Menu Plan Monday: This Week's Menu!

*Laugh* I really tried to think of something clever to follow up the Menu Plan intro and my mind is just completely blanked.  Love those moments.  I think the total of 2 hours of sleep (sporadic at that) I, my husband and my son got last night (I'm not sure what is up with the kiddo the last week, but he'll just wake up SCREAMING after about an hour of sleep and just be super cranky and nasty all night long.  Not fun) just sort of made my brain stop functioning.

So, I've decided to do what I like to call, "sneaky gluten free cooking" when it comes to our menu plans for a while (I'll put good old gluten containing things in about once a week or something to keep the hubby happy) just to cut down on the gluten in our diet for the sake of MY stomach and, honestly, I'm hoping that by cutting down things like corn and gluten that maybe, possibly, we might start to heal some of Alvah's internal troubles and help his eczema issues clear up a bit.  Least I can hope.

So, here's the menu plan for this week.  I'll share recipes as I make them (if they turn out edible that is).  So, here's what I'll be making this week.  Breakfast and lunch are always sort of "put in an order and I'll make it for you" with my daughter and with my son...whatever he'll eat goes onto a plate and hopefully he'll graze.  So, I'm going to focus on supper fair.  Per usual this menu will be completely garlic, peanut and oat free (not likey cross contamination issues in the house).

Monday:  

• Balsamic Honey Mustard Pork (made with Lingonberry Mustard from Salmonberry Origins on Etsy.   On the fly recipe on my part.  Here's hoping it turns out good. 
• Rice Pilaf
• Home made apple sauce from pantry

Tuesday:

• Chicken and Cheesy Rice Casserole (this is an awesome new recipe I sort of discovered by accident one night out of desperation for something to make for dinner that I'll share later in the week.  Warning to those trying to avoid any preservatives...it calls for Velveeta.  Sorry! :)

Wednesday:  

• Steak with home made Montreal Steak Seasoning (recipe coming soon)
• Chard from pantry
• Shallot Mashed Potatoes

Thursday:

•  Orange Brined Chicken.  The recipe link links you to a duck recipe from Alton Brown.  I just use the EXACT same brine, cutting out the garlic and adding in a bit more thyme and shallots and use it on a whole roasting chicken.  Makes a majorly awesome bird!
• White Rice
• Mixed Veggies with dill

Friday:

• Meatloaf (I use rice crumbs and it makes a darn fine meatloaf)
• Potato Cakes (sans the cran apple relish part of the recipe).
• Glazed Carrots made with home made ginger ale.  Ohhhh yeah!

Saturday: 

• Leftovers

Sunday:

• Breakfast dinner (usually consisting of pancakes, since my son will eat them like a champ, some type of meat product for the hubby and eggs).

"Having Fun With Your Food" recipes for this week:

• Balsamic Pork with Ligonberry Mustard
• Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Quinoa...Yes you read that right.  I'm going to work on a new recipe of my own here.  Okay, so Gluten Free Easily challenged me to try this and have some fun with my food, so darn it I'm going to try it and see if I can make a decent oatmeal substitute with Quinoa.  Wish me luck here!