Gluten Free Cooking School » Gluten Free Side Dishes

Gluten Free, Casein Free Bread Stuffing for Thanksgiving

Mary Frances — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:24:14 +0000

Having grown up on Cornbread Dressing, I had quite a mental block about making Bread Dressing. However, I have to say ,this recipe is quite good and it’s easy to make. So, if you’re still looking for a GF Thanskgiving stuffing/dressing recipe, this is a great option. If you need to be gluten free and corn free, then just make this dressing with your favorite GF/corn free bread.

The key to good stuffing/dressing is to cut the bread cubes to the right size and toast them well. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a soggy mess. If you’ve not done much cooking and would like to see how it’s done, a video demonstration is included in my Gluten Free Thanksgiving Made Easy Kit.

Gluten Free Bread Stuffing

10 c. gluten free bread, cut into ½” cubes
8 Tbsp. butter (use Earth Balance for casein free)
2 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped celery
¼ – ½ c. minced parsley
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. thyme
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1/3 to 1 c. chicken stock
2 large eggs (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring every 2 – 3 minutes. Pour the bread into a large bowl. Melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and spices. Add this to the toasted bread and toss until well combined.

Stir in the stock until the stuffing is lightly moist but not packed together. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. For a firm stuffing, stir in 2 beaten eggs and the more stock if needed to get to the desired consistency. Bake until the stuffing reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.

Green Bean Casserole (Gluten Free & Casein Free)

Mary Frances — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:01:35 +0000

There’s a reason that Green Bean Casserole is on every Thanksgiving table. It’s so easy! It’s not quite as easy when you can’t open up a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, but it’s still not hard.

I’ve used toasted pecans as the crunchy topping for my casserole. If you’re really yearning for gluten free fried onions on top, you can make my gluten free fried onion rings ahead of time and use them as a topping. Just be sure to cut the onion rings very thin and hide these from anyone who might eat them before Thanksgiving. I think crushed potato chips would also be really good. I mean, can you really go wrong with cream soup and potato chips? No way.

Green Bean Casserole

20 oz. (4 c.) Green beans
1 recipe of Mary’s Condensed Cream of Soup with Mushroom
½ c. milk (non-dairy milk is fine)
2 c. toasted pecans, chopped

If you’re using fresh or frozen green beans, cook them in water in a large saucepan until they are tender. Then drain them and combine the green beans , the cream of mushroom soup, and milk in a large mixing bowl. Pour this into a casserole dish and bake at 350 F until the sauce is bubbly around the edges (approx. 25 minutes). Sprinkle the toasted pecans on top and bake for a few more minutes .

Would your Thanksgiving be less overwhelming if you knew the gluten free recipes that you’re planning would turn out wonderfully? Would it help to have a shopping list and cooking timeline to follow? Would you like to have someone to go to when you have questions? If so, then my Gluten Free Thanksgiving Made Easy Kit may be just what you need.

Mixed Green Salad with Apples & Pecans, Buttermilk Honey Dressing

Mary Frances — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:49:22 +0000

Turkey, stuffing and pie may be the stars of the Thanksgiving meal, but you have to get some greens and veggies on the table too. This salad is easy and delicious.

For those of you who are gluten free and casein free and have been missing creamy dressings, you’ll love this. Most of the GFCF dressings in the stores are NOT GOOD. Make your own and you’ll be much happier =) I learned to make dairy-free buttermilk when we were on a vegetarian diet. You mix 1 Tbsp of vinegar with 1 c. of non-dairy milk, and - voila! – you have buttermilk. This dressing is on the thin side – if you want it to be thicker then increase the mayo and reduce the olive oil.

Mixed Green Salad with Apples & Pecans, Buttermilk Honey Dressing

Salad:
8 c. mixed salad greens
2 Granny Smith apples
1 c. toasted pecans
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Dressing:
¼ c. rice vinegar
¼ c. mayonnaise
¼ c non-dairy milk
1 tsp. cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 green onion, minced
pinch of ground black pepper
1/2 c. olive oil

Wash and dry the greens. Core the apples and slice them very thinly. To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients except the olive oil in a small bowl. Then add the olive oil slowly, and steadily, while you continue to whisk the dressing. Toss the greens in enough dressing to lightly coat all the leaves. For buffet style, serve the greens in a large salad bowl, layering the apples over the top, and then sprinkling the pecans over the apples slices.

*This recipe was inspired by a recipe in Joy of Cooking. I’ve made some ingredient alterations and additions and rewritten the preparation instructions.

Would your Thanksgiving be less overwhelming if you knew the gluten free recipes that you’re planning would turn out wonderfully? Would it help to have a shopping list and cooking timeline to follow? Would you like to have someone to go to when you have questions? If so, then my Gluten Free Thanksgiving Made Easy Kit may be just what you need.

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Experiments

Mary Frances — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:26:04 +0000

Thanksgiving 2010 will be our eighth gluten free Thanksgiving. God willing, we will be spending the day with family and eating more food than is good for us. We have so much to be thankful for this year – I can’t wait for next Thursday!

I am getting very excited about Thanksgiving side dishes too and have already cooked a few. Tonight’s supper featured Cornbread Stuffing with “Sausage” and Apples stuffed into a Baked Acorn Squash. Our side dish was Broccoli Pomegranate Slaw. I was going to post a picture for you, but it did not come out well at all. Thus the Warholish like photo above. However, the acorn squash did make very nice little serving dishes for the dressing. It might be a useful way to differentiate the Gluten Free Stuffing from the stuff that everybody else can eat.

Later this week I want to work on a Green Bean Casserole recipe and a Cranberry salad dressing. I may also make some yeast rolls and see how they freeze. I made them several times, but somehow there are never any for the freezer =)

I haven’t decided what I’ll be cooking for the Thanksgiving meal. My mom’s family hosts a huge potluck and I need to confer with my mom and sister-in-law so that we can figure out who is doing what.

Have you figured out what you’ll be cooking for Thanksgiving?

Do you have strategies to ensure that you have an enjoyable day – free of stress and free of gluten?

If not, then you should buy our new e-book. Chapter 5 walks you through all the strategies that I’ve used to take the stress and gluten out of our Thanksgiving meals. And the cookbook that is included with the e-book contains my family’s recipes for Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing, Gluten Free Yeast Rolls, Gluten Free Gravy and the Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup that you’ll need for your Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole. These are recipes that I’ve made for years and they are so good!

Also, be sure to join us for the Thanksgiving Questions chat this Saturday night. Get more details here.

Crusts, Carrots, Coupon Codes, and Cute Baby Toes

Mary Frances — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:40:06 +0000

Gluten free Buttermilk Pie

Hi everyone,

I’ve made a couple of the Impossibly Easy Pies with my gluten free biscuit mix and wanted to share my observations thus far.

Crusts

First off, it is quite a pain in the rear to mix up 1/2 cup of biscuit mix just to make a pie. Go ahead and make up a big batch so that you can have pie now and biscuits on Saturday morning.
The Spinach Parmesan Pie is not very tasty. Thankfully my one year old is still accustomed to bland foods so he ended up eating 75% of the pie.
On the other hand, since I do want to find my abs again someday, I will not be making this buttermilk pie again anytime soon. I ate 100% of it.
I did use xanthan gum in the mix for this first round of experiments and it didn’t seem to affect the texture of the pie negatively.
The bottom crust is not very crust-like. However, it does hold together so that you can cut a piece of pie and lift it out without everything falling apart. I think I’m okay with this – it’s the trade-off for being able to have a quick and easy gluten free pie.
A thicker, more biscuit like crust formed on the sides and around the top edge of the pie.

Carrots

The other night I needed to make a pantry supper and the only fresh vegetable that we had was a bag of carrots. As a kid, I detested cooked carrots. I remember gagging in horror when my mom served Copper Penny Carrots. I’ve concluded that the error that many people make in cooking carrots is to add lots of additional sugar. Carrots are naturally sweet, and you can best enhance that by adding savory flavors when you cook them. Here’s what I threw together for our supper. There were no leftovers.

Mary’s Savory Carrots

2 carrots per person
1 green onion per person
enough vegetable stock to cover the carrots (a little more than a cup, maybe?)
1/2 Tbsp. honey per person
a sprinkle of ground allspice (optional)

Slice the carrots into circles. finely chop the green onions. Put the carrots and onions into a pot and add enough vegetable stock (or chicken stock) to cover. Stir in the honey. Cook over medium heat until carrots are tender.

Coupon Codes

Amazon is running several gluten free sales this month. All of the Betty Crocker gluten free mixes are 15% off. Namaste baking and entree products are 10% off. Pamela’s baking mixes and cookies are 10% off.Nature’s Path and EnviroKidz cereals and cereal bars are also 10% off.

These are the coupon codes that you’ll need at checkout. Click Here to go to the sales page.
Betty Crocker Coupon code: BCGLFREE
Namaste Coupon code:NMST7II9
Pamela’s Coupon code:PMLAI822
Nature’s Path and EnviroKidz Coupon code: ENVR9333

Cute Toes

Baby L arrived a few weeks ago, and as promised, here are a couple of pictures. She’s doing well, but her momma could use some more sleep.

Starting a Gluten Free Diet: Free Menu Plan

Mary Frances — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:31:55 +0000

Free Menu Plan: As promised, here is a free menu plan for the first week of your gluten free diet. If you haven’t subscribed to our newsletter yet, head over to our sign-up page, register for the newsletter (it’s all free!) and you’ll get the download instructions for the gluten free diet menu plan.

If you like this menu plan and want more help with planning your menus, check out my ebook, The Gluten Free Survival Guide, which comes with another bonus menu, plus a menu planning worksheet to simplify your grocery shopping trips.

The menu ended up being chicken-centric, which I apologize for. I was trying to pick recipes that wouldn’t require any ingredients that aren’t widely available, and it wasn’t until I finished that I realized I’d only picked chicken recipes. Hopefully you can manage it for one week, or substitute other meats in if you want =) Oh, and all the recipes are casein optional! Another option if you’re looking to add some variety to the menu is to cook a loaf of my gluten free bread, and turn the Roasted Chicken and Vegetables meal into Chicken Sandwiches and Vegetables. Yum!

Soy Sauce Substitute: If you can’t find gluten free soy sauce or tamari
, use an equivalent amount of the following mixture in the Cashew Nut Chicken recipe:

3 Tbsp beef bouillon* (or 9 cubes) – I use Better than Bouillon
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch garlic powder”
1.5 c water

*please do read the label

Dad’s Brown White Rice

Mary Frances — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:25:04 +0000

My mind has been drifting towards Thanksgiving this week and I’ve been testing out a few side dishes. Side dishes are, after all, my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal and all of you give me a great excuse to enjoy them for weeks instead of one little weekend.

This recipe is from my Dad and is one of my all time favorites. There is no way that I can have just one serving. My mom usually has to give me a look on my 3rd trip back for more =) Don’t skip on the butter the first time you make it. I know that it’s an obscene amount . . . but it’s worth it.

Dad’s Brown White Rice

1 c. white rice
1 stick of butter or butter sub
14 oz. beef broth
14 oz. chicken broth
dash of garlic powder
1/2 lb. white button mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1. Place all ingredients into a 2.5 quart casserole dish.
2. Bake at 425 degrees F for one hour.

*Vegetarians – I substituted 28 oz. of water, 2 tsp. Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Chicken and 2 tsp. Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Beef for the broths.
*Casein free – Try 1/2 c. of olive oil if you don’t have a non-dairy butter substitute.

