Weekly Menu for 7/1/2012 - 7/7/2012

July 1, 2012 - July 7, 2012

Day	Menu Item	Shopping
Sunday	Minestrone	1 Onion 5 cloves Garlic Celery Carrots 1 Eggplant or Zucchini 1 Green Bell Pepper Fresh Parsley 1 can Garbanzo Beans Gluten-Free Pasta* 1 can Diced Tomatoes 2 cans Tomato Paste Vegetable Stock Dry Red Wine
Monday	Pasta Alla Norma	2 medium Eggplant 1 small Yellow Onion Crushed Red Chile Flakes 5 cloves Garlic 1 28oz can Whole Peeled Tomatoes Fresh Basil Leaves 1 lb. Gluten-Free Spaghetti Ricotta or Parmesan Cheese
Tuesday	Creamy Pasta with Asparagus	Gluten-Free Linguini Pasta Plain Soy Creamer Lemon Garlic Cashew Cheese 12 Asparagus Spears Fresh Herbs of Your Choice 1 cup coarsely chopped cashews Lemon Garlic Cashew Cheese: Plain Cashew Nuts 1 Lemon Nutritional Yeast 2 cloves Garlic
Wednesday	Vegan Tofu & Spinach Manicotti	8 Cannelloni/Manicotti Noodles (or thinly sliced eggplant) 1 16 oz. jar of Your Favorite Pasta Sauce 1 medium Onion 1 (10 oz.) package of Frozen Spinach or 1 bag of Fresh Baby Spinach 16 oz. Firm or Silken Tofu Cashews (optional) Carrots (optional) Lemon Juice 1 clove Garlic Nutritional Yeast
Thursday	Gnocchi di Zucca Baked Pumpkin Dumplings	2 lb Pumpkin or Butternut Squash 2 Onions 3 cloves Garlic 2 lb Tomatoes Fresh Basil 5 oz Flour 3 oz Parmesan Cheese
Friday	Fresh Tomato & Garlic Penne	Penne Pasta 2 cloves Garlic 1 lb Roma Tomatoes Fresh Basil Leaves
Saturday	Tuscan Bean & Pasta Soup	Dried Pinto Beans Dried Lentils Dried Split Peas 1 medium Red or Yellow Onion 1 or 2 Carrots 1 or 2 ribs Celery 3 cloves Garlic Red Pepper Flakes (optional) Vegetable Stockw Dried Thyme or Fresh Rosemary Leaves Small Shaped Gluten-Free Pasta Parmesan or Romano Cheese

You will also need:

Vegetable Oil, Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Salt, Pepper, Salad, Salad Dressing, Olive Oil, Gluten-Free Bread, Milk of your choice

* Gluten-Free Pastas can be found in most grocery stores either mixed in with the other pasta selection or in a specific Gluten-Free area.

This week we are tapping into the Italian in each of us.

Those of you who have been fortunate to live or visit the beautiful country of Italy know the wondrous tastes that abound the regions.  Back home and faced with reality, we have one major trick up our sleeves.  On any given night we can be in Italy if only for a few hours with a few simple modifications.  We can listen to our favorite opera, cover our table with a checkered cloth, eat out doors or by candlelight, drink Italian wine and savor the bounty from our kitchen.

These recipes provide great week-night meals for your family but they are also perfect for entertaining or special occasions.  If you or anyone has a special dietary need, these recipes are also easily adapted to Vegan, Gluten-Free, or Vegetarian.  An example of changing out ingredients in a meal to make it Vegan is to use soy or another nut milk, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, vegan mayonnaise, or vegan Parmesan cheese.

At the end of the week, or sometime during, please sound off about this week's menu.  Did you enjoy the websites?  How were the recipes?  Were they easy to follow and the ingredients easy to find?  Did you have quite a bit of the ingredients already on hand?

Did you find cooking different meals having similar items easier?  Were you able to prepare multiple meals at once?

What would you like to see on future menus?

P.S.,  Please share your family's favorite quick and easy meal.

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