August 24 - 31

August 24 - Spinach, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Salad
I got this recipe from my sister years ago. It is an old standby around here. I serve it on top of what ever greens I have around. I usually double (or triple) the bacon and I don't always cook it stove top, either. If that is the case, just remember to add some of the bacon grease to the pan when you are sauteing the onion and pepper. You can use dried ginger if you don't have fresh (but fresh is better...and do you know about the trick of keeping your ginger in the freezer? It keeps longer and makes it super easy to mince/grate!) You can also use orange juice from concentrate if you don't have anything else on hand. If doing that, use the 3:1 ratio to make any amount needed. I also always use one yam and one sweet potato (that makes for more color on the plate, no other reason).

August 25 - Curry Chicken Salad
This, or something like it, is a standby for us. I usually serve with GF crackers or bread on the side and on a bed of greens. Easy, yummy, and great leftovers for lunch the next day. This would work well with turkey, too, in the even you had a roasted bird left over. I used a 1/4 cup of mayo and substituted plain yogurt for the sour cream. I used purple onion (be sure to soak in cold, salted water first!) and added about a 1/2 cup of chopped cashews to the whole thing. Even my friend who is wary of chicken salads and curry liked this and asked about the recipe. Here it is, Liz!

August 26 - Kale, Quinoa, and Chicken Burgers with Mixed Green Salad
These burgers are pre-made and from Costco. They are rad. The brand is Sabatino's. They taste great, are super easy to prepare, and are the perfect "oopps! I spent too much time on the blog today to cook" kind of dinner. I served them on a bed of greens and topped with a slice of melted Swiss cheese.

August 27 - Teriyaki Salmon with Peach Salsa and Steamed Broccoli 
I should have known better taking my salmon recipe from a blog titled "Cookie Rookie". This wasn't great. The salsa was lack-luster, didn't have enough flavor or heat (and that's saying something given that it is peach season!) and the fish was just ok. I don't love grilling, and especially not fish. Don't get me wrong, I love grilled food, especially fish. I am just not personally a grill-master just yet. I tried it anyway on this one and it didn't end well. I resorted to bringing it in and finishing it in the oven. It wasn't just the grilling, though, the sauce and use of molasses was off. I give this one a solid "meh".

August 28 - Gluten Free Pizza with Kale Caesar Salad
It was a big day in our house: the toddler had a successful deuce on the potty. Its been a long awaited and worked toward goal and we wanted to celebrate accordingly. Naturally, we had pizza for dinner. I bought a Caesar salad kit that was kale, spinach, and grated broccoli. We all liked it and it was a good way to justify the rest of our calorie and fat laden meal.

August 29 - Kebabs with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Mixed Green Salad with Mixed Berry Cobbler (Dessert)
We were invited to a friend's for dinner. They made kebabs with chicken, pineapple, and bell peppers. They marinated the chicken in a really nice teriyaki sauce that was excitingly GF from Costco.Yum. The salad was pretty simple but made a great bed for all the yummy kebab stuffs. And, the sweet potatoes were tossed in olive oil, salt, and cinnamon. The toddler inhaled those.

I can't take credit for the cobbler, my husband made that. Thanks hon! I think I liked it best of everyone. It wasn't too sweet and was even a little more like sponge cake than it was like cobbler. You could rectify that with more butter and sugar, of course, but I liked it. We topped it with whipped coconut cream (where you take the solid part of a can of coconut milk and whip it (use an electric mixer) until it resembles whipped cream). If you can't seem to get the solids to separate in your cans of coconut milk (like me), apparently it is supposed to work if you put the cans in the freezer, you can find straight up cans of coconut cream at Trader Joes and Whole Foods.

August 30 - Coconut Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Chips and Roasted Brussel Sprouts
These were TASTY! Remember the misadventure with coconut shrimp I had a few weeks back? I redeemed myself with coconut crust on this one. They were super easy and delicious. I think I decided on this night, however, that all turkey burgers should have a little shredded zucchini added to them, for moisture and texture. I served this with store-bought sweet potato chips (slurp) and roasted brussel sprouts. For those: chop the bottom and then slice them in half, slice one shallot and toss together with sprouts in olive oil, salt, and pepper (to taste). Roast for 10-20 minutes at 400ish. I take them out when the centers are tender and some of the outer leaves have begun to blacken. Ohmygoshsogood. These aren't your grandmas boiled sprouts, people!

August 31 - Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas with Jalapeno Cream Sauce
Wow was this time intensive, but DOUBLE WOW was it DARN GOOD! Everything about it was tasty. Only thing I would change is how much sauce to make. I would double it and add a bit to the bottom of the pan before I put the enchiladas in. We topped with sliced avocado which was good to cut through some of the heat (triple threat with the chipotle, cayenne, and jalapeno). Don't shy away from this, though, if you think it might be too hot. It really wasn't. It balanced out well with the cream sauce.