Happy Monday to you! News Flash : I’ve gone gluten free as of a few weeks ago… my stomach is grateful, but goodness I miss real bread 🙁 Thankfully Trader Joe’s is saving me in this transition with all their GF options. I’ll be including notes on my recipes about how I’m adapting recipes to our new lifestyle. So far the kids haven’t really caught on/complained! 😉 This past week was all Halfbaked Harvest. (all images credited to her!) Love that girl! Here’s what we ate…

SUNDAY //

Huevos Rancheros Tacos
notes: this was a super easy meal to whip up. Corn tortillas in keeping with the GF theme. I bought the TJ’s low guilt guac (our fave) and just used TJ’s pico de gallo instead of making her tomato salsa. Fresh and yum.

On the Side : Fruit Salad

MONDAY //

Vietnamese Meatball + Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl
notes: If you had told me 3 years ago that all of my kids would eat this up and even declare it delicious, I would have laughed in your face. It goes to show how being persistent in cooking healthy nutritious meals and encouraging your kids to eat them really does pay off in the long run. Seriously. And these bowls were honestly amazing. I omitted the lemongrass (because I couldn’t find it) and doubled the meat/sauce to feed our crew. I find, a key with halfbaked harvest is to edit, as necessary. For our toppings we did : shredded carrot, sliced persian cukes, mango (frozen + thawed), and fresh mint. Trader Joe’s was selling sweet potato sliced up into rectangle slivers in the produce section (along with the diced squash etc) and it was the perfect base. This was an explosion of fresh flavors which was welcome on a cold winter night.

On the Side : TJ’s chicken spring rolls (frozen section)

TUESDAY //

Lightened Up Salsa Verde Enchiladas w/ Pineapple Avocado Salsa
notes: Again the GF corn tortillas saving the day here. I definitely recommend not skipping the pineapple avocado salsa. The combination of the two really makes this recipe. I omitted the poblano & jalapeno peppers to make this a bit less spicy and went with all Monterey Jack cheese instead of the cheddar/pepper jack. Serve each enchilada with a generous scoop of sour cream and the pineapple salsa.

On the Side : Chips + Salsa, TJ’s Salad Kit

WEDNESDAY //

Date Night | Julia made Mini Chicken Pot Pies + Applesauce
notes: These were easy and great for Julia to put together. We ended up with a ton of extra filling, which we’ll be using again for a pot pie later this week…

THURSDAY //

Sheet Pan Cuban Chicken w/ Citrus Avocado Salsa
notes: Of all the delicious recipes we had this week, I’ve got to say this one was my favorite hands down. All of the goodness you smother that chicken in just can’t be beat! I doubled this for our family and we ate it all. Definitely definitely definitely make the salsa. Again, I omitted the jalapeno here for the kids. Will be making again a few more times before winter’s over, for sure!

FRIDAY //

Homemade Pizza : I bought the pack of 2 flatbread pizza crusts that TJ’s has in the bread section. Kids love it and it’s even easier than doing their pizza dough!

SATURDAY //

Rigatoni Broccoli Rabe Bake
notes: Finishing out our Halfbaked Harvest week, I made this rigatoni bake with Gluten Free pasta. Thank you Trader Joe’s for making this transition easy for me! I accidentally bought diced tomatoes instead of crushed and I think it definitely changed the texture of the sauce; but honestly with all the flavors you have going on, it was delicious nonetheless. I’ve been using TJ’s Whole Lactose Free Milk and that came in huge with this recipe. I know it sounds super weird to put milk in here with all the tomato, but it makes this creamy hearty sauce that is just delicious. Topped it all off with gorgonzola and fresh mozzarella and this was a hearty pan of goodness on a cold winter night. Served it up with a loaf of crusty bread and another TJ’s salad kit.