White Bean “Crab Cakes” with Savory Peach and Corn Salad

Mary Frances — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:01:14 +0000

Sometimes I really want a food that is traditionally made with meat…like crab cakes or sausage balls. Since the meat part of those recipes is just not going to happen (for health reasons), I’ve had to get creative with beans. And surprisingly enough, if you season the beans correctly you can make something that tastes very, very much like the real thing. (I got one of my co-workers to taste test my Kidney Bean Sausage Balls and she agreed that it tasted like a real sausage ball!) With these white bean “crab” cakes you get all of the tastiness of crab cakes, minus the shellfish allergies and other things that we don’t want, like animal protein and fat.

The first night that I made the crab cakes, which is one of our favorite gluten free vegetarian recipes, I was also really wanting a creamy salad of some sort. Since I was out of the usual suspects (pasta, English peas and carrots) I decided to see what I could do with the fresh fruit and veggies that I had on hand. The result is a cool and refreshing summer salad featuring corn and juicy,fresh peaches. This is one of those dishes that should have given us leftovers, but didn’t because John and I both kept going back to the fridge for more bites!

White Bean Crab Cakes

(Serves 4 – 6 )
1 c. onion, diced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

1 lb. white beans, cooked and drained *
2 green onions, green parts only and sliced
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. parsley, minced
3/4 tsp. stone ground mustard
1/2 c. mayo or Vegannaise
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning

1. Saute the onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in a little olive oil or water over medium low heat until the vegetables are tender.

2. Mix the vegetables and all other ingredients in a large bowl. Some of the beans will fall apart when you do this, and that’s just what you want. If you’re using canned beans, give half of them a spin in the food processor before adding them in.

3. Form the mixture into small cakes, approximately 2.5 inches in diameter. You can either pan-fry them with a little olive oil and a medium-hot skillet or bake in the oven at 350 F until they are golden. I prefer the texture of the pan-fried cakes, but the oven baked cakes hold together better.

4. Serve the cakes with tartar sauce, or my Savory Peach and Corn Salad.

*You can substitute 1 lb. of crab meat, if you like.

Savory Peach & Corn Salad

2 cans of corn (11 oz), drained (feel free to use fresh if you have it)
1 ripe peach, diced
1/8 c. celery, diced
1/8 c. pecans, minced
1/2 red bell pepper
mayonnaise or Vegannaise, to taste
red wine vinegar, to taste
parsly, minced , to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes, if you can wait that long.

P.S. Sorry to be vague with some of the amounts. Sometimes I like a little bit of mayo and vinegar and sometimes I want more. I’d suggest starting with a small amount of mayo and then gradually working up to the amount you want. Then start with the vinegar and parsley and do the same.

P.P.S. To choose a ripe peach, hold the peach near your nose and sniff. If you smell peachy goodnes, then it’s ripe. If not, put it back and keep looking.

Diabolically Deviled Eggs

Mary Frances — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:05:22 +0000

Kate at Gluten Free Gobsmacked is hosting a virtual Gluten Free BBQ and I’m invited! The menu goes from A to Z, and in a moment of uncertainty I used a random number generator to pick “D” for my contribution. Days later as I racked my brain for BBQ appropriate recipes starting in D, I came to the somewhat disappointing conclusion that I was going to have to do Deviled Eggs. Disappointing because Deviled Eggs are so old hat (at least to me) and I don’t always like them. Nevertheless I simply could not think of anything else to make.

Late one night I was drifting off to sleep when a thought suddenly came to the forefront of my mind. “Cheese, put cheese in the deviled eggs. Pimento cheese!”. This was my intuition speaking and since my intuition rarely fails me in the kitchen I went with it. I also researched the cooking term “deviled” and found that it means to “to chop food finely and mix with hot seasoning or sauce, usually after cooking”. That doesn’t sound like any deviled egg I’ve ever eaten. It was time to kick things up a notch =)

Diabolically Deviled Eggs
4 eggs, boiled
1/2 c. pimento cheese spread
1/2 jalepeno, diced
1/4 tsp. prepared horseradish
lemon juice, to taste
salt, to taste
paprika

Directions: Slice the boiled eggs in half and remove the yolks. Blend the yolks and pimento cheese spread in a food processor or blender until the mixture is smooth and almost fluffy. Stir in the diced jalepeno, horseradish, lemon juice, and salt. Using a small spoon, scoop the mixture back into the egg halves. Sprinkle the eggs with paprika.

