaskitchen 1 Comment

Heather at Celiac Family will be hosting the Gluten Free Menu Swap this week. The theme is “Slow Cooker.” If you have ever taken even the littlest peek at my blog, you know I have a deep love for my slow cooker. Well, I should say slow cookers (yes, I do have more than one. Eh-hem…) Any-hoo, all my slow cooker tastiness can be found on my Slow Cooker Recipe Page. Nom, nom, nom! I am cranking up the slow cooker love all week! What is your favorite thing to fix in the slow cooker?

Freezer cooking plan for the week: Asian Pork Roast and Slow Cooker Pulled Italian Chicken and Kale will both be making their way into my freezer this week.

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The week’s breakfast options: Walking Breakfast Muffins and Apple Pie French Toast Casserole.

The week’s lunch options: Pepperoni Pizza Muffins and Turkey and avocado or roast beef with tomato sandwiches made on Gluten Free Swedish “Rye” Bread, veggies and fruit.

Printable grocery list for this week’s dinners.

Monday: Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken with Sautéed Broccoli with Sunflower Seeds

Tuesday: Slow Cooker French Toast Casserole with Turkey Sausage and red seedless grapes

Wednesday: Asian Pork Roast in slow cooker and Napa Cabbage Slaw

For the freezer: Make a double batch of Asian Pork Roast, one batch for dinner and one for the freezer. While putting ingredients for one batch in slow cooker, put the ingredients for a second into a gallon sized freezer bag. Mix ingredients around, remove as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.

Thursday: Bar-B-Q Turkey Sloppy Joes with Gluten Free Italian Rolls (make double batch – saving half for dinner tomorrow) with mixed salad topped with dressing of choice

Friday: Slow Cooker Pulled Italian Chicken and Kale with leftover buns from Thursday, Baked Root Vegetable Fries and steamed broccoli

For the freezer: Make a double batch of Slow Cooker Pulled Italian Chicken and Kale in slow cooker. While eating dinner, allow second batch to cool in refrigerator. When dinner is finished, package in freezer safe container, remove as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.

Menu Plan Monday- September 10, 2012

September 10, 2012 by angelaskitchen 2 Comments

My menu plan is now sponsored by the great people over at Better Batter Flour. Stop by and say “Hi!” and check out all the fun. For more menu planning inspiration at Better Batter Flour, check out the gluten free vegetarian menu from Cindy of Vegetarian Mamma, the weekly menu from Kristi of Mommy Hates Cooking, and the informative gluten free articles from Gigi of Gluten Free Gigi. Thank you Better Batter Flour!

We are now officially in full swing of all activities this week. Piano and dance starts, joining XC practice, Girl Scouts, Boy scouts and youth group. This week I am thrilled to be able to go to a XC meet that both of my older kids are running in (Yay!) It is funny how even if you let each kiddo only do one or two activities how it adds up when you have three kids. Huh… Go figure! Maybe I should have paid more attention to my third grade math class. Apparently multiplication works! Fortunately for me, having a menu plan for my week really helps me when my kids and I have places to go, things to do.

On the chicken front, there have been …

Autumn Menu Plan

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