A Happy Gluten Free Thanksgiving.

I first went gluten free 7 years ago this November, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving.  By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was already feeling so much better and there was no way I wanted to eat gluten, even to celebrate one of my favorite holidays.  I have been experimenting with recipes since then and these are some of the best I've found.

Turkey:

The main dish, the turkey.  Isn't that already gluten free you ask?   Not necessarily, which is weird.  Some of the prebasted turkeys will have wheat products in them.  Read the label.  Also, if you are not the one cooking the turkey, ask questions about how it is prepared, whether it is basted, has gravy  etc.  I found out last year that my mom-in-law puts "a little bit of flour" in the cooking bag to keep the bag from sticking to the turkey.  (She's recently stopped doing that, thank goodness.)  

Stuffing.

I have really been experimenting with stuffing this year.  I love stuffing, but to me, it means a simple cornbread sage stuffing.   Here's the recipe I use.

1 package Pamela's cornbread mix, baked and crumbled, NOT putting sugar in it as directed.

1 large stalk celery, chopped.

1 small or 1/2 of a large onion.

3 tablespoons poultry seasoning or sage.

A sprinkle of onion salt.

1 cup chicken broth or broth from your turkey.

Crumble cornbread and mix all ingredients together, press in a 13 x 9 pan and bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  It doesn't need to cook, exactly, just kind of toast and blend the flavors.

You can take your grandma's recipe and adapt it to use a gluten free bread or cornbread.

Potatoes and other vegetables..

I usually just cook the potatoes and mash them with butter, salt and milk (Lactose free milk and margarine if my oldest son is home).

But if I'm feeling fancy, I might make scalloped potatoes.

Yes, potatoes are naturally gluten free, but the boxed scalloped potatoes contain gluten and most of the cream of something soups contain gluten, so you really have to think before preparing your gluten free food.  

Fortunately, this is easy and wonderful.
8 potatoes sliced thin - you don't have to peel them.
1 can Progresso creamy mushroom soup - which is gluten free.
1  1/2 onion
a few sprinkles (very light) of garlic salt.  Check the label on this, it may contain wheat.
10 slices american cheese or 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. 

Layer in 13 x 9 pan and bake 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Cover with foil. 

Bake at 375°F for approximately 1 hour or until potatoes reach desired texture.
For a crispy top layer, uncover during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time.  

Other veggies can be prepared as long as they don't contain any toppings made with wheat products.  Casseroles are notorious for their cracker toppings!  What about some nice corn on the cob? 

Rolls. 

Ingredients:

3/4C pineapple juice
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp plus 1/3C granulated sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, partially melted
1C unseasoned mashed potatoes
4 1/4C all purpose flour

Directions:

In a measuring cup, combine warm water (roughly 115°F), yeast and 1/2 tsp granulated sugar. Allow yeast to proof.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, add remaining ingredients. With mixer on low, add yeast mixture. Slowly increasing speed to medium, continuing to mix until ingredients are well combined.

Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm location for 90 minutes or doubled in size.

Prepare a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper or lightly greased.

Divide dough into 16 equal portions. Shape into a ball, placing seam side down in prepared pan. Cover and allow rolls to rise for an additional 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve immediately or at room temperature. Store remaining rolls in an airtight container for up to several days.

Mashed potatoes may be seasoned with butter and cream or milk, omit any other flavorings or seasonings for the purpose of making these rolls.

ADAPTED FROM KING ARTHUR FLOUR

Fudge Pie.

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup gluten free Bisquick.

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Beat together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, butter or margarine, eggs and vanilla in a medium-size bowl.   Put in pie pan you've sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Allow to cool to room temperature. 

Crustless sweet potato pie.
Sweet potato - cooked without salt 4 cup, cubes
Sugar - Granulated (sucrose), 2 cup
Milk - Nonfat (fat free or skim), 2 cup
Eggs  6 large
Butter - Unsalted, 5 tbsp
Vanilla extract  2 tsp
Cinnamon, 2 tsp
Pumpkin pie spice, 2 tsp
Salt 2 tsp
Pamelas Products - Gluten Free Baking Pancake Mix, 6 tablespoons (Or baking mix of your choice)

Mix with mixer until it is smooth-ish. :-) Pour into 2 pie pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This pie only has 223 calories per serving, whereas a quick google search tells me that regular sweet potato pie with crust is 300-400 calories a serving. You won't miss the crust, trust me. :-)
 

Caramel apple dip

1 8-ounce package cream cheese-softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix the two together until smooth.
Pour into a pie plate or small baking dish.
Pour a 16-ounce container of caramel dip-found in the produce section-over the cream cheese mixture and spread all over the top.
Top with Heath chips found in the baking aisle.
Refrigerate until serving.

Blackberry Cobbler
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 cups flour (I use Pamela's gluten-free)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 cups blackberries
2 cups boiling water

Cream 1 cup of sugar with the butter; add flour, baking powder, salt, and milk; mix well. Pour into a 12x8x2 baking pan (or an 8-9 inch square pan if you've halved the recipe). Pour blackberries over batter. Sprinkle remaining sugar over berries. Pour boiling water over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.  

Jam Cake

3 large eggs
3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups Cup4Cup gf flour

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping sides of bowl to incorporate all.

Add jam and mix again.

In a small bowl, combine the gf flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir well.

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture alternating with the buttermilk.

Beat until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into baking pan, and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool.