Thanksgiving

Easy Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 can LIBBY’S Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix (30 oz.)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup Carnation Evaporated Milk
  • 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust (we always use GlutenFree Bakehouse Pie Shells)

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mix together the pumpkin pie mix, eggs, and evaporated milk in a large bowl. Pour this mixture into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°F and then bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°F. Remove Cool for about 2 hours and serve (with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream, of course!) or store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from Libby’s® Easy Pumpkin Pie

Time to Give Thanks

 “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”

It is the season to give thanks. To express your gratitude to the people that surround you for their unwavering and relentless love through your struggles and successes. To feel grateful for waking up each morning with a new day on the horizon. To not take for granted shelter and warmth, your health, and the food on the table before you. It’s time to travel near or far to gather together with friends and family to appreciate what you have in your life.

And of course, to enjoy a feast.

Thanksgiving is a day full of love. Love for the lovely people cooking up a storm in the kitchen. But more so, love for the  storm that is annually cooked up in the kitchen. Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving dinner? It’s filled with carcinogenic turkey, thick homemade gravy, seasonal sweet pumpkin pie, and many other holiday favorites. But what about those of us who are gluten-free? With these recipes and trading out a few ingredients, you can enjoy all your favorite traditional dishes without compromising on the taste and flavor!

Let’s start with the stuffing. It is an integral part of the Thanksgiving meal- and an easy swap to make it gluten-free. Most stuffing recipes call for diced bread, so simply switch the wheat-based bread with a gluten-free option. Udi’s GF White or Multigrain Bread would be substitute. Alternatively, you could make gluten-free cornbread and use cornbread in the stuffing.

What is turkey without gravy? Nearly every gravy recipe out there calls for wheat or all-purpose flour. The flour is what gives the gravy its thick texture. However, every Thanksgiving, I whip up some gluten-free gravy using Simply Organic’s Brown Gravy Seasoning Mix. I swear by it- it’s easy, flavorful, and gluten-free.

A staple part of the Thanksgiving diet, and the most important in my humble opinion, is dessert. Typically, you can find me indulging in a slice of pumpkin, apple, and and/or pecan pie. And it’s easy as pie to make gluten-free. You can make a nut-based crust or just buy Wholes Foods Gluten-Free Bakehouse’s Pie Crust. It’s a frozen, remade gluten-free crust that I have used every year for pumpkin and pecan pies! Or if you’re not a big fan of pie, I have a great pumpkin bread pudding recipe that turned out really well last Thanksgiving.

In addition to these swaps, you can try making my cheesy green bean casserole, which always makes an appearance at the Thanksgiving table, or candied sweet potatoes, which is always a family favorite.

And remember, be thankful for the delicious gluten-free meal you’re going to devour on Thursday!

Cheers!

Anika

November 2014: Pamela’s Cornbread & Muffin Mix

With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to gather your supplies to make a delicious, gluten-free Thanksgiving meal. Yes, that’s right- you can make lavish Thanksgiving dinner completely gluten-free. No more skipping out on the green bean casserole or stuffing, or the pumpkin bread pudding or gravy. This year, enjoy the feast with your family!

Last weekend, I baked a batch of corn muffins using Pamela’s Cornbread & Muffin Bread. Cornbread is one of those funny things. If you’re just beginning your journey exploring the world of cooking, you may not have known that some cornbread recipes like to sneak in a cup of all-purpose flour. So its not always gluten-free. Actually, most cornbread recipes* contain gluten, hence the gluten-free cornbread mixes. If you want good old traditional corn bread, this is the mix to use. The texture is on the grainer side, and the taste is on the savory side. Although it was neither particularly moist or fluffy, this is hands down my favorite cornbread mix. It would be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving meal.

Just a couple of tips and suggestions. First off, if you are looking for a sweeter variation, make a batch of corn muffins with some Crasins or dried fruit to add a hint of sweetness. Secondly, whether you bake cornbread or muffins, don’t make them too prematurely. After two or three days, they don’t retain the same degree of freshness and begin to dry out. You can always heat them up, but fresh baked goods are always the best baked goods! Thirdly, if you’re looking for something similar to grandma’s buttermilk cornbread, this isn’t probably isn’t the right mix for you.

Happy baking!

Cheers,

Anika

*I should be more specific. Most authentic southern cornbread recipes don’t use any flour, but given that I live in the northeast, it is a problem that I face.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cans of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 loaf of GF cinnamon raisin bread, sliced*
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins

First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the sliced bread and raisins in a baking dish ( 11 by 7-inch should be fine). In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and vanilla and mix. Then, mix in the pumpkin puree. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread. Cover with foil and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pumpkin pudding has set. Serve warm with ice cream (or just by itself) and enjoy!

Happy holidays!

*I recommend using Glutino’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/pumpkin-ginger-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups pecans
  • 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust (we always use GlutenFree Bakehouse Pie Shells)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Stir the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Mix in the pecans. Pour this mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 60-65 minutes. Remove pie before it blackens. When tapping the center of the pie lightly, the center should spring back up if the pie is done. Cool for about 2 hours and store in the refrigerator.

Recipe modified from karosyrup.com.

 

Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams)

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (29 oz.) Sweet Potatoes
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small slabs/pieces
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place sweet potatoes in a baking dish. Place the slabs of butter evenly over all of the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Evenly place mini marshmallows. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes (or until all of the marshmallows have melted and sweet potatoes are tender).

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 2 (16 oz.) packages of French Cut Green Beans
  • 1 bottle (16 oz.) of Ragu Alfredo Sauce (or any other of your favorite Gluten-Free Alfredo Sauces)
  • 3/4 cup low-fat milk
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 pound of sliced cheese (Velveeta, Kraft Singles, etc.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Apply cooking spray to a casserole dish. In a bowl, combine Alfredo sauce, milk, and cheddar cheese and mix well. Layer the bottom half of the casserole dish with 1/2 of the green beans and pour half of the Alfredo mixture over it. Cover that with half of the sliced cheese. Repeat the layering (green beans, Alfredo mixture, and then remaining sliced cheese on top). Bake for 30-40 minutes.