April 2010 Dinner Plans

Note: Until I make the meal I'm going to link to the site where I got the recipe/idea from. I'll post my version and/or comments after I've made the meal.

Fish in a Packet
Chicken and Dumplings (for my husband's birthday...not Endo diet friendly...I'm having leftover fish)

Easter Dinner:
 Crockpot Easter Lamb
 Mashed Potatoes (with olive oil instead of butter and almond milk instead of regular milk)
 Broccoli in Coconut Milk (with almonds for me and cheese for my husband)

Crockpot Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes-Endo Diet Friendly version
Meatloaf and Meatloaf- Endo Diet Friendly Version (I'm making a regular one for my husband and an Endo diet friendly one for me)
Pina Colada Shrimp
Chicken in Almond Butter Satay Sauce
Crockpot Acorn Squash Stuffed with Turkey, Apple, Cranberries and Pecans
Enchiladas in Green Sauce
Spaghetti and Meatballs (beef for my husband and turkey Endo Diet friendly for me)

Crockpot Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes- Endo Diet Friendly Version

I made this recipe a couple of months ago before starting the Endo diet.  It's originally from A Year of Slow Cooking.  Luckily it's really easy to make Endo diet friendly, you just don't have the cheese (well, I won't but I'll put in on my husband's portion).

Pesto:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (I like it with limes)
4 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh basil
2 tablespoons pinenuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pecans (etc)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 chicken breast halves
sliced mozzarella cheese (optional)
aluminum foil or parchment paper
4 small sweet potatoes or a mix of sweet potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes, washed well, skin on

In a food processor or blender, combine the ingredients for your pesto. When liquidy, taste. If you need to add more citrus or salt or pepper, do so now.

In the bottom of a large slow cooker, arrange your chicken pieces. Pour pesto evenly on top. Cover with a layer of foil or parchment paper. Scrub sweet potatoes well, prick with a fork, and lay them on top of the paper or foil. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. If your chicken is frozen it will take a bit longer. 

Carefully remove the potatoes with tongs, and remove foil or parchment. 

For any portions that are having cheese, you can put the cheese on top of the chicken and place under the broiler until the cheese melts.

Crockpot Jamaican Pumpkin Soup

I wasn't impressed.  It wasn't pumpkiny enough.  Here's the link to the original recipe at A Year of Slow Cooking.

Shrimp Primavera

I made this as Lenten Friday meal.  Both my husband and I liked it a lot, and it's pretty easy to make.  I based this off of Mom's Pasta Primavera from Simply Recipes, but I used olive oil instead of tomato sauce because we've had a lot of tomato sauce lately.

3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 cloves, garlic
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to taste
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 lb pasta (gluten free for endo diet)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lb boiled shrimp

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.  Add vegetables and Italian seasoning, and cook for about 15 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  After draining pasta, toss with a bit of olive oil and Italian seasoning.

After vegetables have cooked for 15 minutes, add tomatoes and cook for 1-2 additional minutes or until tomatoes have soften.  Mix vegetables, pasta, and shrimp in serving bowls.  Leave shrimp separate for any servings that will be leftovers and add after reheating.

Serves 4.

Grecian Chicken with Pasta

This recipe is from Gluten-Free Cooking for Dummies.  It was pretty good but the original doesn't have enough sauce, so I'm going to double the sauce ingredients.

3 tbsp olive oil
4-6 chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups tomato sauce
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb gluten-free pasta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute the chicken and onions in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the chicken is browned on both sides.  Transfer to a roasting pan.

Stir in the tomato sauce, chicken broth, white wine, cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Bake for 1 hour, until the chicken is very tender, covering with foil if necessary to prevent excess browning.

Boil the pasta until just barely tender, and drain.  Stir spaghetti into the chicken and sauce and return to the oven for 15 minutes, stirring the spaghetti every 5 minutes, adding water if necessary.

Serves 4-6.

Vegetable Ratatatouille

I found this recipe in The Gluten-Free Vegan book.  I've removed the peppers and mushrooms that were in the original recipe since I don't really like them.  I also didn't use the sweet potatoes or garbanzo beans this time since I didn't feel like having them.  I made my husband some steak and I ate it with lentils and pinto beans.  I thought it turned out well (despite forgetting to add the garlic), but I'm definitely in need of a break from tomatoes.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

3 large carrots, chopped

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 small zucchinis, sliced

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 tbsp basil

1 tsp Italian seasoning 

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp coarse kosher salt

Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onions.  Saute until it begins to soften, then add the carrots, eggplant, and garlic.  Continue to saute for 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini, tomatoes, vegetable stock, and seasonings, and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender but not mushy.  Season with salt and pepper, and adjust herbs if desired.

