December Monthly Menu

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Monday- burrito, french Dip Stroganoff Taco
Tuesday- vegetable beef, chicken noodle, white chili, crm chz chicken soup
Wednesday- Fish taco, chicken, Salmon, whole chicken
Thursday- chili/taco soup crn brd wffle, lasagna, Mom's ham casserole Spaghetti Pie
Friday-kids/date mac and chz, nachos, grilled cheese
Saturday- Try something new
Sumnday- Hubby cooks

Oatmeal Pumpkin Pancakes

These pumpkin pancakes are delish. We added pecans to the adults pancakes. They were moist inside and reminded me of pumpkin pie. They are gluten free if you use gluten free oats and they don't have any dairy. We topped them with pure maple syrup.

Here is the link with the recipe. We timed it by 4, and it fed us barely. Next time I will multiply the recipe by how ever many people we have.

http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2011/09/oatmeal-pumpkin-pancakes/

Spinach Salad

This is my new favorite salad dressing. This recipe gets rave reviews at potlucks and even at my own dinner table, at least from the adults. The kids have yet to try it, but that means more for Glenn and I!

1 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/4 cup agave nectar (I use a little less)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2.In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

This is so moist and very tasty!

1 1/2 c. Flour (I used 1/2 almond meal, almost 1 c. spelt flour, 2T Garbonzo bean flour)
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
Pinch salt
3 ripe bananas
2 egg whites
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4c. agave nectar or a little more
1/4 c oil (I used 1/2 butter and 1/2 safflower oil)
1/2 c chocolate chips (any kind)

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat Bananas until smooth. Add egg whites and beat until combined. Gradually mix in applesauce, honey and oil.

Mix dry ingredients on top of wet and then combine them. Stir in chocolate.

Spray 9 X 5 in loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bak for 25 minutes, or until browned on top.

Serves 12
Approx = 182 calories, 6g fat, 32 carbs, 3 fiber, 16 sugars, 3g protein

Balsamic Vinaigrette

I'm a reanch dressing girl.  This is the one dressing that I don't mind having instead of ranch, plus it has healthy fat and NO sugar. 

I put it on a bed of mixed spring salad, cilantro and red peppers. Yummo! Did I just say yummo? What's wrong with me?

Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil(I like less oil so I do a bit less than 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove crushed garlic (or a teaspoon of minced in a jar)
1 teaspoon ground mustard (Or a teaspoon of prepared mustard)
1 pinch salt
ground black pepper to taste

Shake and Enjoy.