Now, in all honesty I didn’t think the eggs were that great. I’m going through an anti-egg phase, and these just didn’t do it for me. Too much egg white. However, the affirmed egg-hater in the household thought these were quite good and ate two! The little man wouldn’t even touch them.

Egg Series No. 1: How to Beat Egg Yolks & Crème Brûlée Recipe

Egg Series No. 1: How to Beat Egg Whites

Lazy Man’s Beer Battered Onion Rings

Mary Frances — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:29:36 +0000

Vidalia onions may be the most famous crop of the state of Georgia. Mild and sweet, these onions are one of the treasures of spring. And in our house, the advent of the Vidalias can mean only one thing – gluten free fried onion rings.

I’ve adapted this batter recipe from Joy of Cooking and the name reflects the changes I’ve made. We’ve been making gluten free fried onion rings for over a year, and I didn’t actually read the recipe instructions until last week. Who knew that you’re supposed to let the batter rest for 3 to 12 hours. I’m lucky if it rests 3 to 12 minutes. No worries though, despite my shortcuts (and there are more!) this recipe turns out mouthwatering onion rings. If you’ve been missing Bloomin’ Onions, you’re going to have a mighty fine weekend with these =)

P.S. Be sure to scroll all the way down. I’ve include my recipe for the dipping sauce too~

Lazy Man’s Beer Battered Onion Rings

1 large Vidalia onion
equal parts milk* and water – enough to mostly cover the onions

1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper (ground)
1 Tbsp. canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. Redbridge gluten free beer

* I use soy milk, but you can use whatever “milk” works with your diet.

1. Slice the Vidalia onion into rings that are approximately 1/4 inch wide.

2. Soak the onions in a mixture of milk and water for about an hour.

3. Meanwhile, mix all of the batter ingredients together in a large bowl and let the batter rest in the refrigerator until you need it.

4. When then onions are almost done soaking, start heating your oil. (I use my largest cast-iron skillet on medium heat with about an inch of canola oil. If you’re tempted to use less, don’t. The onion rings need to have enough oil that they can swim around in it.) You can test to see if the oil is hot enough by sticking the end of a wooden spoon or skewer into the oil. If the oil starts bubbling around then wood then you’re good to go.

5. Drain the onions and then dip one ring into the batter. Once that’s done, gently lower the onion ring into the hot oil. Repeat that process until your skillet is full.

6.The cooking time for the onion rings will depend on the temperature of the oil, so stand by until you get a feel for it. I generally check the underside after 3 to 4 minutes. If it’s turned a light golden color, then it’s time to flip. If not, let it cook another minute or so. Once you’ve flipped all of the rings, they will need to cook on that side for approximately the same amount of time, maybe a little less. If you’re standing there watching it, I don’t think that you’ll go wrong.

7. Once the rings are done, remove each one from the oil and let as much oil as possible drip back into the skillet. Then place the onion ring on a towel covered plate and sprinkle with a small amount of salt. Repeat from step 5 until all of the onion rings have been cooked.

I do realize that was a really long set of instructions. Can you imagine how long it would take if I hadn’t left out the parts about letting the beer go flat and whipping the egg whites separately to fold in at the end! I’m so glad I didn’t read those instruction last year =)

Creamy Wasabi Dipping Sauce1/4 cup mayonnaise or Vegannaise
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 heaping tsp.ketchup
1 heaping tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp Wasabi paste
salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and dip away.
I know your stuffed now, but here are more recipes for amazingly binge-worth gluten free snacks.

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