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!!!!!!