Gluten-Free Diet Menu Plan for the Week of April 15, 2012

Hi Everyone!

Here’s my gluten-free diet menu plan for this week. I’m especially fond of the short rib sandwich on Day 2. Give it a try… I hope that you will like it as much as I do.

Day 1

Lunch: Cream of Asparagus Soup

You can serve this delicious treat with or without the cornbread and the asparagus spears on the side. My husband, Al, really enjoyed his when I served it to him for lunch last week. He did say that he really liked it but that it needed more salt and pepper, so be sure to season to your particular taste!

Gluten-Free Cream of Asparagus Soup

Dinner: Pork Loin, Boneless, Oven-Roasted

With Carrots, Celery and Cauliflower

Mashed Potatoes

This pork loin really is as tender and succulent as it looks in the picture. When I serve this to my family I sometimes need to hide some of it so we can have it for lunch or a quick dinner later in the week.

Pork Loin, Boneless - Oven-Roasted and Gluten-Free

Boneless Pork Loin and Vegetables - Oven-Roasted and Gluten-Free

I particularly like the veggie side dish! I add the vegetables at the same time that I put the roast in the roasting pan. The flavors mingle for an absolutely wonderful combination of flavors.

Although I don’t show the mashed potatoes in the picture, they are excellent with a pool of yellow butter on top and a sprinkling of pepper. Not only will they taste good but the whole plate is quite pretty when served.

Dessert: Pineapple Sorbet with Ginger Snaps from Mary’s Gone Crackers

Day 2

Lunch: Spinach Salad with Broccoli, Carrot and Grape Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Just about my all-time favorite lunch is a spinach salad. Make one with the ingredients that I’ve listed and you’ll have a quick, nutritious lunch with the excitement of the vinaigrette against the sweet flavor of the grape tomatoes between your teeth.

Don’t care for a vinaigrette dressing? Try a mild ranch… Should be great with either.

Dinner: Beef Short Ribs, Boneless (a crockpot recipe)

I do a lot of crockpot recipes because they are so easy. I work in my home office with my husband (he hates it when I call him “hubby” but he’s just so cuddly and cute it’s hard not to) but I really don’t have a lot of time for cooking. And, crockpot recipes don’t take a lot of time.

When the short ribs are done, I take them out of the crockpot and slice them thin on my cutting board. Then I put the slices on a sandwich bun like

Boneless Beef Short Ribs - Decked Out And Ready To Eat!

you see in the picture, along with Onion and Pepperoncini Pepper (Schar Ciabatta buns makes a good sandwich, and they now have a multigrain version, too). Or you can whip up a loaf of focaccia bread if you think it might be good. Shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes might be a good addition, too.

Dessert: Pears and Berries Fruit Cup

Day 3

Lunch: Leftover Beef Short Ribs Sandwich

Yum! Yum! One of my family’s favorites.

Dinner: Chicken Stir-fry With Broccoli & Pepper but with Asparagus and Celery instead of the broccoli & pepper

I’m doing a lot of recipes with asparagus this week because it’s fresh in the stores right now and my family absolutely loves asparagus spears. They munch on them just for a snack and will often ask for them in salads or steamed as a side for dinner.

Gluten-Free Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli & Peppers

This recipe isn’t as easy as the crockpot entrees from yesterday and the day before but they are quick and you can be serving your Chicken Stir-fry on a bed of rice within ½ hour after you start.

Side Dish: Roasted Sweet Potato Sticks (sort of a sub for Chow Mein Noodles – like Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Sweet Potato Fries)

Dessert: Pecan Pie Minis (with whipped cream for those with a sweet tooth)

Day 4

Lunch: Broccoli Slaw from the Mommy Bowl (can be raw or cooked)

Dinner: Shrimp Gumbo,with Rice

I grew up in the South so I have a soft spot in my gluten-free diet menu plans for Shrimp Gumbo. This delicious recipe is chock full of nutrition and delicate flavors. My husband is an okra and shrimp fan so this dinner is always a welcome addition to dinnertime.

Gluten-Free Shrimp Gumbo - Light

Personally, I’m really quite a fan of the chopped bell peppers, onions, celery and the diced tomatoes.

Side Dish: Black-Eyed Pea Salad

This is a fabulous addition to the Southern Shrimp Gumbo dinner. A Black-eyed Pea Salad… How much more southern can a salad get?

Gluten-Free Blackeyed Pea Salad with Tomato for Garnish

Breadsticks (Glutino has some good Sesame Breadsticks)

Dessert: Chocolate Chip Almond Bars

These Almond Bars are a great dessert. Served with a side of milk, they are sure to bring out the “KID” in your whole family.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Almond Bars with Milk

Day 5

Lunch: Leftover Black-Eyed Pea Salad on Lettuce

Dinner: Tamale Pie (I have some leftover Chili and Beans in the freezer, so this will be easy!)

Everyone in my house loves my gluten-free chili and beans. But, they do get a bit tired of it if I serve it too often.

Gluten-Free Tamale Pie Hot from the Oven

I came up with a great way to disguise the chili and beans so they don’t realize that’s what they are eating.

I make a tamale pie with it.

They still get the great chili taste that they love along with excellent nutrition of my chili and beans recipe without getting bored.

Side Dish: Spring Salad Greens, Cucumber and Green Onion with Ranch Dressing

Dessert: Grapefruit halves

Day 6

Lunch: Tomato Cannellini Bean Soup from Heather at Gluten-Free Cat on The Balanced Platter although I’ll leave out the peppers from my husband’s version.

Dinner: Fish Fillets Fried with Cornflake Crumb Breading made with Pollock

We’ve had gluten-free fish breaded a number of different ways, but when I cooked them with cornflake crumbs recently, we thought it had the best all-around flavor and texture of any that I’ve cooked.

Fish Fillets Pan-Fried with Cornflake Crumb Breading

Don’t forget to have some fresh lemon wedges or some tartar sauce ready to serve with this entree.

Sides:

Steamed Broccoli with Lemon

Sweet Black Thai Rice with Sunflower Seeds

Dessert: Oatmeal Spice Cookies with Dates and Pecans

This dessert is a great treat with milk or coffee on the side… They almost demand dunking.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Spice Cookies with Dates & Pecans

Day 7

Lunch: Split Pea Soup with Carrots, Celery and Onion – Even Ham, Too – in the Crockpot

My husband, who is a die-hard Campbell’s Soup man, makes an exception for this home-made Split Pea Soup that I’ve made for years. I came up with it when my youngest son was a toddler…

Gluten-Free Split Pea Soup with Carrots, Celery and Onion - Even Ham, Too - in the Crockpot

… He’s now 35. It always has been gluten-free so it works well as either a stand-alone lunch or as an appetizer for a full meal in any gluten-free diet menu plan.

Dinner: Pepperoni Pizza Bread

My husband absolutely hates home made pizza… especially the frozen ones from the grocery store. But it seems like he can never get enough when I make this dinner treat.