Not only was this our first Thanksgiving on the road but it’s also our first gluten-free Thanksgiving. On November 24 of last year we found out that our daughter had to be completely gluten-free (prior to this we were told she just had to avoid it as much as possible). In one year’s time we’ve gone from being completely overwhelmed to having a fabulous g-free Thanksgiving. Our 13 year old daughter made all but the gravy and g-free stuffing. We’d like to share a few of the recipes. I didn’t label every ingredient below as g-free below but it all was. (As a side note: We don’t eat like this every day. We keep it simple because it’s safer for Eva and easier while living in an RV.)
Mashed Potatoes
4 pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced
6 ounces g-free cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
8 slices of g-free bacon, fried and crumbled.
Boil potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and mash.
Add cream cheese, butter, and cream to the potatoes. Beat until desired consistency. Add bacon.
Gluten-Free Stuffing
4 cups gluten-free 1-inch bread cubes, dried (I used one loaf of Udis Whole Grain Bread Loaf)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ribs celery, diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon each fine-chopped fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic
1 cup hot stock (turkey or chicken)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup dehydrated cranberries
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you need to dry your own bread cubes, just places the cubes onto a cookie sheet. (Place them in the oven at 350 until they are dry.)
Cook the stock over high heat until it boils. Set aside but keep warm. You don’t want it to cool but you don’t want it hot.
Saute the celery and onion in the oil and butter until they are soft. Add the herbs. Cook for about a minute.
Toss the bread cubes, celery, onions, herbs, and cranberries in a bowl. Place into a 3-quart casserole.
Combine a small amount of the warm stock and egg. When this is completely combined, add slow to the remaining stock. Pour over the bread cubes. Stir and then press mixture down into the pan.
Cook covered for 20 minutes at 350. Remove cover and cook for about 10 minutes more. Watch that the stuffing doesn’t get dry.
Cover with gravy if desired.
Cranberry Cheesecake
1 1/2 cups of crushed g-free rice krispies and g-free pretzels. (I use a mixture of a little more krispies than pretzels)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange peel, divided
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup orange juice
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Crust: Combine crushed krispies and pretzels, sugar, 1 tsp orange peel and butter. Press into the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
Filling: In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over orange juice and let stand for 1 minute. Cook over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved; cool slightly.
Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and 1 tsp orange peel until blended. Beat in cranberry sauce until smooth. Beat in cooled gelatin mixture; mix well.
In a bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.
Crustless, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
2 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin or 2 cups fresh
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup gluten free flour (I use Jules)
Preheat oven to 425. Grease pie plate very lightly with butter.
In a large bowl, beat eggs; mix in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie plate. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until knife comes out clean; about 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
I don’t like pumpkin pie but my husband, who is very picky about gluten-free foods, really likes this.
Fancy Berry Beverage Recipe
8 cups cranberry juice, chilled
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
1 can frozen grape juice
1 cups sugar
1 teaspoon g-free vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped until soft peaks form
4 cups ginger ale. chilled
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients; stir until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Fold in whipped cream. Slowly add ginger ale; stir gently to mix. Pour into glasses.