Almond Week

This week's gluten-free menu :

Sunday - Minestrone Soup, Mandarin Orange Salad
Monday - Almond Pesto Chicken, Broccoli
Tuesday - Pork Tenderloin, Apples and Potatoes
Wednesday - Pork Stir Fry
Thursday - Almond Crusted Salmon , Green Salad, Rice
Friday - Lentil Almond Burgers, Chicken and Rice Soup

Almonds and almond meal are very useful to have around in a gluten-free kitchen. They can be used in place of breading to make a crispy crust or on top of a casserole in place of bread crumbs. Almond meal can also be used in baking mixed with other flours for cookies, scones or muffins or even cakes. One added benefit of having almond meal around the house is that can be used in a paste mixed with milk as a face mask to help reduce dark circles under the eyes. I have definitely tried this.

This week I'm going to try a few new recipes and mix in a few old standards. On Sunday we are having Minestrone soup and Mandarin Orange Salad. There are candied almonds in the Mandarin Orange Salad. I've served this salad many times for my family and while entertaining. It's always very popular. On Monday we're having Almond Pesto Chicken. This looks great and hopefully won't be too hard. On Tuesday I'm going to make a Pork Tenderloin and Wednesday we're having Pork Stir Fry with the leftovers. Thursday we're going to try an Almond Crusted Salmon and Friday I'm going to try Lentil Almond Burgers, but am going to pair it with chicken soup to give my family an alternative in case they don't like it.

Check out the Gluten Free Menu Swap this week hosted by Heather at Celiac Family or for other ideas (not all gluten-free) check out the Monday Menu Plan round-up at OrgJunkie. For a variety of gluten-free recipes check out Gluten-Free Wednesdays