Saturday, March 26, 2011

An entire week of meals


I carried out my meal plan from the budget post with great results.  Along with not having to run to the store every other day, I also love that I don't have to think "What the heck am I going to cook for dinner?" every afternoon.   Check out everything I cooked after the jump!


Monday
Fish tacos with corn, avocado, tomato and lime salsa (dairy-free)

  Try to tell me this doesn't look awesome!  It was out of this world good and I am so glad that I am introducing more seafood into my diet.  It's light, easy, and quick to cook.  The salsa was so simple: frozen corn (I cooked it in a pan to get a little color on it), halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado (I used ½), and the juice of an entire lime.  I am crazy about lime juice lately, I want to use it on everything!

I baked the tilapia for the tacos and used corn tortillas.  I had a few tortillas leftover, so I baked those for a few minutes and made guacamole out of the other half of the avocado for chips.

Tuesday
Pesto linguine
My favorite pasta to use is by Ancient Harvest and is made with a blend of quinoa flour.  The starchiness is similar to wheat pasta, giving it the "normal" texture and it has a great flavor.  

Pesto is so quick to make, and occasionally I'll double the amount and freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays.  I use basil, spinach, walnuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil and sometimes a squeeze of lemon juice.  The spinach bumps up the healthiness of the pesto and adds to the bright green color.

Wednesday
Asian steak salad with spicy edamame (dairy-free)
Pan seared steak with peppers, lettuce and tomatoes...can't go wrong with that.  I cooked the edamame according to the package's directions, tossed with oil and lime juice, and sprinkled with crushed red pepper and sauteed garlic.

This dressing recipe is one of my favorites and the flavor packed into it is incredible.  I use it for marinades and dipping sauces as well, and carry it in a tiny container to Japanese restaurants to dip my edamame in.  You can easily alter any ingredients to taste, and keep in a jar in the fridge.

Asian dressing
2 -3 cloves garlic
Fresh ginger root
½ cup olive oil
½ cup gluten-free soy sauce, like San-J's tamari
⅓ vinegar (rice vinegar if you have it, white works fine as well)
A few tablespoons of honey (I used orange honey)
Water


Add it all into a food processor and you're done!  Quick, and only the measuring cup and food processor to clean.  Pour it into a jar and keep in the fridge.  Use for basically everything.


Thursday
Corn-meal crusted fish with lemon rice
This recipe is a true keeper.  I love reading the Rachel Ray magazine every month for dinner ideas and new products and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.  I used tilapia instead of halibut and was seriously amazed and thrilled with how tasty it was.  Check out the recipe here! It can easily be converted to dairy-free by omitting the parmesean cheese.

By the way, did you know that the magazine's website has a gluten-free section?  It's definitely worth poking around, especially if you are out of ideas for snacks and lunches.

Friday
Cheesy risotto
Risotto is one of my ultimate comfort foods.  It's hot and cheesy...that's all it takes. I love using Cabot cheeses because they are such a proudly gluten-free company and make it so easy for people with Celiac by clearly labeling the products.  Love them!

Cheesy risotto
Butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Green onions/scallions, sliced
Arborio rice (this kind is exactly 1¾ cup)
½ Dijon mustard
½ cooking wine
6 cups chicken broth (keep this in a separate pot, warm on the stove)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter and the oil in a large pan on medium low.  Add the green onions and saute for a couple minutes and add the Arborio rice, stir around and cover with the oil/butter.  Add the wine and mustard, and stir again.  This will dry out kind of quickly so keep an eye on it.  Once the rice absorbs the wine, add a ladle of broth.  Continue this until the rice is cooked and all the broth is used.  Add the cheese and another tablespoon of butter, and a ton of black pepper.

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