September 9 - 16

Remembering to take pictures of my dinner this week was, apparently, very challenging. You get two. Here's hoping for more next week!

September 9 - Cranberry Chicken Pilaf
I got this recipe from a friend, who got it from her mom, who got it from the newspaper in Boise, Idaho. How's that for a circuitous path to you? I've always liked it as a main course (served with about a 1/2 lb of chopped chicken or turkey and with a side of greens) but it would also make a great side dish to any harvest table. Double bonus: the toddler loves it. In fact, he asked for "more of the delicious pilaf" both the night we ate it and the next day. Woot-woot!

1 cup basmati rice
1/4 quinoa
2 3/4 cups chicken broth/stock
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 TBS butter or olive oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup grated carrots
Salt, to taste
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 lb cooked chopped chicken or turkey (this is a great use for leftovers)

In a medium sauce pan over high head combine the rice, quinoa, and broth/stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to simmer. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the cranberries, cover, and set aside for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the rice cooks, in a separate large skillet melt butter or heat oil. Add cinnamon, cumin,  and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds. Add onion and saute until it begins to soften (about 4 minutes). Add almonds and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice, quinoa, cranberry mixture to the onion mixture and mix well. Add chopped chicken or turkey and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving toss in chopped scallions. Serve with a side of greens.

September 10 - Shrimp Stir Fry
This was very good. It was a bit time-intensive to shred (or thinly chop) all the veggies, but well worth it. Especially to see the toddler pick up zucchini, pepper, and onion and slurp them into his mouth like noodles. Ha-ha! I've bested you this time, kiddo! I didn't serve it with rice, but it would have very easily taken to a side of some, with all that yummy sauce to soak up. And speaking of sauce, I couldn't find store-bought hoisin sauce, so I found this recipe to make my own. Very easy and very tasty. 

September 11- Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
I've made this before and will continue to make it again. It has a very satisfying crunch and it is pretty easy. I don't bother separating the dressing from the peanut sauce, rather, I just mix all the ingredients for the two together and then toss single servings of the salad with the dressing as I plate it (the veggies don't hold up super-well to dressing in the fridge, so if you plan to have leftovers this is a good bet). Also, I forgot about marinating my chicken until 2 hours before dinner, so that's all the longer it got and it turned out well. And, because I don't love the BBQ, I cooked it in the oven (350 for about 20 minutes) and it was just fine.

September 12 - Turkey Zucchini Burgers with Lemon Yogurt Sauce, Caprese Salad, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, and Yellow Tomato and Cucumber Salad

They're bah-aaack! I've made them 3 times since I started this blog. Each time for a crowd and each time to rave reviews. My mom now makes these as a go-to as well and she makes them into meatballs and serves them in a pita pocket. I like to serve them (any size) over a bed of greens so you can use the yogurt sauces as a dressing. I must remember to make a double batch next time I do these, though, because there is plenty of yogurt sauce to go around and they would reheat well.

The caprese was pretty straight forward: chopped vine-ripe red tomatoes, chopped basil, fresh mini balls of mozzerella (drained), salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

The oven fries were worth the work. All the prep in getting them soaked, rinsed, dried, and dredged pays off. I added some fresh rosemary to the mix while I was tossing them in seasoning, that was yummy. And, I used GF breadcrumbs in the coating, but I think you could honestly leave them out all together, there is enough other stuff on them that the bread crumbs were superfluous.

September 13 - Gluten Free Pizza with Kale, Cabbage, and Brussel Sprout Salad
Normally we wouldn't have pizza two weeks in a row, but a local grocery store is going out of business and I was able to score our favorite GF frozen pizza for 40% off. Then, I remembered that my freezer is tiny and I don't like having a frozen pizza in it because it takes up way too much space. So, excuses aside. Here's a replay on a favorite (albeit less than healthy) meal.

September 14 - Turkey Sandwiches
I got another bumper crop of tomatoes from not one but two friends, so I'm finding easy uses for them. I intend a home-made salsa, so stay tuned for that. For the sandwiches: I used GF bread, toasted it and smeared with hummus and avocado. Added sliced turkey, romaine lettuce, basil leaves, and sliced tomato. Simple and tasty.

September 15 - Breakfast for Dinner
When dad's away at a business dinner, we have breakfast for dinner. This was a tradition I remember from when I was a kid and my own dad traveled for work. I ADORED it. My mom used to make crepes. I don't get that fancy. Instead, we had GF toaster waffles, turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, and fresh strawberries. The toddler was starving by the time we ate on this night (thanks to two walks, preschool, and an afternoon of play with his BFF) so he cleaned his plate: wahoo!

September 16 - Zucchini, Bell Pepper, and Pesto Pasta Toss with Italian Meatballs.
It is "keep up with the garden goodies" season. I used the new food processor to shred the mammoth zucchini I got from my father-in-law last week and made 10 cups of shredded zucchini! I used some on the 12th for the turkey burgers, reserved 2 cups for this dish, and froze the rest. I'm not sure how shredded zucchini freezes, we shall see.


I've written about a rendition of this meal before: I obviously used GF pasta. I used pesto from the batch I made early in the summer. And I used pre-cooked Italian-style chicken meatballs (make sure you look to see yours are GF as many meatballs contain bread crumbs!).

Preheat the oven and cook/reheat the meatballs according to the package instructions. Chop a whole purple onion (or a couple of shallots which is what I used this time!), a red bell pepper, and grate your zucchini. Boil water for pasta and cook according to package instructions. Saute the onion (or shallot) and 3 cloves garlic until onion is translucent. Add pepper. Add 1/4-1/2 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. When pepper is crisp-tender, add zucchini, and 2 TBS of lemon juice. After the pasta is cooked and drained, toss it in the veggie mixture and toss to coat with about 1/2 cup of pesto. Stir in cooked meatballs or serve them on the side. Sprinkle everything with Italian herbs (fresh or dried) of your choosing and serve with grated parmesan and fresh greens.