SUCCESSFUL GLUTEN-FREE HOLIDAY DINING TIPS

Being gluten-free around the holidays shouldn’t be stressful. Here are few tips on how to stay gluten-free and enjoy yourself.

1. Communicate early and often

The earlier you start discussing making gluten-free accommodations to a holiday menu, the more time people have to get used to the idea of change.  Now’s the time to start the discussion.  Go ahead and give the host a call and ask about plans for holiday meals. Your goal is to start a dialogue early enough so that the idea of a “gluten-free holiday” feels normal and expected by the time the occasion comes up.  It’s always a good idea to offer to contribute a special gluten-free dish of your own too.

2.  Offer solutions

One reason why someone may respond negatively to a gluten-free request is that they may feel stressed about how to accommodate it. The holidays can be stressful for those tasked with preparing dinner. The idea of adding one more thing to a to-do list may feel overwhelming. To pre-empt this problem proactively offer solutions.

Offer to make a gluten-free dish that can be added to the family tradition. You could also offer to make a gluten-free version of one of the family’s traditional recipes. For example, offer to make the gravy this year or to cook the turkey so you can use a gluten-free stuffing. Whatever you can do to shift the burden off of the host will help that person feel more open to the idea of making changes.

3. Help solve problems a host may bring up.

Issue:  How can we have stuffing if we don’t stuff the turkey?

Solution:

• Use stuffing made with gluten-free bread crumbs
• Cook traditional stuffing recipe in a ceramic dish in the oven (outside of the turkey)
• Stuff the turkey with dried fruits and nuts

4.  Help solve problems a host may bring up.

Issue: “The gravy won’t be thick if we don’t use flour”

Solution:

• Make two types of gravy (one GF and one traditional)
• Use cornstarch or gluten-free all-purpose flour mixes

Make this holiday season worry free with these few tips.

See full article in our magazine Celebrate Gluten-Free written by CC Bonaduce of ccglutenfree.com

Pumpkin Quinoa Porridge

4.5 from 2 reviews

Food Babe's Pumpkin Quinoa Porridge

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

17 mins

 

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa rinsed and drained
• 1 and ½ cups almond milk, divided (nut allergy: use coconut milk)
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
• 2-3 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup, more as desired
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts
• Optional:
• 2 tablespoons coconut flakes

Instructions

1. In a pot, add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of almond milk. Bring to a boil and add the quinoa, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
2. Once the liquid has evaporated, take off the heat and stir in the ground flaxseeds. To serve, place some of the porridge in a bowl and add about ¼ cup almond milk or desired amount. Top with the walnuts, honey or maple syrup and coconut if using. Enjoy!

Notes

***Please choose all organic ingredients if possible***

Gluten Free Pumpkin Streusel Cheesecake Bars

Gluten Free Pumpkin Streusel

Cheesecake Bars

Author: Betty Crocker

Print

Gluten Free Pumpkin Streusel

Cheesecake Bars

Author: Betty Crocker

Ingredients

1

box Betty Crocker® Gluten Free yellow cake mix

1/2

cup finely chopped pecans

1/2

cup butter, softened

2

packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1

cup sugar

1

cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1

tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2

tablespoons whipping cream

2

eggs

Directions

• 1Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cake mix and pecans. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press remaining mixture. Bake 10 minutes.
• 2In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; beat until well blended. Pour over warm crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping.
• 3Bake about 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Why Should You Go Gluten Free?

Gluten Free Taco Pie

GF Taco Pie

Author: Betty Crocker

Prep Time: 15 min.   Total Time: 50 min.   Serves 6

Ingredients
    •    1lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
    •    1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
    •    1 package (1 oz) gluten-free taco seasoning mix
    •    1 can (4.5 oz) gluten-free chopped green chiles, drained
    •    2 eggs
    •    1 cup milk
    •    1/2 cup Bisquick™ Gluten Free mix
    •    3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese (3 oz)
    •    3/4 cup chopped tomato
    •    1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce, if desired
    •    Salsa, if desired
    •    Gluten-free sour cream, if desired

Directions
    1.    Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in seasoning mix. Spoon into pie plate. Top with chiles.
    2.    In small bowl, stir eggs, milk and Bisquick mix until blended. Pour into pie plate.
    3.    Bake about 25 minutes. Top with cheese and tomato; bake 2 to 3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with lettuce, salsa and sour cream.
    
