What's for dinner?

I'm not Giada or a "Barefoot Contessa."  My kitchen is not "Smitten."  I do, however, appreciate having access to these culinary miracle workers.  Like most moms, dinnertime is a blend of outside inspiration and a rotation of family favorites.

Planning a week's menu is essential for my survival.  I can no longer "fly by the seat of my pants" and it's not practical to run out for a couple of things to prepare a meal at the last minute.  I assemble a menu that includes 5 meals and rely on leftovers, take-out or weekend entertaining to fill in the gaps.

Due to a gluten sensitivity in the family, the meals I feature are tailored for a gluten-free lifestyle, but the menu isn't exclusive to gluten-free ingredients or gluten-free variations on a "traditional" recipe (i.e. lasagna or spaghetti...).

I wanted to include a basic menu to, hopefully, inspire some ideas.  And, to keep things interesting, I will include a feature recipe* to spur me to try something new, to the chagrin of my children I would imagine...

My menu from last week:

Pad Thai
Roast chicken, roasted butternut squash, sautéed kale with cranberries.
Italian beef, roasted red potatoes and salad
Risotto w/mushrooms and broccoli
*Spaghetti with lemon and olive oil (we added some mild gourmet chicken sausage to this for a little protein)
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/02/spaghetti-with-lemon-and-olive-oil-al-limone/

The feature recipe is from one of my favorite blogs: the smitten kitchen.