Almost allergy-free! (I hope...)

My younger daughter passed Test #2 of 3 today at the allergy doctor's, and we're hoping next week she'll be declared dairy allergy-free. (She passed her blood test and skin test, and next week is a "food challenge" in the doctor's office in which they feed her milk and observe her for any reaction.) I'm already dreaming of a big pizza and ice cream party next weekend. Though I am trying not to get my hopes *too* much. (And realistically, I know even if she can eat dairy, I'm going to be extremely cautious and all Mama Bear on her until I'm completely, totally sure she doesn't react.)

For anyone with kids with food allergies, or if you just want to learn more about them, there are a few resources I've found invaluable:

New England Chapter of the Asthma and Allergies Foundation -- Among its benefits, it hosts educational seminars in the Greater Boston area.

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network -- Has a wealth of information about food allergies and it sends out recall alerts about foods that have been recalled for being improperly labelled and not containing allergy information. (I get a surprising number of these notifications. Very scary that so much food is mislabelled.)

Allergy Eats -- Contains an online database of restaurants with user ratings on allergy awareness and dining experience. There's also an Allergy Eats blog and Facebook page with lots of great information on dining out with food allergies.

Stuck in a Dinner Rut...

As I was checking out at the grocery store today, buying hamburger and pasta for American Chop Suey tonight, I realized... I'm stuck in a dinner rut.

Don't get me wrong, I love American Chop Suey. But isn't it just a little... boring?

When we joined a CSA earlier this year it helped make our meals a little more interesting. 10 varieties of squash, collard greens, kale, beets. I got kind of inventive. But the CSA season is winding down, the vegetables we're getting are kind of bottom of the barrel in terms of quality, and I'm just sick of some of the same vegetables week in and week out.

I'm not quite like my mom yet -- every day of the week for her is associated with a different meat she always has for dinner. Monday is hamburger and pasta night, Tuesday chicken, Wednesday hamburger again, Thursday chicken again. And so on. But I do find myself getting into that routine with meals where I make the same things over and over again.

So - any ideas to help me get out of this rut? I'm all ears. I only have a few guidelines:
1) I don't really do dinner out of a box. I mean, I'll cook pasta and rice from a box, but I gave up Hamburger Helper years ago. Don't want to go down that road again. I'd like more "simple, fresh." I will do frozen vegetables.
2) My younger daughter has a dairy allergy. I can make some easy substitutions like soy milk for milk or soy butter for butter, and even some veggie cheese. But I try to stay away from overly cheesy dishes or anything made with milk-based soups.
3) I own a Crock-Pot. And I love using it! Any ideas beyond pot roast would be awesome.

Have at it.