Expert Tips
    •    Try other toppings like shredded lettuce, sliced green onions, chopped black olives, guacamole or crushed corn chips.
    •    Always read labels to make sure each recipe ingredient is gluten free. Products and ingredient sources can change.

 

How To Store a Gluten Free Bread

Gluten-free bread recipes are the holy grail of gluten-free baking. It’s within reach, when you have the right gluten-free bread recipe. And once you’ve read up on my Top 10 Secrets To Making Good Gluten-Free Bread. But what about once you’ve made it, and you want to use it to make your family’s back-to-school lunches—How do you store that homemade gluten free bread?

Here are the 10 rules to live by.

But first, are you scared to make gluten-free yeast bread? Try the White Sandwich Bread recipe(that’s what you see in the photo above) on page 104 of My Cookbook. It’s your best chance at early success, and it’s my family’s everyday bread. Now on to those rules…

1. When it’s first baked, store homemade gluten free bread it in a breadbox. And make sure the bread has enough empty space around it that air can circulate around it. A closed breadbox retains some moisture in the box, so the bread doesn’t dry out, but doesn’t hold it so close to the bread that it makes it soggy.

2. Never store homemade gluten free bread in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature. The moisture in the bread will condense and cling to the bread, making it terribly soggy.

3. Never store homemade gluten free bread in a paper bag. The paper bag will itself become moist from humidity in the surrounding air, and your bread will become soggy.

4. Never store gluten free bread in the refrigerator (homemade or store-bought). The refrigerator is designed to keep moisture at bay, as moisture tends to spoil food. Storing bread in the refrigerator will dry out your bread in a hurry.

5. Store leftover gluten free bread that is older than 3 to 4 days (depending upon humidity levels in your kitchen) in the freezer. To prevent freezer burn due to loss of moisture, first wrap bread tightly in a freezer-safe wrap. I really like Glad Press’n Seal freezer wrap. It is sturdy and clings tight to whatever you wrap in it.

6. If you don’t expect to use all of the frozen gluten free bread at once, consider slicing it before wrapping and freezing it. That way, you should be able to defrost just what you need without compromising the rest of the loaf.

7. Cool homemade gluten free bread completely before placing it in a breadbox or other container, and before freezing it. Otherwise, the moisture in the bread that would have evaporated upon cooling will instead condense and ruin any hope of crispness.

8. Never slice into homemade GF bread before it is completely cool. It won’t hold its shape, so you won’t get a clean slice. It’s so hard to wait. Try try and try again.

9. Leave a fresh loaf of homemade GF bread whole, unsliced, until you are ready to use it. The crust will help keep the bread from going stale.

10. Once you have sliced into a loaf of homemade GF bread, when you store it in a breadbox, store it with the cut side down, to minimize staleness.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

At great long last, here’s how I make pumpkin butter. Now get baking!

Prep time: 5 minutes       Cook time: 1 hour or about 10 minutes, depending upon method      Yield: About 4 cups pumpkin butter

Ingredients

1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) sugar/baking pumpkin or 2 28-ounce cans pumpkin puree
1/2 cup (168 g) pure maple syrup
3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) apple cider or apple juice
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
*To make your own pumpkin pie spice, combine 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves + 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Directions

• If using a regular sugar/baking pumpkin, preheat your oven to 375°F. Remove the stem and, with a large, sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half through the middle. Scoop out all of the seeds (dry them, toss them with plenty of kosher salt, spread them in an even layer and toast them in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat or in a 300°F oven until lightly golden brown and fragrant) and place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the pumpkin halves are fork-tender and the flesh has begun to shrink away from the skin (about 45 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool before scooping out the flesh and pureeing in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• In a medium heavy-bottom stockpot, combine the pumpkin puree with the maple syrup, apple cider (or juice) and pumpkin pie spice. Mix to combine well and then simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until reduced by at least half.
• Allow to cool completely before baking with it. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Love,
Me

P.S. Have you already pre-ordered Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread? If you do, it will ship to you from amazon in just over 3 weeks!!!!!!