Serves 4.

Crockpot Chicken "Makhani"- the Endo Diet modified version

Here's the original recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking that I mostly followed last time.  I'm modifying it to make it Endo Diet friendly.  Using 3-4 breasts leaves enough sauce to eat separately with some rice. Yummy.

4-6 chicken breasts
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil (unrefined, unbleached)
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp mild curry
2 tsp garam masala (I found this in the Asian section at my local store label Chicken Masala...there are other slight variations)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
juice of 1/2 large lemon or 1 small
1 cup almond paste  (this is NOT the baking almond paste)


Almond Paste
1 3/4 cup almonds, soaked overnight
Water


Blanch almonds by putting in boiling water for exactly 7 seconds.  Place immediately in a large bowl of ice water and pop off skins.  Grind in food processor, adding water as needed to make a paste.


Put chicken in crockpot and add garlic, onion, and all the spices.  Add the coconut oil and tomato paste, and then the lemon juice and coconut milk.  Cook on 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.  Add almond paste about 15 minutes before serving and stir in.


Serves 4-6.

Shepherd's Pie

I based this off of the Simply Recipes's Easy Shepherd's Pie.  I used half ground turkey (for me...to make it Endo Diet-friendly) and half ground beef (to make it husband friendly) and put cheese only on his half.  It was good but the meat could have used a bit of sage, thyme and/or rosemary since I didn't use Worchestershire sauce (I was pretty much out and I looked at the ingredients...and decided not to buy it).  I definitely add some of those next time.  You can add additional or different vegetables depending on what you like and have around.

1 1/2 lbs ground meat (lamb, beef, turkey or any combination)
3-4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 head of broccoli, chopped
2-3 shallots, chopped
2 lbs. potatoes (I used red), scrubbed and quarted, but not peeled
4-6 tbsp olive oil
1 cup almond milk (or other alternative milk)
Shredded cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Put potatoes in a large pot of cold water, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 20 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, saute carrots, broccoli, and shallot in about 2-3 tbsp olive oil for 5-7 minutes, then add meat and brown meat.  Remove from heat, add spices and mix throughly.

Place meat and vegetable mix in a baking dish or large casserole.  Drain potatoes and place them back in the hot pot they were cooked in. Mash potatoes, adding remaining olive oil and alternative milk.  Spread mashed potatoes on top of the meat and vegetable mix.  Add cheese if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serves 4-6.

Enchiladas

This recipe is based off a recipe in the Sneaky Chef book.  I used pinto beans and chicken (both are Endo Diet-friendly), but you could use ground beef or turkey like the recipe in the book.  My husband and I liked it but I should have add just a tad more cumin.

1 lb chicken breasts, ground beef, ground turkey or 2 cups cooked beans (or any combination of these)
2 cloves garlic, chopped or about 1 1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
1 onion, chopped
1 10 oz can tomato puree
1/4 cup Orange Puree
1/4 cup White Puree
1/4 cup White Bean Puree
1/2 cup Green Puree
at least 1/2 tbsp cumin
at least 1 tsp oregano
at least 1/2 tbsp pepper
at least 1 tsp coriander
shredded cheese (optional- not Endo Diet friendly, but I put it in the ones for my husband)
at least 8 small tortillas (corn are Endo Diet friendly most of the time)

Mix spices, tomato puree and other purees in a medium bowl to make the enchilada sauce.

For ground meat, cook onions and garlic for about 5 minutes over medium heat, then add in and brown ground meat.  Then mix in half the enchilada sauce.

For chicken, put chicken breasts in a small sauce pan with half the enchilada sauce.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours and then shred chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After filling is cooked, light grease the bottom of large casserole or baking dish with olive oil and then coat with half the remaining enchilada sauce.  Fill with filling and cheese (if using) and roll enchilada, placing seam side in dish.  After all enchiladas are rolled, spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese (optional).  Bake for 20 minutes or until light browned.

Serves 4-6.