Welcome to your weekly peek into my kitchen at dinner time. This was my first full week going dairy-free. It hasn’t been too difficult to find my go-to recipes without dairy, but a week without cheese is still a sad week in my book. Nonetheless, there was some serious tastiness for dinner this week. Check it out.
Sunday
Black Pepper and Molasses Pulled Chicken from Cooking Light. I’ve made this recipe countless times and we love it. It’s a quick and easy one that I especially like because it calls for chicken thighs. When you’re buying organic chicken, using thighs and legs is a huge money saver. We had these on sprouted whole grain buns with simply roasted cauliflower and some melon on the side. Luke decided he wanted to be fed right in the middle of dinner prep, which led to me slightly burning the chicken mixture. It was still good, but not nearly as good as it usually is. If you decide to try this recipe, don’t leave out the pickle! It is totally necessary.
Monday
Roasted vegetables and grilled polenta with an arugula salad. I used different vegetables than the picture shows, but it was the same idea. This is a budget-friendly meal and what’s not to like about roasted veggies and grilled polenta?
Tuesday
In honor of Fat Tuesday, we had veggie pancakes. I used all sweet potatoes for the veggies this time. I just love having breakfast for dinner and when it’s pancakes I’m especially happy. You better believed I savored the maple syrup I drizzled on top as my last taste until the end of Lent. This is one dinner that Meghan devours every last bite without hesitation.
Wednesday
Roasted Portobello Fajitas. We hadn’t had these in way too long. Don’t you love it when you rediscover a favorite recipe?
Thursday
Quinoa Vegetable Stew. This is quickly becoming a new favorite. Why didn’t I use quinoa in a stew sooner? We had another arugula salad on the side.
Friday
{Please excuse the blurry iPhone photo} This dinner included Emril Lagasse’s Fish in a Pouch, roasted red potatoes with rosemary, and kale chips. I used wild Alaskan cod for the fish, and it was way too fishy for me. I really want to like cod, because I’ve read that wild Alaskan cod is low mercury and has all the health benefits of wild Alaskan salmon, but it’s much cheaper. I can only stomach fish if it’s really mild and doesn’t have a fishy taste, and this was pretty fishy. The recipe was decent, but I don’t think I’ll be buying cod anymore.
Saturday
Meghan had a birthday party to attend during dinner time, and they served pizza. I was drooling and starving; I can’t tell you how much I wanted a piece! I wouldn’t be able to go dairy-free for anyone other than my sweet little Luke. It’s hard. So on the way home I stopped at the grocery store and got a Amy’s Kitchen Roasted Vegetable No Cheese Pizza as I was totally craving pizza after the party. Tim had some pasta while we were out. (One of the things he can cook on his own…)
Have you found any fun new recipes lately? Please share!
Need more dinner inspiration? Here are my meal plans from previous weeks:
my grandmother use to make delicious potato pancakes- one of my favorites as a kid! and i love a good thick stew, yours looks delicious!
I agree with the chicken thighs thing… plus they are more forgiving cooking-wise (don’t dry out so much) and you don’t need to add fat/oil to them as they contain more. Such a $$$ saver the rate my partner eats chicken 🙂
Bummer on the cheese-missing front…. do you like nutritional yeast?
I do like nutritional yeast. I don’t think it tastes anything like cheese though. 🙂
I really appreciate these posts. And I like that you have included links to other recipes you like. Thanks for taking the time to share!
You’re welcome!
I can feel your pain on the “dairy free”. I did it for a year!
Did he outgrow his sensitivity/allergy?
Yes, he outgrew it which is very common. I slowly introduced dairy into my diet after his first birthday and went from there. He did fine with it.
Mmmmm love veggies pancakes!! And breakfast for dinner any day too. Sad week with no dairy, but you rocked it!
Polenta sounds so good right now! I’ve been wanting to make if for weeks but never get around to it!
I can’t imagine how hard it was to stay away from the pizza but Luke it so lucky to have a mom who really cares about him!
I just bookmarked the pancakes and the molasses chicken. Thanks for the inspiration!
Love that pulled chicken recipe! I know my hubby would love that one – it sounds delicious! Staying away from pizza is REALLY hard. It’s probably the hardest food for me to control myself around. But I know I could hold off if it was for my little one. Just remember that it won’t be forever! 🙂 Thankfully, Amy’s pizzas are tasty – not exactly the same – but still tasty. 🙂