Sea Salt Caramels

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup Karo light corn syrup
• 1 cup evaporated milk (note: this is NOT a full can)
• 1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. First calibrate your thermometer by placing in boiling water for 10 minutes. It should read 212°. If it doesn't, adjust your goal temperature for this recipe based on how many degrees you are off. For instance, my thermometer always registers 210°, so I cook my caramel until it reaches 246° instead of 248° like the recipe calls for.
2. Line a jelly roll pan (11"x15") with parchment paper and lightly spray or butter the sides where the parchment paper doesn't cover.
3. In a large pot, combine the sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, whipping cream, butter, and sea salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. I cook over the largest burner on my gas stove on a heat setting of 4. Be sure that you are constantly scraping the sides, edges, and bottom of the pan, and do not leave unattended for more than a couple of seconds.
4. Continue stirring, monitoring the temperature with a candy thermometer, until thermometer reaches 248°. The temperature reading will probably bounce up and down a bit, so I recommend stopping once you get three readings of 248°. On my gas stove, this takes me about 45 minutes; on my electric stove, this took closer to an hour.
5. When it reaches 248°, remove immediately from heat, remove the candy thermometer, and stir in the vanilla extract.
6. Immediately pour out the caramel into the lined jelly roll pan. Spread evenly with your spatula.
7. Wait 10-15 minutes, then sprinkle the surface of the caramels with large flake sea salt to your liking. If you sprinkle too soon, the salt just soaks in, too late, and it has trouble sticking to the surface.
8. When cooled completely, it is easy to lift out the parchment paper with the whole slab of caramel on it and place on a cutting board. I recommend using a sharp pizza cutter to cut into square or rectangle caramels. I usually do rectangles that are 1" x 2" and can get about 100 caramels, leaving us the edges to snack on.
9. Store at room temperature. If you allow these to chill or freeze, they will harden.

Notes

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe Ingredients 1 - 20 ounce can pineapple slices in pineapple juice 7 whole maraschino cherries 1½ cup Carol's Amazing All Purpose Gluten Free Flour or other all purpose gluten free flour blend (make sure it contains xanthan gum) 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt 3 large eggs, separated 1 cup granulated sugar 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract ½ cup unsalted butter 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), firmly packed Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain the canned pineapple reserving ½ cup of the juice. Lay the pineapple slices (you should have 10 slices) and the maraschino cherries on a layer of paper towel and pat them then dry with another paper towel. Cut 3 of the pineapple slices in half. Whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, reserved ½ cup of pineapple juice and vanilla until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and combine well. With an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold the egg whites into the batter, combining well. In a 10 inch cast iron skillet melt the butter over medium heat. When melted carefully swirl the pan so that the butter coats the sides of the pan. Add the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar has melted into the butter and is lump free, about 1 minute. Let the sugar mixture cool very slightly then lay in the pineapple slices carefully so you do not burn yourself. Start with the center, put one whole pineapple slice in the center then arrange the other six whole slices around it. Place the halve slices in the spaces between the whole slices around the outer edge, the curved side facing toward the center. Place a whole maraschino cherry in the center of each of the whole pineapple slices. Pour the batter over the pineapples and cherries and bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cook for 2 minutes, run a knife around the outer edge then invert on a serving platter and let finish cooling. Make sure you do not let the cake cool too long before inverting or the caramel will harden and the pineapple slices will stick to the bottom of the pan.  Servings    Makes 10 - 12 gluten free servings.

Cream Cheese Almond Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Almond Pound Cake {Gluten-free}

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (3 sticks) salted butter
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (I usually use the lighter cream cheese: Neufchâtel)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 6 eggs
• 2⅔ cups Gluten Free Mama's Almond Flour Blend
• ⅓ cup corn starch
• 1½ tsp. xanthan gum

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a bundt pan or 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light (medium speed -about 5 minutes).
3. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat another 30 seconds to mix well.
4. Place a sifter/sieve/strainer over a bowl. Measure the flour, cornstarch, and xanthan gum, and dump into the sifter. Sift together the dry ingredients. You can repeat to sift another time or I just used a whisk and really whisked them together well.
5. Break the 6 eggs into another bowl and set aside.
6. With your mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture and the eggs to your butter/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
7. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).
8. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan, then gently loosen the sides with a table knife or plastic spatula before turning over onto serving plate

Garlicky Guacamole

Ingredients

• 3 small/medium avocados
• 1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice, strained
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¾ tsp. kosher salt
• ⅛ tsp. black pepper

Instructions

1. In a small/medium bowl, use a fork to mash avocados.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed. Add additional seasonings if needed to your preferred taste.
3. For best results, serve the same day as you make it.

