Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes

I have it easy this Thanksgiving, I am making a couple of side dishes and a pie. My mother is in charge of the rest. She found a turkey, Shady Brook Farms, from her local grocery store that says gluten free right on the package, she was so excited!

There are so many posts about eating gluten free at Thanksgiving, look at the links to other blogs in my sidebar, and you will find many more options and ways of cooking. Here are a just a few things that I have made for that would be great for Thanksgiving.



Desserts ~

Rustic Apple Pie with Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe
Maple Pecan Pie with Gluten Free Oat Crust

Side dishes ~

To Die For Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup Glaze
Gluten Free Popover Recipe

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cheers!!
Danielle

Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup Glaze

I love brussels sprouts. I crave them. I know, some people think that I am weird in that way. Judge after you make this recipe, and you will join me and start craving brussels sprouts too.

This is a great side dish for any meal, Thanksgiving, holiday, or weekday. ( I am making this as a side dish for our Thanksgiving meal.) If I am running to the grocery store, and the sprouts look good, I will pick them up and make these for my lunch. Don't cut out the garlic, it seems like it wouldn't go with this recipe, but it isn't as good without it. I just had them (again!) yesterday, and just typing and talking about them makes me want to have them today...

Update: There was a query about how to make a bunch of this for a holiday party without having to make several batches in a skillet. I experimented today, and the alternate cooking method is below.

Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup and Walnuts

15 brussels spouts, washed and sliced in half
3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons butter (to make dairy free, omit and use more olive oil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon butter (omit for dairy free)
walnuts, optional to taste (I use a small handful)
salt, optional, to taste

Warm olive and and 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over low heat. Add sliced garlic cloves. Stir the garlic and remove as they are turning light brown and reserve. Lay brussels sprouts in pan, cut sides down and cover. Cook approximately 15 minutes or until tender.

Mix maple syrup and tablespoon of butter, melt on stove or in microwave. Add walnuts. Add syrup mixture and garlic to brussels sprouts in the pan and toss to create a glaze, OR remove brussels sprouts, add the cooked garlic and maple syrup mixture and toss in bowl.

Alternate cooking method for larger batches, and making ahead:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. As oven is warming up, put butter, olive oil and garlic slices (make sure to up the amount of each depending on how many brussels sprouts you are using), on a cookie sheet to melt the butter and to lightly cook the garlic. Remove the cookie sheet when the garlic just starts to turn golden brown. Put the brussels sprouts cut side down on pan on middle shelf. Cook approximately 10 minutes, checking to make sure the tops don't burn. Add the cooked garlic back in and stir. If making the night before, after you lightly rewarm, mix maple syrup and the additional butter, melted, pour over the sprouts. Add the walnuts right before serving.

Cheers!
Danielle

A Taste of Sunshine ~ Caesar Lemon Dressing

I love this dressing. A good friend gave me this recipe, and it tastes so fresh and clean. I love it on salads of any kind and any mix, or on roasted veggies (like roasted asparagus with grated Pecorin Romano cheese..YUM!)

This is where you would use your virgin olive oil, if you have some handy. If you don't, and can't afford it, use regular. My Mom did, (She is first generation Italian-American, and honestly, I don't remember a lot of virgin olive oil, it was a special thing; she used the big can, which I still buy, and can get a good price on when it's on sale.), and I did on this batch since I ran out. You still get a lovely flavor, and the health benefits of the olive oil.


Lemon Caesar Dressing

1 lemon, juice of
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
ground pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Put all ingredients in a jar. (I use a cleaned jam jar.) Shake well. Pour over whatever suits your fancy: salad, roasted vegetables, avocado, fish, etc.


I was doing my weekly visit around my favorite blogs and found a couple of other recent posts on salad dressings. (if you did a salad dressing post, email me or comment and I will link to it when I get a chance. You know I am not blogging as much as I used to! ;)

Gluten Free Goddess has a post titled: Three Ways to Dress a Naked Salad.

Natalie of Gluten Free Mommy has a salad and salad dressing recipe in her post: Mixed Greens, Cilantro, and Purple Cabbage.

Check those out for more ideas.

Cheers!!

Greek Village Salad

This is one of my all time favorite salads, since it a bulky one and does not have lettuce. This is the 'dream' team of veggies I like in it, but I am just as happy with only red pepper and onion, cucumber, and always the feta cheese.

Greek Village Salad

red pepper, chopped
red onion, chopped
cucumber, chopped
tomato, chopped
shredded carrot
feta cheese, crumbled
Greek dressing of choice

Put all veggies in bowl. Crumble feta cheese, add dressing, and mix.

(If you have leftovers, you can put them in a quiche the next day!)

Cheers!

Roasted Cauliflower with Indian BBQ Sauce

I made this for lunch yesterday. You should make it too. It was delicious. It would also be a great side dish. It's not my recipe, so click below to get there!

Roasted Cauliflower with Indian BBQ Sauce

Cheers!!

Award Winning Broccoli Salad

I got this recipe from a friend, Carrie, about 6 years ago. It is an absolute favorite. It came from her Mom, and it was a big deal that I got it. There was a feud between my friend's Mom and another woman at her church over whose was better. This was a closely guarded secret..until now.

