August 5 - 13

It has been a tasty week (+ 2 days) in our house. Hope you can enjoy some of these yummy recipes.

August 5 - Honey Sriracha Chicken with Steamed Broccoli
This was a second-time dish for us because the first time I made it we devoured it and my husband said we needed to add it to our repeat list. If you like sweet and heat, this one is for you. I think you could easily adapt it to be a crockpot dish, too. We aren't lovers of dark meat so I used chicken breasts and it turned out fine. If you're making it GF be sure to use tamari instead of soy sauce. I also like to use rice vinegar instead of plain white vinegar, it is a little sweeter and more delicate. Served this on top of a bed of steamed broccoli and called it good.

August 6 - GF Freschetta Pizza with Caesar Salad
Some nights are just pizza nights. We have converted to frozen pizzas now that I'm GF as I have experienced that as a safer bet than any prepared in a fresh kitchen where wheat flour is being used to toss all the dough. Freschetta is a decent one. I made a caesar salad from a kit ('cause I'm classy like that) and left out the croutons.

August 7 - Jalapeno Popper Meatballs with Kale Salad
Holy Moses were these good. My husband couldn't get over them, or, for that matter, that I served bacon wrapped meatballs for dinner. If you've known me a while, you know I'm a recovering vegan. He's been with me for nearly 16 years, so he's seen all sorts of cuisine and food aversions. I think he is still in a bit of shock about how much animal protein we eat. Thanks, gluten. To balance out all the animal protein and fat I served this with my old-standby kale and brussel sprout salad (sans crouton) that I get from Fred Meyer.

For the meatballs: I halved everything for our family of 3 and it was still plenty. You could keep the filling doubled and just put more in per ball, that would be easy and tasty. I also think you could add more jalepeno in general. And, if you aren't in a "bacon wrapping" kind of mood, you could certainly incorporate some pre (or at least par) cooked bacon into the meatball mix. We did struggle a bit getting the bacon crispy enough for our liking. While the broiler worked fairly well I actually found that they were best the next day when I reheated (and therefore crisped the bacon) stove-top.

August 8 - Southwest Grilled Sweet Potato Salad
We went to two different summer BBQ's this weekend. Such. Fun. To the first one I brought this tasty salad that was a big hit. It was very easy to make and was a surprisingly yummy conglomeration of a potato salad and a Texas caviar. Since I had just done it for dinner on the 7th I roasted another jalepeno, chopped it, and tossed it in with this. It was yummy. I also added about a half of a raw jalepeno, chopped to this as well as doubled the green onion and cilantro because it needed brightening overall (especially with the sweet potatoes). The only other things we would be careful about next time is cooking time on the sweet potatoes. They got just a touch mushy by the time we incorporated them into the rest of the dish. Less time on the grill would have probably been good. But, we had just come from "Big Truck Day" and we were all a little taxed.

I ate this with a grilled salmon burger and fresh fruit salad and it was DELISH. Who needs gluten with a meal like this?

August 9 - Fatty-Nutty-Cheesy-Beans
The second of the two weekend BBQ's was equally as delightful. We brought wine, of course, and a made-up dish that I'm now calling FNC Beans. I toasted pinenuts, crisped some bacon, steamed some green beans (and now remember, when I say steam, I mean until they are bright green and still crisp-tender) and tossed them all together with olive oil and lemon juice. I topped with shaved (with a vegetable peeler) parmesean. Nom. Nom. Nom. Our hosts made salmon, chicken, salad, brussel sprouts and dessert. Really, it was a summer feast. Good company, good view, and good food. What's not to like?

August 10 - Garlic Herb Roasted Shrimp with Roasted Veggies and Garlic Toast
So. Freaking. Easy. I should almost be against a rule or something.  I do nothing different for the shrimp except half the recipe when making it for just the three of us. I use a similar combination of flavors for the veggies, too. I chop a summer squash, zucchini, and red onion. Saute the onion with garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the summer squash and zucchini with salt and pepper and Italian seasoning mix (basil and oregano will due if you don't have a mix). The garlic toast was GF hot dog buns that were getting stale in the freezer. I sliced them lengthwise, topped with butter and olive oil (yay for omega 3 fatty acids!) and garlic powder and just toasted along side the shrimp until golden brown.

August 11 - Mediterranean Chicken with Basmati Rice and Tossed Green Salad 
This dish is also an old stand-by. I use chicken breasts and add some olive oil and broth to the mix to keep it from getting to dry or burned. Mostly I use large Spanish olives but I ran out this time and used small ones (had to de-pimento each of them...ugh!) and I think I liked them better. They just sort of fell apart in the sauce and added more flavor than anything else.

I make the basmati rice stove top (I find the rice cooker makes it too sticky) and my secret ingredient is to use chicken broth/stock instead of water. That adds enough fat to keep the rice fluffy and gives it a great balance of flavor. It also adds some good fat and a touch of protein in the event that all my toddler eats is rice. I almost never top with chopped parsley, mostly because it is usually too late, or I'm too tired, or I've forgotten it completely. It goes just fine without.

For the salad I put what I like, which is easy this time of year and with the abundance from all the friendly gardeners (and gardens) in our life: cucumber, tomato, carrot, pepper, green onion, and mixed greens.

August 12 -Out at Joe's Burgers
We went out after a fun afternoon doing some "back to school" shopping for our little guy. He's all equipped now with a back pack, lunch pail, shorts, shirts, underwear, and jammies. All of the above are either pink or have something to do with trucks or music. Love that kid. He starts preschool two mornings a week in September. How'd that happen?!

August 13 - Kale and Quinoa Chicken Burgers (from Costco) with Sweet Potato Fries and Green Salad
It was a leftover and freezer meal kind of night. The burgers I found in the refrigerated section of Costco and they are very flavorful and easy to use. I didn't even bother with a GF bun or any toppings. We used the good old Alexia sweet potato fries and left over green salad from August 11. Tasty. Healthy. Easy. Good.

Until next week, eat well and be well!