Gluten-Free Blueberry-Peach Crisp

Gluten-Free Blueberry-Peach Crisp

Summer is all about fresh fruit - our produce box recently included a ton of peaches and blueberries and so it seemed like a good time to create a dessert.  I grew up on my mother's fruit crisps, and really wanted to make some, but I didn't wish to include a lot of extra sugar or use wheat flour.

I planned to make it entirely grain free but I found I couldn't bring myself to not include a bit of rolled oats, for nostalgia's sake - it is perfectly fine to leave them out.  They're there for texture - a chewy oatmeal cookie feel that brings back all sorts of comfort food memories for me.

I sliced the peaches, after washing them, without trying to peel them, and this worked out just fine!  I'm all about not creating extra work for myself when it doesn't matter.

The resulting crisp let both the blueberry and peach flavors shine, and as you can see, the blueberries gave the peaches a rosy color.  Since nuts and almond flour make up the majority of the topping, there is even a nice protein serving hiding in this dessert.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Peach Crisp
serves 4-6

1 tsp coconut oil, to grease pie plate
1 pint of blueberries
2-3 cups sliced peaches (about 8 small peaches)
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats, uncooked
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey


Wash fruit.  Slice peaches into 1/8s. Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a glass pie plate or square glass casserole with 1 tsp. coconut oil. Combine fruit in pie plate, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, chopped nuts, oats and salt.  Add coconut oil and maple syrup.
 Mix with a fork to blend - don't over work it, just make sure almond flour is moistened.

Ready for the oven.

Use a pair of spoons to drop tablespoon sized portions of the crisp mixture on top of fruit. (Use one spoon to scoop up a portion, and  the other to help scrape it off that spoon so it drops onto the fruit.)

Bake for 45 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is browned.  I suggest checking it at about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, you may want to cover it lightly with foil to finish baking.

Let cool until warm and serve as desired, or chill and serve cold.

Orange Creme Cupcakes

Orange Creme Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sorghum flour (or brown rice flour if you must)

3/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour!)

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons fresh orange zest

2 tablespoons light olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon raw organic agave or honey

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice at room temperature

 (fresh juice gives the batter a fresh, bright taste)

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients- flours through xanthan gum. 

Add in the orange zest, oil, agave, orange juice, Egg Replacer and vanilla.

Beat on medium speed for two minutes minutes until the batter is smooth and fluffy. 

Make a 'figure eight' motion if the batter climbs the beaters.

Let the batter sit a minute before spooning it into cupcake liners.

Spoon the batter evenly into twelve lined cupcake cups.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and firm 

(they should be slightly tender but too soft). Try not to open the door to peek until

 the very end of baking time- you don't want to jar the cupcakes and make them deflate. 

These cupcakes rose quite high, then slowly settled down to a slightly rounded shape 

at about20 to 25 minutes.

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

When the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with my vegan Orange Creme Frosting 

(recipe follows).

Vegan Orange Creme Frosting Recipe

Use your favorite vegan buttery spread instead of the soy-free Spectrum Organic Shortening, 

if you prefer.

Ingredients:

2 cups organic powdered sugar

1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening (or organic semi-solid coconut oil)

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice- as needed (start with less)

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the shortening and vanilla. 

Begin beating.Add in the orange juice a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Don't add too muchjuice too soon. Go slowly.

Beat on medium high until the frosting is smooth and creamy. If it is too thin, add more sugar;

 too stiff, add a spoonful of orange juice. You want a medium bodied icing.

Spoon the frosting into a zip-closing plastic sandwich baggie, press out the air and seal tight.

Cut a very small hole in one of the bottom corners-- not too big. To frost, place the cut tip 

over the cupcake, near an outer edge, and squeeze the bag of frosting, gripping it tightly and

moving in a circular motion, spiraling in toward the center, until the swirl of icing covers the 

cupcake.

Top with a few pieces of orange zest. Or try a sprinkle of flaked coconut, finely chopped 

pecans or walnuts.Place in a freezable container to chill or freeze. Once frozen, you can wrap 

each cupcake individually for single treats, if you like. Remove wrapping before thawing.

 To keep the icing intact.

Cook time: 1 hour

Yield: Serves 12