Broccoli Salad

1 broccoli head, cut in bite size or so pieces
10-12 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 onion chopped
1 cup raisins

Dressing
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar

Make dressing. Mix rest of ingredients. Add dressing right before serving. I have brought this to cookouts and everyone loves it. This is best the first day; although I have happily eaten leftovers the next day.

Cheers!

Greek Veggie Bake

The family and I are taking off for just over a week. We are going to Ireland, and we are really excited. I will tell all when I get back; I heard it's great for gluten intolerant people. In the meantime, I thought I would leave you with this recipe. It can be a side dish, but sometimes I eat it for supper.

Greek Veggie Bake

1 eggplant chopped in cubes
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 peppers, coarsely chopped (I used orange and yellow here)
carrots. chopped or shredded
Any other veggies you have on hand
Feta cheese
Greek dressing (the oil based kind, not the creamy, and make sure GF)

Chop veggies, add dressing, toss. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put veggies on shallow pan, roast about 35 minutes, or until veggies are cooked to your taste. Sprinkle feta cheese and..Enjoy!

(This also tastes great cooked in the grill with one of those wok things with holes in it...great for not heating your house up in the summer.)

Spring.

Spring.

It's here, and I have been loving (almost every) minute if it. I have been feeling so good, and I have been doing so much. As a matter of fact, some days I am doing TOO much. And, then I pay for it for a couple of days, then I am right back out there, gardening, going for walks with my husband, and being happy.

That's why my posts have come to a screeching halt.

I am eight months gluten free, and for the most part it is great. I am used to thinking about what I eat and I am now safe at home. But I do miss the freedom of eating out, at friend's houses, and I miss bread, real crusty bread.

Yesterday, my husband and I walked to downtown from our home, a nice walk, about 3 miles. It was a gorgeous spring day. One of the magical ones. We stopped at a little cafe downtown to get a cappuccino and walk a bit more before returning home.

As we were waiting, suddenly I felt dizzy, and overwhelmed. I glanced at the menu on the wall....panini sandwiches, salads with crusty bread, and the peasant lunch..soup, salad and crusty bread. How delicious it all sounded!!! I was dizzy with desire...and yes...sad. I looked at the menu with my husband, and whispered wistfully, " Sometimes I can't believe I can never eat this again...I miss it..."

Now I must tell you, I have never cheated, nor will I. I don't get tempted per se, but I WANT, knowing I can never have.

There is not sad ending to this little story, we left the shop, and went down to our town's cheese shop. We sampled cheeses and bought some for that night. Nothing like cheese, really good cheese, to cheer a girl up.

Why did I share this? I am not quite sure. Maybe other people feel this way too, and it's always nice to know you aren't alone. Maybe to explain why I have not been here. And maybe, to show people who are just starting out, who think they will never feel any better, that they will. It will be great.

I didn't think it would ever come when I read about other people. And it did. You just wait.

And here is one of my favorite quickie products....my children adore this rice. They dance when I serve it. Check the label..always. The Garlic Basil is a little spicy. My young children prefer, and love, the Coconut Ginger.

A Taste of Thai Rice...YUM!

Yummy Bacon Apple Goat Cheese Pecan Salad

Can you guess what is in this salad? :grin:

Anyway, this is a delicious salad, in the "so good I could eat it all on my own variety.". Seems to take forever to make when you have children underfoot, but not bad when they aren't. I bribed mine with some bacon, works every time!

Save for special occasion or when you have to bring a salad to a friend's house for dinner. Which is what I did. (Hey there La-dy! Thanks for having us over it was a great time!)

I am so sorry I do not have a photo. It was for a friend's house, and I put it together there, so next time I make it I will take a photo and bring it back up and you can see it.

Apple Bacon Pecan Goat Cheese Salad

1 package apple smoked bacon
goat cheese
pecans or almonds, toasted
lettuce, spring mix
chopped apple

3 tablespoons bacon fat
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1 shallots chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon, reserve fat. heat bacon fat in skillet over low heat, add shallots and cook until translucent. Turn off heat. Whisk in mustard, then vinegar, then sugar, then olive oil to taste. Add salt and pepper. Taste...add whatever you think to balance the flavors.

Put lettuce in bowl toss with dressing, top with bacon pieces, cheese, nuts, and apple. Serve and enjoy. :)

Mochi

I know that I never heard of mochi until I started a gluten free diet. Here is a definition from the Grainaissance website:

"Mochi is a nutritious bake-and-serve rice snack made from whole grain brown rice. Mochi is all-natural and without additives, preservatives or colorings. It's also wheat-free and gluten-free. Mochi can be eaten in a variety of ways. Just cut into 1-1/2" squares and bake in a pre-heated 450° F oven for 8-10 minutes. Watch

them puff up before your eyes!"

Here is a picture of it after it's done:

It is chewy and moist on the inside, and crunchy outside. It comes in a hard brick in the refrigerated section of your health food store. You simply cut and bake.

Try it, and see if you like it too.